Gov. Mike Braun (R-IN) signed an executive order Wednesday ending the state’s use of race- and sex-based preferences in awarding state contracts following the Indiana attorney general’s finding that certain programs were unconstitutional.

Braun said he had directed Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) to review whether the state’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises procurement program could withstand constitutional scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and whether the governor had the authority to eliminate the preferences.

Rokita concluded both that the programs were constitutionally vulnerable under the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and that Braun had the authority to end them, paving the way for Wednesday’s order. In his legal opinion, Rokita cited Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion, in which he argued that the Constitution is inherently “colorblind” and prohibits government racial classifications regardless of their purpose.

The order replaces the existing framework with what Braun called a “merit-based” procurement system, saying the state contracts should be awarded based on qualifications, performance, and value rather than race or sex.

“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 a news release. “Indiana has replaced divisive, politically-charged programs with a focus on Merit, Excellence, and Innovation: a level playing field where every single Hoosier has the chance to get ahead with hard work.”

Indiana’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises program had encouraged state agencies to award a portion of contracting dollars to certified businesses owned by women and racial minorities.

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