Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Manager
Connie Juarez-Diroll, Legislative Officer
Subject: Resolution in Support of Proposition 16 (2020)
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution in support of Proposition 16, a Statewide Ballot Initiative to Repeal California's Affirmative Action Ban.
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BACKGROUND:
Proposition 16, approved by the Legislature as ACA 5 (Weber), would repeal Section 31 of Article I of the California Constitution, which prohibits the State of California, including counties and other local agencies, from "discriminat[ing] against, or grant[ing] 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."
In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 209, a ballot initiative that banned the use of affirmative action in California. Specifically, Proposition 209 amended Section 31 of Article I of the California Constitution to prohibit counties and other government entities from granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in matters of public employment or contracting. Leading up to Proposition 209's passage by 55 percent of California voters, Ward Connerly-a leading proponent of the measure and a then member of the University of California Board of Regents-contended that while affirmative action once helped to promote equal opportunity, it had outlived its usefulness. He testified before the United State Senate Judiciary Committee in April 1996 that, "Affirmative action was meant to be temporary. It was meant to be a stronger dose of equal opportunity for individuals, and the prescription was intended to expire when the body politic had developed sufficient immunity to the virus of prejudice and discrimination."* The official 1996 ballot argument i...
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