Florida’s affirmative action laws are unconstitutional

Attorney General James Uthmeier has published an opinion stating that Florida laws requiring state institutions to engage in affirmative action measures while hiring are unconstitutional.

Uthmeier issued his opinion that the state is violating the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and elements of Florida’s Constitution. “Florida maintains several laws on its books that promote and require discrimination on its face,” Uthmeier’s opinion says.

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution stipulates, “(N)o state shall… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” He added that Article 1, Section 2, of the Florida Constitution states: “No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability.”

Uthmeier specifically cited an “egregious” Florida statute that mandates statewide participation in “programs of affirmative and positive action” and stipulates that every executive agency “develop and implement an affirmative action plan” that includes goals for race-based hires.

“Because enforcing and obeying these discriminatory laws would violate those bedrock legal guarantees, those laws are unconstitutional,” Uthmeier said in his conclusion. “My office, therefore, will not defend or enforce any of these discriminatory provisions.”

He also said his opinion covers “race-based preferences in government contracting.”

“Florida’s discriminatory contracting provisions earmark certain opportunities for minority contractors without providing any ‘strong basis in evidence’ to support this race-based action,” Uthmeier said.

The 14-page opinion also criticizes race-based quotas in Florida hiring practices and stipulations for minority representation on different boards, councils and other panels.

“The (U.S.) Supreme Court has addressed race-based quotas in the past and held that such quotas cannot satisfy strict scrutiny review,” Uthmeier said.

Uthmeier’s opinion is only a stated position from the Attorney General and is not binding on any other office in the state of Florida.

It’s the second opinion issued from Uthmeier’s Office in the past week. On Wednesday, Uthmeier published an opinion saying Nassau County can’t hike impact fees beyond Florida limits just because its population growth has increased substantially in the past half decade.

Uthmeier issued the opinion at the behest of Rep. Richard Gentry, a DeBary Republican, who worried Nassau County’s interpretation of impact fee increases approved in December would undermine the authority of the Legislature, which sets impact fee laws.