Prohibiting public entities from engaging in certain activities relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating a private cause of action, and including effective date provisions

This bill prohibits state entities, defined to include local government entities, from expending moneys to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or to hire individuals to serve as diversity, equity, and inclusion officers. The bill prohibits state entities from expending any moneys appropriated by the general assembly or any other moneys derived from bequests, charges, deposits, donations, endowments, fees, grants, gifts, income, receipts, tuition, or any other source to establish, sustain, support, or staff a diversity, equity, and inclusion office, or to contract, employ, engage, or hire an individual to serve as a diversity, equity, and inclusion officer. The bill provides that this prohibition does not affect a state entity’s funding of academic course instruction, research or creative works, activities of registered student organizations, arrangements for guest speakers and performers with short-term engagements, mental or physical health services provided by licensed professionals, or policies or procedures related to diversity, equity, and inclusion that are required pursuant to a contract with a federal governmental entity. The bill also provides that this prohibition shall not be construed as prohibiting bona fide qualifications based on sex that are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of a state entity. The bill authorizes the attorney general to bring an action against a state entity for a writ of mandamus to compel the state entity to comply with these prohibitions. The bill also authorizes a student or alumnus of a public school, or an employee of a state entity, alleging a violation of the bill’s provisions to bring a civil action for injunctive relief against the state entity to prohibit the state entity from continuing such violation. The bill establishes the venue in which such actions may be brought. The bill takes effect upon enactment.