California bans state-funded travel to South Carolina due to LGBT policies

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is banning state-funded travel to South Carolina because of policies it considers discriminatory toward LGBT people.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the ban Tuesday. He says a provision in a budget bill passed last year allows faith-based child-placing agencies to discriminate against those who do not conform to their religious beliefs or moral convictions, including members of the LGBTQ community.

Becerra's decision is based on a 2017 California law that bans state-funded or state-sponsored travel to states that authorize discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

California already bars official travel to Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

Brian Symmes, a spokesman for Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, made light of the ban on Twitter, writing "how will South Carolina recover?"