Seven years ago, California lawmakers took a stand against discrimination by passing a law banning the state from spending money on travel to states with anti-LGBTQ laws.

On Tuesday they took a stand against discrimination by repeating it.

The unusual turnaround by Democrats in control of the Capitol marked an acknowledgment that the 2016 boycott did not work. In passing Senate Bill 447, lawmakers agreed to repeal California’s ban on government-sponsored travel to states with laws that discriminate based on sexuality or gender, replacing it with a

funded by the state

publicity campaign in those states that promote LGBTQ+ equality.

If something isn’t working, I think it’s imperative that we can shift gears and maybe try a new California initiative that will have a better and more positive impact, said Assembly Member Chris Ward (D-San Diego) as the bill was introduced on Monday passed without debate on a party-line vote.

Lawmakers have set aside $5 million in the state budget to launch the media campaign required by the legislation. According to an official legislative analysis of the bill, the messages cannot promote political purposes or feature a government official or candidate for elected office. The campaign called the BRIDGE Project aims to draw attention to civil rights, LGBTQ+ issues and acceptance of all people.

The intent of the BRIDGE Project is to target audiences in states that have passed discriminatory laws with compelling anti-discrimination messages, to open hearts and minds, and to help our LGBTQ people in other states feel less isolated and feeling alone, said Assembly Member Rick Zbur. D-Los Angeles).

Before being elected to the General Assembly, Zbur led the gay rights organization Equality California, which was a leading supporter of the original travel ban. He said California’s ban had a meaningful impact in its early years, when only a handful of states were on the ban list.

But since then, the number of states that California would not fund travel to has grown dramatically. It now stands at 26, as Republican-controlled states have embraced a slew of laws that Democrats view as discriminatory. These include laws determining which bathrooms and school sports teams are available to transgender people, and laws banning medical treatments for youth that involve gender reassignment.

“With nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced across the country this year alone, I believe now more than ever we need to reach those communities with messages of support, inclusivity and understanding,” said Senate Majority Leader Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who wrote the legislation.

When she introduced the bill earlier this year, Atkins, a lesbian, said the idea for the outreach campaign came from thinking about her childhood in rural Virginia in the 1960s. Many of the conservative Christians in her family changed their views on LGBTQ rights after she came out to them, Atkins said.

Although the travel ban does not apply to personal travel, it became a headache for Democrats last year when Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to Montana, one of the banned states, for a family vacation. He paid for the trip with personal money, but critics pointed out that his CHP security detail is paid for by the government. The officers’ travel was permitted by law because the ban has many exceptions, including for public safety. While the trip did not break the law, it highlighted inconsistencies in how it affects Californians.

The law also doesn’t stop politicians from traveling to banned states by using campaign funds instead of taxpayer money. Lawmakers used campaign money to travel to conferences in states subject to the boycott, including Texas, Alabama and Tennessee, and on a policy visit to Kentucky. This year, Newsom has used campaign funds to travel through several red states as part of his political campaign to help Democrats in heavily Republican areas.

But the ban complicated matters for state employees, who were unable to travel to many out-of-state meetings, as well as athletes and academics at California’s public universities.

While some sports teams turned to private and corporate sponsors to get the money needed to compete in banned states, many scientists found themselves unable to conduct research in much of the country.

This law has specifically hurt black academics in California, where many of us work at state-funded colleges and universities, San Jose State University professors Keenan Norris and A. Lamont Williams wrote in an op-ed in the Times.

Many Black scientists in California have experienced limitations in collaborating with fellow scientists and colleagues studying the South, where much of their research originates.

Scholars of the American Historical Assn. also complained about the limitations California law placed on their ability to conduct research, writing in a 2021 letter to the California Legislature that the boycott limits the work of graduate students and early-career scientists, preventing them from completing research that would actually demonstrate the significance of research. LGBTQ life, among other pressing topics, in targeted states.

The bill lawmakers passed to repeal the travel ban includes an urgency clause, meaning it would go into effect as soon as Newsom signs it. He has until Oct. 14 to sign or veto all bills before 2023.