Hilton Hotels, Cigna join bathroom bill opposition

While Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday deferred taking action on a contentious bill that would require students to use the restroom that corresponds with their sex at birth, executives from a multitude of companies, including Cigna, Hilton Hotels, T-Mobile and Lyft, joined the fight to oppose the legislation.

The announcement came as Human Rights Campaign Executive Director Chad Griffin, along with representatives from other organizations who have opposed the measure, visited the state Capitol to distribute a letter, which included signatures from 60 business executives, to House Speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.

Others to sign the letter include executives from Williams-Sonoma, Etsy, Airbnb, Tumblr and REI.

Dow Chemical Co., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Choice Hotels International and Alcoa Inc. — all of which had already voiced concern about the measure — also signed the letter.

Transgender bathroom bill advances over businesses' opposition

"We are disappointed to see the legislature consider discriminatory legislation," the company executives wrote. "The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business. This is not a direction in which states move when they are seeking to provide successful, thriving hubs for business and economic development."

The letter is the latest warning over the bill from individuals and businesses, including Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Viacom and Miley Cyrus, who have all expressed their own concerns.

“Tennessee has an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of those who have planted themselves on the wrong side of history,” Griffin said during a Wednesday morning news conference outside the Capitol, noting that the proposed legislation would do "nothing more than enshrine discrimination into state law."

Attorney general: Tennessee bathroom bill threatens Title IX funds

Joining Griffin was Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project; Dr. Marisa Richmond, lobbyist for the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition; Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee; and Dr. Renee McLaughlin, senior medical director of Cigna HealthCare.

McLaughlin, who is transgender, said the legislation would damage the state's vibrant work environment. Reminding lawmakers that she would be required to use the male restroom under the proposed legislation if she enrolled as a student at a university, McLaughlin said, "I know that that will put me in harm's way."

"We the people of Tennessee are better than what the proponents of this bill would have us to be," McLaughlin concluded before reading a letter from Cigna HealthCare, which said the legislation was "misguided."

Richmond said enacting the controversial legislation into law would result in increased school dropout rates and even suicides.

"It is now the time for Tennessee lawmakers to uphold our Tennessee values and ensure that all students are treated with respect and dignity, fairly and equally under the law," Weinberg added.

Despite those opposing the measure, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, said on Wednesday that she has not heard from any businesses.

Proponents of the measure, including the Alliance for Defending Freedom and the Family Action Council, as well as Lynn, say the bill is necessary to protect the privacy of students.

Although many expected the contentious measure to be taken up in separate House and Senate committees on Wednesday, action was delayed to allow lawmakers to finalize next year's budget.

Lynn said she was grateful to have extra time to continue to work on the legislation, as well as allow those interested in the issue the opportunity to "calm down."

"In my opinion both sides have been off the charts," she said. "It's just been a lot of shouting back and forth."

Lynn said she was saddened by the behavior of some people who have reached out to her, noting that she's received email and personal mail that is not "characteristic of Tennesseans."

"I really am very troubled by the behavior," she said. "We're all Tennesseans, we should all love each other."

Lynn and Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, who is sponsoring the Senate version, said they were working on amending the legislation to try to eliminate fiscal concerns.

An amended version of a fiscal note tied to the bill determined a loss of $800,000 in state and local revenue. The fiscal document also includes a note that the state's federal Title IX funding, which is estimated to be $1.3 billion in next year's budget, could be in jeopardy — a point that Attorney General Herbert Slatery reiterated on Monday when he released an opinion on the matter.

Attorney general: Tennessee bathroom bill threatens Title IX funds

The legislation could be taken up on Thursday or early next week.

Also on Wednesday, Gov. Bill Haslam told reporters he has fielded phone calls from various business executives regarding the bathroom bill. Haslam reiterated his concerns about the legislation, which largely centers around the Title IX aspect, and did not say whether he would veto the legislation should it make it to his desk.

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Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.