In a 7-4 vote, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors decided to repeal a city-funded travel ban to 30 states, including Texas, Florida, and Ohio, that restrict abortion, voting, and LGBTQ rights. The boycott was initially passed in 2016 to exert economic pressure on states that limited the rights of LGBTQ people. However, the policy proved to be a hindrance to the city and raise costs instead.
According to a report from the city administrator, the boycott caused administrative burdens and fewer bidders for city work, which resulted in a 20% annual increase in contracting costs. Additionally, the city approved hundreds of exemptions and waivers for approximately $800 million worth of contracts. The report also revealed that states with restrictive LGBTQ rights, voting rights, or abortion policies did not cite the city’s travel and contract bans as motivation for reforming their laws.
Despite the intended outcome of the boycott, San Francisco Board President Aaron Peskin, who co-sponsored the repeal, called it an onerous restriction that created serious obstructions to everything from accessing emergency housing to being able to cost-effectively purchase the best products and contracts for the city.
The original ban’s author, Senator Scott Wiener, agreed that the measure hadn’t produced the intended results. Wiener expected a coalition of cities and states to form to create actual consequences for states that pass discriminatory laws. However, such a coalition never formed, and the full potential impact of the policy never materialized. Instead, San Francisco was penalizing businesses in other states, including LGBTQ-owned, women-owned, and people of color-owned businesses.
Moreover, the ban prevented city staff from flying to many states for cooperative work on issues ranging from HIV prevention to transportation. Similar issues have led California to consider repealing its own 2016 ban on state travel to states that discriminate against LGBTQ people. California currently bans state-funded travel to nearly half of the country due to a surge of anti-LGBTQ legislation in mostly Republican-led states.
State Senate Leader Toni Atkins announced legislation last month that would replace the ban with an advertising campaign in those states promoting acceptance and inclusion for the LGBTQ community. The bill would set up a fund to pay for the campaign, which would accept private donations and state funding, if available.