Last week, the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) sent a cease and desist letter to the city of Omaha requesting that it repeal sections of its municipal code that give race- and sex-based preferences in the awarding of public contracts.
In response, city attorney Paul Kratz said Omaha suspended the contracting rules after the November election, and the city is drafting a new ordinance. (Source)
Under the city’s previous contracting compliance ordinance, businesses owned or operated by members of certain racial or ethnic groups were automatically designated “disadvantaged” and therefore subject to preferential treatment. Omaha allowed female- and minority-owned businesses to submit bids 30 days before other businesses and required 10 percent of the city’s contracting dollars to be awarded to such businesses.
Last November, 58 percent of Nebraska voters chose to bar their state from discriminating against or giving preferences in hiring, contracting, and admissions based on factors like race and sex. A group challenged the law in court earlier this year, but a judge upheld it.
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