# HF 3021 Public contract affirmative action goals rulemaking required. *Minnesota legislative measure concerning public contract affirmative action goals* **HF 3021** is a [[Minnesota]] legislative measure titled *Public contract affirmative action goals rulemaking required.* By its title, it concerns [[Affirmative action]] goals in public contracting and a requirement that rules be adopted. The record does not establish the measure's text, sponsors, date of introduction, committee history, votes or final status. It also does not establish which body the rulemaking requirement would bind.[^1] Separately, the [[United States Department of Justice]] sued the State on January 14, 2026, over a different statute: [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]], the affirmative-action provision for state agency hiring. The Department's release announcing the suit is titled with the phrase "Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime."[^2] The record does not show that HF 3021 is at issue in that case.[^3] ## Federal litigation over Minnesota's affirmative-action statutes On January 14, 2026, the Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs issued release No. 26-21, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. The release states that Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^2] The complaint, [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)|United States v. State of Minnesota]], No. 0:26-cv-00273, was filed the same day in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. It is brought under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. The complaint cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times. One of those citations is to subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain its reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate. The complaint states what the United States alleges and has not been adjudicated. The record here does not show any ruling after the filing.[^3] The suit follows the Supreme Court's decision in [[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]], 605 U.S. 303 (2025). In that case the Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs." The Court also rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^4] ## The term "regime" Federal statutes have used "regime" for foreign governments that the United States opposes. The [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338) states 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 that Minnesota is the only U.S. state so described. This is the project's own catalogue finding. No independent source in the record establishes it.[^5][^2] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *HF 3021 Public contract affirmative action goals rulemaking required.* (retrieved 2026-10-26) — the article under this title; establishes the measure's title only. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HF_3021_Public_contract_affirmative_action_goals_rulemaking_required. [^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) — the release title and the Attorney General's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^3]: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (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) — the holding on majority-group plaintiffs under Title VII and the rejection of the "background circumstances" rule. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf [^5]: United States Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 (1998) — the statutory policy on "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein." https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf