Did You Know that California has Banned Travel to the Following States?

In 2016, California lawmakers passed a law that bans non-essential travel to several states that have laws that discriminate against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This law is known as Assembly Bill No. 1887 (AB 1887). So, what is this legislation all about, and what are the states included in the California banned travel?

The Assembly Bill No. 1887

AB 1887 is a law passed in California that protects the LGBT community. To be specific, this law prohibits state-sponsored and state-funded travel to various states that have passed a law that discriminates against gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. The restrictions are applied to all CSU members, employees, and officers. Aside from that, students and non-employee travel are also included in the restrictions.

The AB 1887 started January 1, 2017, and it will continue until the law that discriminates against gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation is in effect. However, keep in mind that this law only applies to state-funded or state-sponsored travel. As such, private individuals and state employees can travel for personal reasons.

States Included in the California Travel Ban

As of today, there are about 18 states subjected to California’s ban on state-sponsored or state-funded travel. The 18 states are:

• Arkansas
• Alabama
• Florida
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Kentucky
• Kansas
• Montana
• Mississippi
• North Dakota
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• Ohio
• South Dakota
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Tennessee
• West Virginia

Exceptions in the Assembly Bill No. 1887

There are certain exceptions in AB 1887, allowing travel to the California banned travel states. Keep in mind that these exceptions are only in effect if you are required to travel to the subject state. As such, the California travel ban doesn’t apply to state travel required for any of these purposes:

• Litigation.
• Enforcement of California law, which includes revenue collection and auditing.
• To meet obligations that were incurred before that law started (January 1, 2017).
• To comply with the federal government requests.
• To participate in training or meetings required by a grant.
• To complete a job-required training that is necessary to keep a license if you can’t get the necessary training in California or other states not subject to the travel ban.
• For the protection of safety, welfare, and public health.

All in all, these are some of the important information about the AB 1887. AS presented, there are 18 states included in the California travel ban. However, if you’re traveling for personal reasons, this law will not be applied.