Before the ink has even dried on Arizona’s controversial invitation for racial profiling, er, immigration reform bill, Governor Jan Brewer has signed yet another bill targeted at minorities, this time banning ethnic studies in Arizona schools that “promote resentment” of other ethnicities. Behind the humorous irony of the “promoting resentment” line lies some serious repercussions for the Arizonan hospitality industry and their broader economy.

First of all, it’s pretty sad yet funny how Gov. Brewer is trying to ban classes that “promote resentment” weeks after she passed an immigration bill that does just that. In case you don’t remember, the bill lets police offers stop people and ask them for immigration papers if there is “reasonable suspicion” that they might be in the country illegally, and gives them the power to search or arrest them without a warrant if they don’t. While “reasonable suspicion” is a commonly used police term, its application to illegal immigration, where legal precedent is slim, contains potential for abuse of the law (i.e. racial profiling) by police officers. In addition, requiring police officers to enforce immigration law and opening them to lawsuits if they don’t puts additional strain on a police force already struggling to contain more serious crime. Finally, distrust between the Hispanic community and law enforcement will affect the police’s ability to do its job effectively. While the law was poorly written and thought out, at least it starts the conversation on the long-neglected topic of illegal immigration.

But what exactly does banning ethnic studies classes do? Even if it does fulfill its (highly suspicious) pretext of restricting interethnic resentment in schools, it’s not as if these attitudes are not formed and reinforced at home, making the benefits highly doubtful. On the other hand, the bill further reinforces the national perception of Arizona as a backwards, discriminatory state will cause very real economic harm, particularly relating to activity with other states.

Start with various governments’ business with Arizona. On Wednesday, LA’s city council voted to boycott Arizona-related businesses and governments, causing an estimated $56 million loss of revenue. This is on top of similar measures by San Francisco and Oakland. The ethnic studies bill will force more governments to reconsider conducting business with Arizona, causing a further loss for both public and private sectors.

In addition, the loss of commercial and leisure tourism to Arizona may add to their economic woes. According to the Washington Post, the city of Phoenix alone is projected to lose $90 million in lost convention and hotel revenues due to the passage of the immigration bill alone; the passage of the ethnic studies bill will only add to that figure. Several high-profile events, such as the 2011 MLB All-Star game in Phoenix, are at risk of being relocated due to the bills. In addition, tourism officials report losing huge chunks of business after the immigration bill was passed. Again, the ethnic studies bill is unlikely to reverse the trend.

I really have no clue why Gov. Brewer picked this particular time to pass such a hypocritical bill without obvious benefits and with huge risks in both the PR and economic departments. It is unfortunate for the Latino community that is being targeted by its own state government, unfortunate for private business in Arizona for suffering from the consequences of a bill they were not responsible for, and unfortunate for Arizona’s state government for the economic mess they just most likely got themselves into, as well as the long-term reputation damage they will suffer.