Several controversial laws recently signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have caused the organizers of the Global Surgical Conference and Expo to move their 2027 event from Orlando to Philadelphia, writes Allison Pohle for The Wall Street Journal.

The event, which is expected to attract 7,000 people, is being organized by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses.

And while a spokesperson for the association said that the conference locations are based on a variety of factors, Orlando tourism officials confirmed that the group had cited concerns over recent legislation when it was making the decision to move the event to Pennsylvania.

This is only one in a growing number of conferences and events that are pulling out of the Sunshine State in recent months.

“For many of these groups, their core values suggest that they don’t align with what they hear out of leadership in Tallahassee, so they go someplace else,” said Stacy Ritter, chief executive of the tourism marketing agency Visit Lauderdale.

Read more about the event in The Wall Street Journal.

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