California bans state travel to Florida, 4 other states

SAN FRANCISCO – Monday, June 28, California added five more states, including Florida, to the list of places where state-funded travel is banned because they are working to prevent transgender women and girls from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.

“A number of years back, my office is adding five new states to California's state funded travel restriction list, bringing the total very sadly, actually, this is the large number of to 17. So we're adding five new states today. The states are a part of a recent dangerous wave of discriminatory new bills signed into law in states all across the country. California is adding the following five states to our restrictions list, Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia, of those states most are being added in part because they are working to prevent transgender women and girls from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity,” Democrat State Attorney General Rob Bonta said.

Lawmakers in 2016 banned non-essential travel to states with laws that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The 12 other states on the list are: Texas, Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee.

Arkansas passed the first law in the nation to prohibit physicians from providing gender-affirming healthcare (sex change operations) to transgender minors – regardless of the wishes of parents or whether a physician deems such care to be medically necessary.

The state law has exemptions for some trips, such as travel needed to enforce California law and to honor contracts signed before the states were added to the list. Travel to conferences or out-of-state training are examples of trips that can be blocked.

It’s unclear what effect California’s travel ban will have. Bonta did not have information about how many state agencies have stopped sending state employees to the states on the list or the financial impact of California’s travel ban on those states.