CORAL CONST. INC. v. San Francisco

Bingham McCutchen LLP, Michael Isaku Begert, Sujal J. Shah, Rianne E. Nolan, Renee M. DuPree, Nancy M. Wang, Elizabeth M. Hall, San Francisco, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, Oren Sellstrom, Woodland, for Amicus Curiae on Behalf of Appellants.

Pacific Legal Foundation, John H. Findley, Sharon L. Browne, Paul J. Beard II, Sacramento, Counsel for Respondents.

REARDON, Acting P.J.

Since 1984, the City and County of San Francisco has operated under various iterations of its Minority/Women/Local Business Utilization Ordinance (Ordinance). The Ordinance, in its several forms, has called for race- and gender-conscious remedies to ameliorate the effects of past discrimination in the awarding of City contracts.

More than 10 years ago the California electorate adopted Proposition 209, the California Civil Rights Initiative, thereby adding article I, section 31 (§ 31) to our Constitution. This amendment prohibits all state and local governments and entities from 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…