Indiana Governor Mike Braun announced July 15 that the state will end race- and sex-based contracting preferences, which will be replaced with a “merit-based approach that gives every Hoosier business a fair opportunity to compete.”
The decision follows a legal opinion from Attorney General Todd Rokita that found preferences in the Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises components of Indiana’s Diversity Business Enterprises Program to be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, according to a news release.
“This blatantly illegal program singles out some Hoosiers for disfavored treatment purely because of their sex or the color of their skin, and it insults other Hoosiers by suggesting they cannot compete on a fair playing field,” Rokita said in the release.
In August 2025, the Indiana Department of Adminstration tasked Rokita with reviewing the legality of the Governor’s Commission on Supplier Diversity, the Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises Program and related race- and sex-based contracting requirements.
The news release also said Braun will soon announce a new initiative to help more Indiana small businesses compete for contracts. The program will promote the use of “qualified” small businesses in state procurement.
“Our Constitution mandates equal protection under the law, because a system where the government picks winners and losers on the basis of race or sex can never be fair,” Braun said in the release.
Shortly after Braun’s announcement, Rep. Mitch Gore (D-Indianapolis) issued a statement condemning the decision. Gore called Braun’s decision to dismantle these programs “bad public policy” and “a failure to faithfully execute the laws enacted by the Indiana General Assembly.”
The Governor’s Commission on Supplier Diversity was established to identify barriers to participation in state contracting and promote participation by qualified minority- and women-owned businesses, among other responsibilities, Gore said.
“The governor has now chosen to dismantle that statutory framework based upon an advisory opinion from the attorney general,” he said in the release. “That is not how our constitutional system works.”
Braun should present an argument in court if he believes a law is unconstitutional, Gore said, rather than refusing to carry out legislature-imposed duties.
Gore said Braun’s decision is “simply bad economics” because it takes away from free enterprise and maximized competition in the Hoosier State.
“Indiana should be committed to expanding opportunity, not shrinking it,” Gore said. “We should be strengthening competition, not reducing it. And above all, we should respect the constitutional roles of each branch of government.”
Mia Thurow is the breaking news and criminal justice reporting intern for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at mthurow@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana governor ends race- and sex-based contracting preferences
Reporting by Mia Thurow, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Mia Thurow, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
