Tourism funding cut for Key West Pride event as county cites state DEI law

David Goodhue, Miami Herald on May 5, 2026

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MIAMI — Monroe County funds designated to attract tourists to the Florida Keys will no longer be available for several LGBTQ events in Key West that bring thousands of people to the Southernmost City every year.

The county announced the decision Tuesday, citing a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last month aimed at prohibiting public money to fund diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives.

This includes the annual Key West Pride event, a popular weeklong celebration held every June that culminates with a parade down Duval Street.

The law is effective Jan. 1, 2027, so Pride and the other event will receive Monroe County Tourist Development money this year, said Rob Dougherty, executive director of the Key West Business Guild, an LGBTQ marketing group started in 1978, which organizes the events.

“Obviously for 2026, we’re good. 2027 is going to be a challenge, but Key West always rises above adversity, especially when the wind is against us,” Dougherty told the Miami Herald. “I’m confident we will carry on without a hitch.”

For the current year, the Guild received a total of more than $135,000 for Key West Pride, WomenFest, held in September, and Tropical Heat, an annual event held in August, Dougherty said.

“We’re losing that all together,” he said.

That money is not directly handed out to qualified organizations. Rather, Dougherty said, groups submit records showing spending on things like marketing, social media and vendors, and the TDC reimburses some of those costs. The TDC is funded by a so-called bed tax, a 4% tax on every short-term rental of six months or less, including hotel and motel rooms.

Roughly $50,000 a year for the operation of the Guild’s Gay Key West Visitor Center, located at 808 Duval St. in the heart of the city’s business district, may also be at risk because of the new law, Dougherty said.

“We have not received confirmation yet. I made the inquiries,” he said.

The law, which was introduced as House Bill 1001 by Jacksonville Republican Dean Black “prohibits providing preferential treatment or special benefits to a person or group based on that person’s or group’s race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”

It was co-sponsored in the Senate by Clay Yarborough, another Republican from Jacksonville. It passed the Senate with a 25-11 vote on March 4, and DeSantis signed it into law April 6.

Dougherty disagrees that Pride and the other events meet the threshold for the law and criticized county officials for not pushing back against state officials saying it does.

Pride “is about tourism, not DEI. The events attract tourists. This law is so vague that it’s challenging,” Dougherty said.

But Kristen Livengood, Monroe County’s spokeswoman, said in a statement that officials have reviewed all grant applications and funding allocations “to confirm compliance with the new state law.”

Livengood stressed that the county had no choice than to cut TDC funding from the events, saying consequences for not complying include “potential legal action by residents against counties that violate the law, and penalties for elected officials, including removal from office for misfeasance.”

“Monroe County emphasizes that these changes are not discretionary and are required to comply with state law,” Livengood stated.

According to an April 17 presentation about the law by Joe Saunders, senior political director for Equality Florida, an LGBTQ civil rights group, the law doesn’t prohibit local governments from issuing permits for events impacted by the legislation, so Dougherty doesn’t think vendors and the Pride parade will be affected.

But the law does allow people who believe local governments are violating the law to sue, which could present challenges in coming years.

Still, Dougherty said events like Pride and WomenFest will carry on with the support of Key West residents and the business community.

“Our policy of One Human Family,” he said, “means that we come together.”

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