On Wednesday, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission released an initial examination of the impacts of Proposal 2. The report was prepared in response to an order from Governor Jennifer Granholm to determine how Proposal 2, which bans affirmative action programs in the areas of government contracting, employment, and education, will change the way the state programs operate. The Commission's investigation spanned three months and included meetings with seventeen state departments, six state agencies, and the Michigan Council for University Presidents, as well as a review of state statues and best practices in other states. In addition to examining the impacts of Proposal 2, the report made recommendations for how the state of Michigan can continue to promote diversity and equal opportunity with compliance to the law.
Of the forty-five state programs reviewed by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, eight (or 18%) may be in jeopardy because of the passage of Proposal 2. These programs--which include Collective Bargaining Agreements, the Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs, Foster Care, Higher Education Programs, Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses, Minority Student Grants, Single Business Tax Credit, and Special Needs Adoption--may be at risk because they reference race, sex, color, ethnicity, and national origin when defining the program's scope or eligibility criteria. Additionally, of the seventeen state departments and six state that the Michigan Civil Rights Commission met with, only the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Equality (DEQ) use affirmative action programs that grant "preferential treatment" in employment or contracting decisions. Such criteria are required by MDOT and the DEQ in order to continue receiving federal funding. In both cases, the Commission believes that the programs can survive. The eight state programs that are currently facing potential "jeopardy" could be preserved by expanding the program's scope or using race and gender neutral terms, while the MDOT and DEQ contracting can likely remain intact because Proposal 2 should not apply to any program receiving federal funding. Of course, some of these particulars will be need to be worked out through the legal system, as much of the language contained within Proposal 2 remains vague and unclear.
The report also offers an analysis of what the passage of Proposal 2 could mean in economic terms if proactive policies to maintain diversity in Michigan's economy are not implemented. The report states that while 1.1 million people will leave Michigan between 1995 and 2025, there will be substantial growth over the next twenty years in Michigan's minority populations. These populations--for a variety of historical reasons pertaining to racism and other forms of oppression--are "overwhelmingly underrepresented" in higher education according to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. The Commission's analysis argues that if these populations had the same access to higher education in Michigan, total personal income in the state would be $3.9 billion higher and there would be an additional $1.4 billion in tax revenues. However, if this issue is ignored, workforce skills will not keep at a pace consistent with growth in high-tech sectors and the overall income of Michigan residents will decline over the next twenty years. The private sector has recognized the fact that minority populations in the state have $600 billion in purchasing power and that one-third of all new entrants into the workforce are people of color and has consequently responded with affirmative action programs and have provided monetary support to encourage higher education among people of color to increase both cross-cultural competency among their workers and also to supply the needs of their workforce.
The report makes a number of recommendations to ensure that the state of Michigan maintains diversity and economic growth despite the limitations on affirmative action programs enacted by Proposal 2. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission's recommendations are made in four broad categories--"Legislative," "Public Employment," "Public Education," and "Public Contracting." The recommendations include having the legislature enact provisions that would disqualify petition drives from the ballot if widespread fraud was found, as was the case with Proposal 2, define the term "preference" as "a decision based solely on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin," and to develop programs that examine and address the wage gap in Michigan where women earn an average of only 67 cents for every dollar that men earn. In the area of employment, the report urges the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to expand its outreach to minority, women, and ethnic organizations by not relying solely on web-based and "traditional" job posting venues. The CSC is also encouraged to maintain statistics on employment based on gender and race in order to better focus outreach programs, in addition to developing an updated Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) plan. The Civil Rights Commission calls for the K-12 education system to redefine and expand programs designed to address the achievement gap between students from different backgrounds while also calling for the formation of a consortium of higher educational institutions that would help ensure that institutions work together to promote diversity and economic growth. In the area of contracting, the Commission calls for the establishment supplier diversity programs based on consultation with federal programs. All state agencies are further encouraged to develop a "Diversity Strategy Plan" that would identify qualitative benchmarks for evaluating diversity and providing a means by which to analyze efforts on a yearly basis. Agencies are also encouraged to develop written outreach programs to enhance diversity in their educational, contracting, and hiring decisions.
