The state House voted 68-45 along party lines Wednesday to ban diversity, equity and inclusion in state government agencies.
The bill would ban the use of DEI in hiring practices and in employee training. The bill would define DEI as a program or policy intended to "influence hiring or employment practices with respect to race, sex, color, ethnicity, nationality, country of origin, or sexual orientation other than through the use of merit-based hiring processes." It would also ban state funding from being used in DEI programs, and it calls for employees who violate the law to be fired and face fines.
"We are not banning equal opportunity," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Brenden Jones, R-Columbus. "In fact, we're going to restore it. We are simply enforcing the principle already in North Carolina law: public jobs should go to the most qualified, not the most politically favored."
Opponents say it would harm opportunities for minorities in government, and Rep. Brandon Lofton, D-Mecklenburg, says the definitions are too vague.
"This bill is based on a false premise that diversity is inconsistent with merit," Lofton said "We've heard terms like social engineering and repeated assertions of assumptions that people who are in these positions are somehow less than and unqualified. The rationale for this bill is based on stereotypes and resentment."
Lofton pointed to a committee formed by previous House Speaker Tim Moore to promote women in STEM fields. He argued that the work of that committee would be banned under the new bill.
While the committee's work concluded that "diversity is good for our state's economy," Lofton said, "now, less than three years later, we are turning our back on this common-sense notion."
Jones said the bill would not ban cultural celebrations like Black History Month. "What it does stop are mandatory trainings that shame employees, divide teams and compel ideological conformity," he said. "We've watched government move away from excellence toward agenda hiring, favoring narratives over qualifications, checking boxes instead of resumes."
The bill now goes to the Senate.
