Associated General Contractors of America, San Diego Chapter, Inc. v. California Department of Transportation

*1190 OPINION

Associated General Contractors of America, San Diego Chapter, appeals from the district court’s adverse summary judgment rulings. AGC sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the California Department of Transportation and its officers, on the grounds that Caltrans’ 2009 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program unconstitutionally provided race- and sex-based preferences to African American-, Native American-, Asian-Pacific American-, and women-owned firms on certain transportation contracts. The Coalition for Economic Equity and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, San Diego Chapter, intervened to defend the program.

On summary judgment, the district court upheld the constitutionality of Cal-trans’ program and entered judgment for the defendants. Following Western States Paving Co. v. Washington State Department of Transportation, 407 F.3d 983 (9th Cir.2005), the district court held that Cal-trans’ program would satisfy strict scrutiny if it had a strong basis in evidence of discrimination in the California transportation contracting industry, and the program was narrowly tailored to those groups that actually suffered…