District Judge rules Houston MBE program is unconstitutional

TX News - Published Aug 15, 2026

U.S. District Judge David Hittner recently issued a ruling finding that the City of Houston's minority-owned business enterprise (MBE) program is unconstitutional, blocking the City from implementing race-conscious measures in its contracting procedures.

The finding came as the result of a lawsuit filed by the owners of Landscape Consultants of Texas and Metropolitan Landscape Management against the City of Houston. The plaintiffs filed suit in 2023 following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action ‌procedures in higher education, alleging that they were unable to compete on an "equal footing" while not being eligible for MBE certification. Judge Hittner stated that his ruling was the first to apply that Supreme Court ruling against race-conscious municipal contracting programs.

The MBE program was administered by the City through its Office of Business Opportunity (OBO), which also administers certifications for women-owned businesses (WBEs), small businesses (SBEs), and persons-with-disability owned businesses (PDBEs). In his ruling, Hittner stated that the City had failed to demonstrate "concrete, particularized discrimination" was taking place or that its program was necessary to remedy that discrimination.

The City has stated that it will abide by the ruling and not apply race-conscious goals for the time being, but it is considering an appeal.