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Rep. Brenden Jones and three other legislators are co-sponsoring a sweeping bill to eliminate DEI in state government, including removing funding for DEI practices local government agencies.
House Bill 171, titled Equality in State Agencies/Prohibition of DEI, was introduced today (Friday). The bill strikes down Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in virtually all phases of state government.
Under HB 171, state agencies will be forbidden to promote, fund, support, implement or maintain DEI workplace programs, policies and initiatives. DEI offices would be abolished, along with mandatory taxpayer-funded DEI training.
DEI has been a major contention between liberals and conservatives in recent years. The practice began under Barak Obama and then expanded exponentially under the Biden presidency, despite criticisms from lawmakers that talent was being displaced in favor of hiring employees based on racial, gender and sexual preference. The same practices spread into state government across the country.
“House Bill 171 is about eliminating the divisive and ineffective DEI bureaucracy in State and local government,” Jones said. “These programs have injected politics into hiring, promotions, and contracting, prioritizing woke ideology over qualifications and competence. Government jobs and opportunities should be awarded based on merit, not forced quotas or political mandates. North Carolinians deserve a government that operates fairly, efficiently, and without wasting taxpayer dollars on programs that divide rather than unite.”
The carefully worded bill in the state house does not prohibit free speech about DEI or any topic. It also explicitly requires adherence to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
The new bill would allow state employees who feel they have been negatively impacted by DEI policies to file a lawsuit against the state. Staff of state employees of the executive branch, including nonexempt employees in the UNC and community college systems, would have the right to sue under the new bill.
The bill will also prohibit the use of any public funds from the state “to promote, support, fund implement or maintain diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or programs.”
“For far too long,” Jones said, “DEI policies have undermined fairness and efficiency in North Carolina state and local government, prioritizing political agendas over merit and qualifications. House Bill 171 puts an end to these divisive programs and ensures that hiring, promotions, and contracts are awarded on individual achievement – not identity-based quotas.
“Every taxpayer deserves to know their dollars are funding a government that operates on fairness and equal opportunity, not one that pushes ideological mandates at the expense of efficiency and public trust.”
State agencies, local governments, and non-state entities such as nongovernment non-profits would also be prohibited from applying for or accepting federal funding for DEI programs, and discontinues any such programs not required by federal law. That prohibition includes funding local offices in charge of DEI compliance.
The prohibition would not apply to academic course instruction, research or creative work by students or education professionals, visiting guest speakers or instructors, and student-led organizations and clubs.
The bill notes sex-based exceptions for “bona fide qualifications based on sex” such as organizing sports teams by biological sex; single-sex bathrooms and locker rooms; requiring that maintenance employees assigned to single sex locker rooms be of the same gender; restricting fraternities and sororities to members of one sex, and having single-sex housing options on college campuses.
Jones said the bill is about common sense, accountability in state government and making the best use of tax dollars.
“The goal of this legislation is to ensure that every state and local government workplace operates on the principles of equality and merit,” he said. “Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund divisive DEI programs that promote preferential treatment or ideological agendas. This bill reinforces our commitment to fairness, ensuring that hiring and employment decisions are based on qualifications and merit—not to score arbitrary diversity points.”
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