Federal judge says Houston can't consider race when awarding contracts: What does it mean?

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The City Attorney said the City of Houston is looking into whether to appeal a federal court decision that stops it from considering race when awarding contracts.

Houston's Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise Program has been in place for more than 40 years, but a judge ruled that it unfairly discriminates against non minorities.

PREVIOUS REPORT: Federal judge strikes down race-based portion of Houston minority contracting programs

A white couple in Spring filed the lawsuit back in 2023.

They claimed racial discrimination because their landscaping businesses were not accepted into the city's minority program.

The lawsuit was filed just after the Supreme Court struck down race-based admissions policies at Harvard.

This latest court ruling cites the Harvard case when declaring that the city had violated the Equal Protection Clause, which ensures governments have to apply laws fairly and equally.

"To go in a room and people automatically judge you based on the color of your skin, it happens every day," Rachel Bickham said.

Bickham started her own small career recruitment company in 2017.

She said she currently has multiple city contracts, and she got them through the city's Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise Program.

"We're not asking for you to just give us a contract just because we are a certain ethnicity," she said. "We're asking for an opportunity to be in the room. We're asking for an opportunity to compete."

Bickham said her business was also part of a similar state initiative called the Historically Underutilized Business Program, but was dropped after the program was turned into a veterans support program last year.

Many praised the change, but a lawsuit over it is ongoing.

"They are trying to remove every opportunity that we have, and it's making it harder," she said.

A City of Houston report from last year shows $2.5 billion in contracts were awarded.

Twenty-three percent of the contracts went to certified minority, women, and small businesses.

Of that 23%, Hispanic-owned businesses received 34% of contracts, Asian-owned businesses got 22%, white women-led businesses got 17%, and Black-owned businesses got 14%.

The ruling only applies to race, so small and female-owned businesses could still be given some priority under the city program.

But multiple council members at Wednesday's meeting said that's not enough.

"I hope that the legal department will prioritize this to ensure that we are sending a message to minority businesses that we are going to protect them and fight for them regardless of the climate that we have," Councilmember Alejandra Salinas said.

Harris County also has a similar program for minority businesses.

The same couple is also suing the county, with that lawsuit still ongoing.