A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS by ENACTing THE "ENDING ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND RESTORING MERIT-BASED OPPORTUNITY ACT" BY ADDING article 29 to Chapter 1, title 1 SO AS TO PROHIBIT EVERY OFFICE, DIVISION, OR OTHER UNIT BY ANY NAME OF EVERY OFFICE OR DEPARTMENT OF THIS STATE, AND ALL OF ITS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, INCLUDING ALL INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS, FROM PROMOTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION, AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS; and TO PROMOTE INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE, EXCELLENCE, AND HARD WORK; AND TO SPECIFY APPLICABILITY.

 

Whereas, longstanding state and federal civil rights laws protect individual South Carolinians from discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability. These civil rights protections serve as a bedrock supporting equality of opportunity for all South Carolinians; and

 

Whereas, the General Assembly finds it necessary to ensure that these laws are enforced for the benefit of all South Carolinians; and

 

Whereas, the General Assembly finds that roughly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively used dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) or "diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility" (DEIA) that can violate the civil rights laws of this State and Nation; and

 

Whereas, illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding state and federal civil rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.  Hardworking South Carolinians who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex; and

 

Whereas, these illegal DEI and DEIA policies also threaten the safety of men, women, and children across South Carolina by diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination when selecting people for jobs and services in key sectors of American society, including all levels of government, and the medical and aviation communities. Yet in case after tragic case, South Carolinians have witnessed first-hand the disastrous consequences of illegal, pernicious discrimination that has prioritized how people were born instead of what they were capable of doing. Now, therefore,

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity Act."

 

SECTION 2.  Chapter 1, Title 1 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

Article 29

 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

 

    Section 1-1-1910.  (A) As used in this section, promoting "diversity, equity, and inclusion" means any attempt or effort to:

       (1) influence hiring or employment practices with respect to race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation other than through the use of color-blind and sex-neutral hiring processes in accordance with any applicable state and federal antidiscrimination laws;

       (2) promote differential treatment of or providing special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation;

       (3) promote policies or procedures designed or implemented in reference to race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation for any purpose other than ensuring compliance with any applicable court order or state or federal law; or

       (4) conduct trainings, programs, or activities designed or implemented in reference to race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, other than trainings, programs, or activities developed for the sole purpose of ensuring compliance with any applicable court order or state or federal law.

    (B) Except as required by federal law, every office, division, or other unit by any name of every office or department of this State, and all of its political subdivisions, including all institutions of higher learning and school districts, is prohibited from:

       (1) establishing or maintaining an office or division or other unit by any name whose purpose, in whole or in part, is the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion;

       (2) hiring or assigning an employee or contracting with a third party to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion;

       (3) compelling, requiring, inducing, or soliciting any person to provide a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement or give preferential consideration to any person based on the provision of a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement;

       (4) giving preference on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation to an applicant for employment, an employee, or a participant in any function of the office or department; or

       (5) requiring as a condition of enrolling at an institution or performing any institution function any person to participate in diversity, equity, and inclusion training, which:

           (a) includes a training, program, or activity designed or implemented in reference to race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation; and

           (b) does not include a training, program, or activity for the sole purpose of ensuring compliance with any applicable court order or state or federal law.

    (C) Every office, division, or other unit by any name of every office or department of this State, and all of its political subdivisions, including all institutions of higher learning and school districts, shall adopt policies and procedures for appropriately disciplining, including by termination, an employee or contractor who violates the provisions of subsection (B).

    (D) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit or prohibit an institution of higher education or an employee of an institution of higher education from, for purposes of applying for a grant or complying with the terms of accreditation by an accrediting agency, submitting to the grantor or accrediting agency a statement that:

       (1) highlights the institution's work in supporting:

           (a) first-generation college students;

           (b) low-income students; or

           (c) underserved student populations; or

       (2) certifies compliance with state and federal antidiscrimination laws.

