Attorney General Bonta: California to Add Georgia to State-Funded Travel Restrictions List Following Recent Passage of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation – California Department of Justice

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced that — effective immediately — California will restrict state-funded travel to Georgia as a result of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation recently enacted in the state. Specifically, the new law, House Bill 1084 (HB 1084), contains provisions that expressly allow Georgia’s high school athletic association to prohibit transgender girls from competing in girls’ interscholastic sports. The new restrictions on state-funded travel to Georgia announced today are required by California Assembly Bill 1887 (AB 1887), which passed in 2016.

“Blocking transgender youth from playing sports isn’t just discriminatory, it’s government overreach — and it’s happening in states across the country,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Rather than protecting personal freedoms, state legislatures are going out of their way to invent a problem and target the rights of children. It’s a gross misuse of public resources. California refuses to take part. As required under AB 1887, we’re restricting state-funded travel to Georgia as a result of Governor Kemp’s new transphobic law, HB 1084.” 

In enacting AB 1887, the California Legislature made it clear that it is the policy of the State of California to avoid supporting or financing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender Americans. To that end, the law restricts state agencies, departments, boards, or commissions from authorizing state-funded travel to a state that — after June 26, 2015 — has enacted a law authorizing, or repealing existing protections against, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Each applicable California agency is responsible for consulting the AB 1887 list maintained by the California Department of Justice to comply with the travel and funding restrictions imposed by the law.

Georgia’s passage of HB 1084 is part of a recent, dangerous wave of discriminatory new legislation signed into law in states across the country that directly works to roll back hard-won protections. Many of these laws specifically target and marginalize transgender youth by preventing them from playing sports in line with their gender identity. HB 1084 repeals existing protections for transgender youth and requires that all public high schools involved in interscholastic athletics in Georgia adhere to the Georgia High School Association’s policies governing gender participation. Shortly following the passage of HB 1084, the association amended its bylaws, as authorized by HB 1084, to specifically exclude transgender youth from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. Given HB 1084’s effective date, California’s state-funded travel restrictions under AB 1887 go into effect immediately.

For additional information on AB 1887, including the list of states subject to its provisions, visit: https://oag.ca.gov/ab1887. The California Department of Justice recently announced the addition of four other states to the state-funded travel restrictions list. Of those states, only Arizona has not yet been formally added to the list and travel restrictions to Arizona are currently set to go into effect on September 28, 2022.