(a)The State shall not discriminate against, or grant 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.
(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), this section does not prevent state institutions of higher education from implementing student recruitment and selection programs that are permissible under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
(c)This section shall apply only to action taken after the section’s effective date.
(d)This section shall not be
interpreted as prohibiting bona fide qualifications based on sex which are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.
(e)This section shall not be interpreted as invalidating any court order or consent decree
that is in force as of the effective date of this section.
(f)This section shall not be interpreted as prohibiting action which must be taken to establish or maintain eligibility for any federal program,
if ineligibility would result in a loss of federal funds to the State.
(g)(1)For the purposes of this section, “State” shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the State itself, any city, county, city and county, public university system, including the University of California, community college district, school district, special district, or any other political subdivision or governmental instrumentality of or within the State.
(2)For the purposes of
this section, “state institutions of higher education” shall mean: (A) the California Community Colleges; (B) the California State University, and each campus, branch, and function thereof; and (C) each campus, branch, and function of the University of California.
(h)The remedies available for violations of this section shall be the same, regardless of the injured party’s race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin, as are otherwise available for violations of then-existing California antidiscrimination law.
(i)This section shall be self-executing. If any part or parts of this section are found to be in conflict with federal law or the United States Constitution, the section shall be implemented to the maximum extent that federal law and the United States Constitution permit. Any provision held invalid shall be severable from the remaining portions of this section.