Arizona lawmakers are advancing what could become the strongest state-level protection in the country against race-based “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) mandates.
This week, the Arizona House passed HCR2044, a proposed constitutional amendment that would close loopholes allowing public institutions to engage in race-based discrimination. The measure now heads to the Arizona Senate. If approved there and ultimately ratified by voters, it would embed clear, durable protections against racial preferences directly into the Arizona Constitution.
Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro, who sponsored the referral, emphasized that the proposal builds on fundamental principles that Arizonans firmly support.
“We can all agree that it is never, never okay to discriminate based on race or sex or ethnicity,” Montenegro said during a committee hearing this week. “What this constitutional amendment does is we’re going to go back to the voters.” He added that the goal is to ensure Arizona continues to reject racial discrimination in the public sphere. “We’re not going to allow any type of racial discrimination in our education, in our public employment or our contracting,” he said.
The referral builds on Arizona’s long-standing commitment to equal treatment under the law. In 2010, Arizona voters approved a constitutional ban on racial discrimination in public employment, education, and contracting. But in the years since, public institutions have attempted to justify race-conscious policies by pointing to federal pressure or funding requirements.
HCR2044 would make clear that those workarounds are no longer permissible.
The Goldwater Institute has played a leading role in researching and exposing the growth of DEI mandates in public institutions. In testimony supporting the referral, Goldwater Institute Director of Education Policy Matt Beienburg told lawmakers that the amendment reinforces long-standing civil rights protections.
“This measure simply builds on these victories,” Beienburg said, referring to Arizona’s earlier constitutional amendment and recent federal court rulings. The proposal, he added, would “reaffirm the state’s protections against state sponsored race-based discrimination.”
Beienburg also emphasized the measure’s core principle: ensuring equal treatment under the law. The referral would ensure “that no student, staffer, candidate or employee is judged differently or treated differently based upon their race,” he told lawmakers.
Supporters say the measure is also a response to the rapid expansion of DEI mandates in higher education and public institutions nationwide. In recent years, diversity statements, compelled trainings, and race-conscious policies have proliferated across the country.
By closing existing loopholes and submitting the question directly to voters, HCR2044 takes a fundamentally different approach—one designed to endure beyond executive orders and shifting political winds.
If the Senate approves the measure, Arizona voters will have the final say. And if they ratify the amendment, Arizona could once again lead the nation in establishing durable constitutional protections for equal treatment under the law.
