# CHAPTER 3905 DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET STATE AGENCIES; AFFIRMATIVE ACTION *Minnesota chapter on affirmative action in state agencies under the Department of Management and Budget* **Chapter 3905, Department of Management and Budget, State Agencies; Affirmative Action** is a [[Minnesota]] chapter. Its title places it under the Department of Management and Budget.[^1] [[Affirmative action]] in state agencies is the subject that title names.[^1] The sources cited here do not carry the chapter's text, its adoption date, or its amendment history. They do not establish who adopted, amended, maintained, or declined to repeal it, by party or by date.[^1] Minnesota's affirmative-action requirements for state-agency hiring are the subject of a federal lawsuit. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] announced suit in release No. 26-21.[^2] The release is titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*.[^2] The complaint cites the statute [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]]. The record does not establish whether it also cites Chapter 3905.[^3] ## Federal litigation The Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs issued release No. 26-21 on January 14, 2026.[^2] According to the release, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^2] The complaint in [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] was filed on January 14, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, No. 0:26-cv-00273.[^3] It is brought under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].[^3] The complaint cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times.[^3] One of those citations is to subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain the reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^3] The complaint's allegations are allegations of the United States; the sources cited here do not record any later filings or rulings in the case.[^3] In 2025, in [[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]], 605 U.S. 303, the Supreme Court addressed claims by majority-group plaintiffs.[^4] The Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs."[^4] It rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^4] ## The term "regime" The United States' release describes the State's apparatus as Minnesota's "'Affirmative Action' Regime."[^2] The same word appears in federal statute. The [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998, Pub. L. 105-338, sets a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^5] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages ([[How Minnesota Got Here]], note 40) finds Minnesota the only U.S. state so described.[^5] That is the project's catalogue finding, not an independently established fact.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *CHAPTER 3905 DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET STATE AGENCIES; AFFIRMATIVE ACTION* (retrieved 26 October 2026) — identifies the chapter by title only; no section text carried. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHAPTER_3905_DEPARTMENT_OF_MANAGEMENT_AND_BUDGET_STATE_AGENCIES;_AFFIRMATIVE_ACTION [^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — release title, date, and Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII basis; eight citations of Minn. Stat. § 43A.191, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^4]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — holding on Title VII disparate-treatment claims by majority-group plaintiffs; rejection of the "background circumstances" rule. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf [^5]: U.S. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 (1998) — statutory use of "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; cited in the project's catalogue (How Minnesota Got Here, note 40) of U.S.-government "regime" usages. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf