Governor Henry McMaster has signed Executive Order 2025-40, instructing South Carolina state agencies to stop using race-based quotas or set-asides in spending, procurement, and contract awards. The order comes in response to existing state laws that require such practices.
Senate President Thomas Alexander and House Speaker Murrell Smith are working with the governor to prefile legislation aimed at repealing these requirements when the General Assembly reconvenes next month.
“Nowhere should any person be treated differently because of their race,” said Governor Henry McMaster. “State government spending and procurements should be awarded based on merit and value to the taxpayer, not on set-asides or quotas. This order ensures that until South Carolina’s procurement process complies with the United States Constitution and treats every individual equally under the law, contracts will not be executed.”
Senate President Thomas Alexander added, “We are a nation and a state dedicated to the principle that ‘all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator,’ as reflected in the Constitution’s requirement of equal protection of the laws. When existing laws no longer align with that constitutional command, it is our duty to correct them. I am confident my colleagues in the Senate share my belief that state government must reflect equality under the law in all its endeavors and ensure our statutes fully comply with the Constitution.”
Speaker of the House Murrell Smith commented, “I am proud the members of the House began addressing these issues during last year’s legislative session. Discrimination is wrong, and its misguided use as a remedy is worse. The House will address this when we return in January.”
Current South Carolina law requires that at least 5% of certain highway and infrastructure contracts go to minority businesses each year (S.C. Code Ann. § 12-28-2930). Another statute mandates each agency show that 10% of its controllable annual budget is spent through minority-owned businesses (S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-5240).
The Supreme Court recently ruled that race-based programs must meet strict scrutiny standards and cannot use race as a negative stereotype or continue indefinitely (Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., 600 U.S. 181, 213 [2023]). The two cited statutes do not meet these criteria.
Earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order arguing such quotas undermine national unity by favoring identity-based systems over merit (Executive Order 14173, Sec. 2, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity [Jan. 25, 2025]).
The governor’s executive order applies only going forward; existing contracts will remain unchanged.