The San Francisco Board of Supervisors (SFBOS) voted Tuesday to repeal a ban on doing business with companies and traveling to 30 states with conservative laws after restrictions were too costly and ineffective.
City employees were restricted from working or traveling to states with conservative laws on abortion, voting, or LGBTQ+ issues, according to the SFBOS. San Francisco also could not enter into a contract with a company that has a headquarters in one of the states.
The administrative code started in February 2017, going from four states to 30 by September 2022. The SFBOS repealed the law in a 7-4 vote with San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s support, according to National Review.
GO WOKE, GO BROKE…
San Francisco Ends Boycott of 30 States with Conservative Laws after Limitations Proved Ineffective, Costlyhttps://t.co/SfNW4e5ba8
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) April 26, 2023
A reason for the boycott was to pressure states into changing their laws, but the city administrator’s office found that no states changed laws as a result of the ban, National Review reported. To enact the ban, San Francisco spent nearly $475,000 on staffing expenses. (RELATED: ‘Just Say You’re Gay’: Border Agents Say Migrants Would Abuse Dems’ Proposal To Not Detain LGBTQ Migrants)
“We haven’t changed a single law. We have made competitive bidding less competitive,” Supervisor Matt Dorsey told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I think San Franciscans would be angry if they knew the amount of hoops that have to be jumped through and the added cost to city contracting.”
Supervisor Myrna Melgar opposed the repeal. “Do I think it will make things easier to administer, cheaper? Yes. But are we ready for it? I’m not quite sure,” Melgar told the Standard.
“What bothers me about 12X is that it’s really easy to symbolically act as if we’re doing something to move the needle,” supervisor Hillary Ronen told The San Francisco Standard. “But in actuality, not only have we not moved that needle, things are getting worse.”