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City of Houston's minority, woman, small business program ruled unconstitutional

By
FOX 26 Houston
Houston
Published July 28, 2026 3:24 PM CDT
Published July 28, 2026 3:24 PM CDT

The Brief

    • A federal judge ruled race-based preferences in public contracting programs for the City of Houston and Midtown Management District are unconstitutional.
    • Court documents state both entities are prohibited from using racial preferences when awarding public contracts.
    • The final judgment sided with plaintiffs Landscape Consultants of Texas, Inc. and Metropolitan Landscape Management, Inc.

HOUSTON - A federal court has ruled the City of Houston's Minority Women and Small Business Enterprise Program unconstitutional, according to court records.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner issued a final judgment siding with two private landscape companies that challenged the racial preferences in local government contracts.

Court ruling

What we know:

The ruling awards judgment to the plaintiff, Landscape Consultants of Texas, Inc. and Metropolitan Landscape Management, Inc.

According to the court document, the racially discriminatory aspects of the City of Houston and Midtown Management District's Minority, Women, and Small Business Enterprise program were determined to be "unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

The two entities are also prohibited from applying the "race-conscious portion" of the program in the award of public contracts.

The Source:  Information from this article was provided by court documents obtained from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

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