Swansenreport

A Wisconsin taxpayer association has sued Gov. Tony Evers and Department of Administration Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld, challenging a state procurement program that steers hundreds of millions of dollars a year based on race.

The suit, filed this week in Waukesha County Circuit Court, targets the Wisconsin Supplier Diversity Program. It’s brought on behalf of Citizens Defending Liberty, a membership association of Wisconsin taxpayers, and represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL). [Case number pending WCCA confirmation.]

The numbers are the hook. DOA runs the program, which spends over $250 million annually on state purchasing and contracting. White, Middle Eastern, and most Asian-owned small businesses don’t qualify — full stop, by design. The program grants a 5% bid preference to certain minority-owned businesses across state procurement, covering everything from engineering and architectural services to building construction and highway work.

WILL’s argument leans hard on a recent precedent. The suit cites this summer’s Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling in Rabiebna v. Higher Educational Aids Board, which struck down the state’s race-based college scholarship program. That decision held that the state constitution requires equal treatment “without regard to one’s race, ancestry, origin, or ethnicity” — language WILL is now trying to extend from financial aid to state contracting.

Dan Lennington, WILL’s managing vice president, didn’t mince words. He said Evers has spent nearly $1.5 billion on the program over time, calling it a “DEI scheme” funded by taxpayers. He also indicated another, related lawsuit is coming later this month.

Worth noting: the Supplier Diversity Program isn’t only about race. It also certifies women-owned and disabled-veteran-owned businesses, with the state targeting 5% of purchasing from minority-owned firms and 1% from disabled-veteran-owned firms. WILL’s suit is narrowly aimed at the racial classifications, not the program’s broader certification categories.

This isn’t WILL’s first swing at the program, either. The group has also filed a Title VI civil rights complaint against the Supplier Diversity Program with the U.S. Department of Justice, which remains pending separately from the state court case.

The suit asks the court for an injunction barring the racial preference going forward. No hearing date has been reported yet.

Sourcing: WisPolitics (WILL press release), WisBusiness, WJFW. Primary anchor: Waukesha County Circuit Court filing, case number pending.