An initiative petition has been filed with the Nebraska Secretary of State to place on the November ballot a constitutional amendment "to prohibit discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting by the state or any of its agencies, institutions or political subdivisions." Placing this on the ballot would require securing 115,000 signatures of Nebraska voters.
Should this proposal be placed on the ballot and approved by the voters, affirmative action programs of any public entity in the state would be in effect repealed. This would affect student and professor recruitment and retention, employee recruitment, and minority contracting programs at the state, city and county levels, and any other effort that might be found to violate this provision.
The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce board of directors adopted a position in opposition to this proposal at their March 14 meeting. The board urges Chamber members not to sign the petition and not to vote for it should it be placed on the November ballot.
In reaching this position, the Chamber board made the findings that:
- The business community is committed to diversity in the state's institutions of higher learning and believes this diversity strengthens our competitiveness as a state and ultimately helps produce a stronger workforce
- The repeal of affirmative action sends a negative message to prospective Nebraskans and prospective employers considering Nebraska that we do not value diversity in our public policies
- The repeal of affirmative action from the state's constitution would likely mean the end of minority contracting programs that are an important aspect of the Chamber's ongoing community development strategies in North Omaha, Midtown and South Omaha and other capacity building efforts, and
- The business community is comfortable with the current status of the law on affirmative action as outlined in recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and as such does not believe that any amendment to the Nebraska Constitution is necessary or in the best interests of the State of Nebraska.