The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected the state of Washington's minority contracting policy as unconstitutional but upheld federal law affecting Indian and other minority businesses.

The state of Washington hasn't proved minority contractors suffer from discrimination, a three-judge panel said. Therefore the state's policy "provides an unconstitutional windfall to minority contractors solely on the basis of their race or sex," the court ruled.

But the court upheld provisions in the federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century that allow states to set minority contracting guidelines. The court said the law was carefully crafted to avoid constitutional problems that are sometimes associated with race-based programs.

"Overall, TEA-21 and its implementing regulations possess all the features of a narrowly tailored remedial program: Race-conscious remedies are used only when race-neutral means prove ineffective, these race-conscious measures are employed in a flexible manner and for a limited duration, and the program is tied to the labor market in each State and is designed to minimize the burden on non-minorities," the decision stated.

Get the Story:
9th Circuit panel rejects minority-contract awards (AP 5/10)

Get the Decision:
WESTERN STATES PAVING CO. V DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (May 9, 2005)

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