LA County bans official travel to Florida, Texas over LGBTQ+ policies
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted last week to suspend official business travel to Florida and Texas. The reason cited for the ban were polices directed at LGBTQ+ youth and their families in the Republican-led states.
In its decision to ban taxpayer-funded travel, the board cited the order signed in February by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that requires gender-affirming treatments provided to transgender youth be investigated as "child abuse."
The board also cited the new Florida law, signed in March by Governor Ron DeSantis. Dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law, it restricts instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
The argument
The motion for a travel ban was filed by Board of Supervisors members Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis. Kuehl cited a rise in hate crimes against LGBTQ+ youth.
"This is no time to be enacting more legislation, sort of designed to encourage more harassment and suffering," she said. "And that's exactly what the states of Texas and Florida have done."
She called the Texas order "discriminatory, harmful and deliberately cruel" and said the Florida law "would perpetuate a culture of bullying and secrecy and shame and fear."
Related: TPG supports Trevor Project in stand against anti-LGBTQ+ community legislation
The vote
The vote for the travel ban was unanimous. Included is an out, in case the county CEO determines "that failure to authorize that travel would seriously harm the county's interest."
The ban will be lifted if the Texas and Florida orders are suspended, county officials said.
State bans
The State of California has since 2017 restricted state-funded and state-sponsored travel in response to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Last year the state added Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia to its no-travel list. Florida and Texas are both on the list, which now totals 18 states.
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month