    (E) For purposes of an institution of higher learning, nothing in subsection (B) may be construed to apply to:

       (1) academic course instruction;

       (2) scholarly research or a creative work by an institution of higher education's students, faculty, or other research personnel or the dissemination of that research or work;

       (3) an activity of a student organization registered with or recognized by an institution of higher education;

       (4) guest speakers or performers on short-term engagements;

       (5) a policy, practice, procedure, program, or activity to enhance student academic achievement or postgraduate outcomes that is designed and implemented without regard to race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation; or

       (6) data collection.

    (F)(1) Every office, division, or other unit by any name of every office or department of this State, and all of its political subdivisions, including all institutions of higher learning and school districts, is prohibited from spending any money appropriated or authorized to the office or department until the governing board or chief executive officers, as applicable, submits to the General Assembly a report certifying compliance with this section during the preceding fiscal year.

       (2) Additionally, in the interim between each regular session of the General Assembly, the individual that certified the report required by item (1) may, at the discretion of the standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over the department or office, be required to testify at a public hearing of the committee regarding compliance with this section.

       (3) The State Auditor shall periodically conduct a compliance audit of each department or office to which this subsection applies as to whether the money has been expended in violation of this section. The State Auditor shall adopt a schedule by which the State Auditor will conduct compliance audits under this subsection. The schedule must ensure that each department or office is audited at least once every four years.

       (4) If the State Auditor determines pursuant to a compliance audit conducted pursuant to item (3) that a department or office has spent state money in violation of this section, the department or office:

           (a) must cure the violation no later than the one hundred eightieth day after the date on which the determination is made; and

           (b) if the department or office fails to cure the violation during the period described by subitem (a), the State Auditor shall inform the State Fiscal Accountability Authority.  If the authority determines necessary, the authority may direct the State Treasurer to withhold all future distributions to the department or office until the authority determines that the violation is cured.

 

    Section 1-1-1920.  (A) Before any agency, office, division, or other unit by any name of every agency, office, or department of this State, and all of its political subdivisions, including all institutions of higher learning and school districts may enter into any contract or award any grant, the applicable contractor or grant recipient must certify that they do not operate any programs that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion, such as the programs prohibited by Section 1-1-1920(B).  Further, before such contractor may hire a subcontractor for the project, the subcontractor must certify that it does not operate any such programs that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.

    (B) Before any agency, office, division, or other unit by any name of every agency, office, or department of this State, and all of its political subdivisions, including all institutions of higher learning and school districts may make a contribution, disbursement, transfer, or distribution of any funds, regardless of source and including lottery scholarship funding, to an organization, the organization must certify that it does not operate any programs that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion, such as the programs prohibited by Section 1-1-1920(B).

 

SECTION 3.  (A) It is the policy of the State of South Carolina to protect the civil rights of all citizens of South Carolina and to promote individual initiative, excellence, and hard work. Accordingly, all agencies and institutions of this State, and all of its political subdivisions, including school districts, must:

        (1) terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements;

        (2) enforce the state's longstanding civil rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities; and

        (3) seek the assistance of the Attorney General so as to take all appropriate action with respect to the operations to advance in the private sector the policy of individual initiative, excellence, and hard work.

    (B) The Attorney General, within one hundred twenty days of the effective date of this act, in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies required by subsection (A)(3), shall submit a report to the General Assembly containing recommendations for enforcing civil rights laws and taking other appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI. 

 

SECTION 4.  (A)(1) This act does not apply to lawful state or private sector employment and contracting preferences for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or persons protected by the Randolph-Sheppard Act, 20 U.S.C. 107, et seq.

       (2) This act does not prevent state or local governments, contractors, or federally funded state and local educational agencies or institutions of higher education from engaging in First Amendment-protected speech.

    (B)(1) This act is not intended to and does not create any private right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the State, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

       (2) The Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of this act and may may bring an action for injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to do so.  The Attorney General may make recommendations to the General Assembly when necessary to improve the compliance of this act. The Attorney General shall develop a process and platform whereby complaints may be filed regarding potential offenders of this act.

 

SECTION 5.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and first applies to Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and School Year 2025-2026.

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