Last month, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order that forbids funding for DEI programs within state departments under the purview of the governor. Now the Missouri General Assembly is fast tracking a bill that would make the governor’s ban law and reach even further.
In addition to DEI programs within the state government, the bill would bar state departments from mandating a DEI program in contracts with private organizations.
The bill prohibits the use of any state funding for DEI.
“The bottom line is we as a state should not be allowing propaganda to creep into the workplace that pushes preferential and unfair treatment of our state workers,” said state Rep. Ben Baker (R-Neosho), who sponsored the bill.
Following the signing of Kehoe’s executive order, a letter was sent to state employees explaining the executive order.
In the letter, the governor clarified that the order would not affect several key organizations like the Minority-Owned and the Women-Owned Business programs, which provide opportunities for companies that are majority controlled by either women or minority individuals to bid on state contracts.
Another carve out listed in the governor’s letter was the Model Employer Initiative, which seeks to increase the participation of disabled Missourians in the workforce.
The letter also makes it clear that recognition of Black History Month, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day are not prohibited in the order.
Baker said that his bill would have the same carveouts as the governor’s bill and that this would be further clarified in the language of his bill.