"MSHDA is reviewing its documents and policies to ensure they comply with the Attorney General opinion," Katie Bach, communications director for the MSHDA, said. "We will work with the Office of Attorney General to ensure that the letter and spirit of the opinion is followed."
The policies Schuette ruled illegal had required contractors to ensure that a certain percentage of the work was done by minority groups and by women.
Bach said that this ruling only affects developments that receive 100 percent of its funds from the MSHDA, but not developments that are only partially funded by the MSHDA. About five percent of MSHDA projects receive 100 percent of its funding from the agency. In total, Bach said that approximately three projects would be impacted, which amounts to about $42 million of the total $630 million of statewide investments.
Projects that receive federal funds have certain federal requirements by which contractors must abide. Projects that receive tax credit financing assistance already have no equal employment opportunity requirements.
These affirmative-action-style policies by public institutions became illegal in Michigan after the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative passed as a ballot initiative in 2016, successfully amending the state constitution. The text banned a public institution being able to "discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."