Johnson County staff say they will wait for final DEI legislation language before changing policies

Johnson County supervisors discussed how the county will respond if state legislation affecting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs becomes law, and county staff said they will wait for the bill’s final language before making broad changes.

County attorney’s office staff told supervisors the office will not proactively audit every department to find possible compliance issues. "We will handle it the same way we do contract review," the county attorney’s office representative Rachel said. "We'll send out instructions, look for these things that are in the legislation if and when it passes, and we'll sort of count on you to bring things to us, after you reviewed it first."

Rachel and other participants said the legislation had not yet passed and its language was still uncertain. A supervisor who said they had read Senate File 507 described the measure as "very vague" and raised concerns that some existing grants and contracts that prioritize groups based on data (for example, maternal- or child-health grants that target specific populations) could be affected. Rachel said exemptions in the draft language — for example for legal work on civil-rights or discrimination issues — mean the county will likely need to evaluate grants and contracts individually.

Supervisors and staff repeatedly urged caution and recommended waiting for final legislative language or gubernatorial action before changing county processes. "I just think we need to wait," one supervisor said. "It makes it stresses everybody out. It changes a lot of it ... I just don't wanna go to all the work and then have it either not pass or pass in some form that we haven't dealt with."

County staff said the county attorney’s office will provide guidance and review flagged contracts, policies and application materials after departments identify items that might be affected. Rachel acknowledged uncertainty and said the office will "do the best we can to give you the advice on how to navigate it."

Supervisors asked to be kept informed and to advocate for clearer statutory language at the state level so local governments can interpret and implement any requirements consistently.

The discussion was informational; there was no formal vote recorded. The county attorney’s office recommended supervisors and department heads monitor affected grants and contracts and bring specific questions to legal staff once the bill’s final text is available.