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Senate approves bills to bar diversity, equity and inclusion preferences in public employment and programs
Summary
The Senate approved companion measures barring government offices and programs that use race, ethnicity, gender or other identity factors to prefer applicants or beneficiaries; sponsors said the change restores merit‑based hiring and program delivery, opponents called the bills an attack on civil‑rights protections.
The Tennessee Senate voted to approve legislation restricting the use of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) preferences by state and local governments and to void existing state policies that it characterizes as discriminatory preference.
Leader Johnson sponsored the primary measure (conforming House Bill 6 22 on the floor) and framed the legislation as alignment with federal guidance and an executive order that, in his words, warned against discriminatory DEI policies. “This bill ensures public employment decisions in Tennessee are based solely on individual merit and qualifications, not on demographic characteristics,” Leader Johnson said during floor remarks.
Debate on both the employment bill and a companion measure (Senate Bill 10 84) was robust. Supporters argued the changes prevent race‑ or gender‑based decisionmaking in state hiring and program administration. The sponsor cited an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) release and said the provision would help avoid unlawful preferences. Opponents called the bills an overreach that would undermine long‑standing civil‑rights protections and hamper efforts to increase diversity and inclusion where underrepresentation persists.
Senator Massey asked whether the bills would affect disability employment initiatives; the sponsor said the text does not affect programs that lawfully encourage hiring of people with disabilities or other existing lawful eligibility statutes. Several senators—including Senator Yarbrough, Senator Lamar and others—said the bills would erase decades of statutory protections and create legal and policy uncertainty for local governments.
On final consideration the Senate passed the package including the companion enforcement bill (Senate Bill 10 84). The companion bill, which specifically voids conflicting state department programs and prohibits a unit of state or local government from maintaining DEI offices or divisional mandates, passed on a recorded vote on the floor. The sponsor said the language was intended to preserve access to services on a merit or need basis while preventing identity‑based criteria from determining hiring or program eligibility.
Supporters said the bills will protect the state from litigation and align state practices with federal guidance. Opponents said the measures risk reducing access to contracting and recruitment programs that foster participation by veterans, women and people with disabilities and would chill local initiatives aimed at addressing disparities.
Both bills now proceed through the legislative enrollment and transmittal process before reaching the governor.
