Florida’s top lawyer has touched off a political firestorm in Tallahassee by declaring that more than 80 state laws tied to race will no longer get backing from his office.
On Jan. 19, 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an official opinion concluding that dozens of state statutes are race-based and that his office will not defend or enforce them. The list runs from the state’s affirmative action requirement for executive agencies to detailed supplier diversity goals used in state contracting. The move carries immediate administrative consequences and has already triggered sharp partisan blowback across Florida.
In a news release, the attorney general's office labeled the provisions presumptively unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment and Florida’s constitution. It stated that "my office, therefore, will not defend or enforce any of these discriminatory provisions." According to the Office of the Attorney General, Uthmeier framed the opinion as legally required by the Supreme Court’s recent race jurisprudence and by the state constitution.
Which Laws Made The Cut
The opinion and its appendix identify more than 80 provisions, and ClickOrlando has reproduced both the appendix and the attorney general's summary. Among the statutes Uthmeier singled out are F.S. 110.112, which sets out the affirmative action and equal employment framework for executive agencies, and F.S. 287.09451, the supplier diversity law that establishes spending goals for minority contractors. The statutory text is available on the Florida Legislature website, and the supplier diversity provision can also be found there.
Political Backlash
Black Democratic lawmakers quickly blasted the move as a rollback of hard-won civil rights protections. At a news conference, they argued that the measures targeted by Uthmeier are safeguards against discrimination rather than special treatment.
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) described the laws as protections against discrimination, not preferences. State Senator Mack Bernard went further, arguing that the governor should remove the attorney general if he will not enforce laws passed by the Legislature, according to coverage by News4JAX.
What This Means Legally
Uthmeier grounds his analysis in the Supreme Court's direction that any race-based government action must satisfy strict scrutiny. The opinion explicitly cites that framework, pointing to the Court’s ruling in the Supreme Court, and relies on the attorney general's own release to apply that standard to Florida law.
While the opinion instructs the attorney general’s office to stop defending or enforcing the listed provisions, it does not repeal or invalidate any statute. Only courts or the Legislature can formally change the law, so the shift in posture from the state’s top lawyer makes courtroom showdowns more likely.
On the ground, agencies that use supplier diversity goals or affirmative action language will likely need fresh legal advice before making contracting, hiring, or grant decisions. Expect updated guidance to trickle out from state agencies, potential court challenges to land on judges’ desks, and legislative efforts that either attempt to shore up the existing statutes or rewrite them to match the legal framework the attorney general has laid out.
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