Title
A MOTION declaring that race- and gender-conscious affirmative action practices in the county are urgently needed to combat discrimination that race- and gender-neutral measures have failed to eliminate in King County.
Body
WHEREAS, from 1970 through 1977, Washington state Governor Daniel J. Evans first enacted race- and gender-conscious affirmative action policies through a series of executive orders which resulted in nearly thirty years of increased participation of women and Black, Indigenous and People of Color ("BIPOC") communities in public employment, public contracting and public education, and
WHEREAS, in 1985, the Washington state Legislature passed legislation adopting Governor Evans' affirmative action executive orders into statutory law, now codified as chapter 49.74 RCW, and
WHEREAS, in 1998, Washington state voters passed Initiative Measure 200 ("I-200"), which stated in the November 3, 1998, Washington state voters' pamphlet, that I-200 does not end all affirmative action programs, but only prohibits those programs that use race and gender to select a lesser qualified applicant over a more deserving applicant for a public job, contract or admission to a state college or university, and
WHEREAS, before I-200's passage, the Washington state Attorney General at that time, Christine Gregoire, established that I-200's effect would be determined, not just by the words of the initiative, but by how its provisions are interpreted and applied, and
WHEREAS, in 2003, the Washington state Supreme Court in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No.1 held that RCW 49.60.400 did not prohibit the consideration of race and gender in government actions or decisions but was limited in its application to prohibiting the state's use of race or gender to select a less qualified candidate over a more qualified candidate, and
WHEREAS, since 1998, Washington state has implemented Governor's Directive Number 98-01, which for twenty-th...

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