MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) has banned county government employees from traveling on business to half of the country amid a seething debate over abortion access in America.

On Friday, Elrich directed his Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno to draft a new policy that restricts travel for conferences, seminars, and other professional events to 25 states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. That list could grow or shrink in size depending on how legislation in all 50 states plays out.

"While we cannot directly affect other states' actions, we can make certain Montgomery County does not provide additional revenue to states which are unwelcome to women’s freedom," Elrich stated in defense of the policy that was sent to all county department heads.

The county policy notes that any travel that was approved prior to June 24, 2022, to the now-banned 25 states must be canceled, unless doing so would realize a monetary loss.

"We're trying to do it in a way that does not waste any taxpayer dollars," Madaleno added. "I don't know what purpose it would serve for us to lose money."

Moving forward, all county department heads, office directors, and travel approvers must decline business-related travel to the 25 banned states. The only exception would be in cases of public safety. Elrich shared that he and his staff would review travel waiver requests and ultimately have the final say. As Elrich put it, he wants...

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