ACA 7

Government preferences

This proposed change to the California Constitution would roll back parts of Proposition 209, which voters passed in 1996 to ban race- and sex-based preferences in government hiring, education, and contracts. If passed, it would allow the state to once again consider race, sex, ethnicity, and national origin when making decisions in those areas.

The California Constitution, pursuant to provisions enacted by the Proposition 209, an initiative measure adopted by the voters at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, prohibits the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting, as specified. This measure would, instead, limit the above prohibition to the operation of public employment, higher education admissions and enrollment, and public contracting. The measure would require that it appear on the ballot at the November 7, 2028, statewide general election.