Government regulatory boards are commonplace for countless professions throughout the country. Alabama real estate appraisers are no exception, falling under the purview of the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board (AREAB). Legislatively created in 1990, the board has nine members—seven property appraisers, one appraisal management company representative, and one member of the public who does not work in the industry.
Another requirement of board membership, however, has nothing to do with real estate and everything to do with racial balancing: At least two members must also be racial minorities.
State law requires Alabama’s governor not only to appoint all AREAB members, but also to consider race when making appointments and deny opportunities for some qualified citizens to competently serve the public based on no reason other than their race.
The public member position on the AREAB has been vacant since November 2021. As of February 8, 2024 , Governor Kay Ivey had not yet filled the open slot on the AREAB.
Interested Alabamians include at least one member of the American Alliance for Equal Rights who has applied for the open AREAB seat. That member is being excluded from consideration because of race.
It’s wrong for the government to make assumptions about people’s experiences and qualifications based on arbitrary and offensive assumptions about race. And it’s unconstitutional.
No government official should use an individual’s race or ethnicity to determine who gets the opportunity to serve the public. Treating people differently according to immutable characteristics like race violates the very notion of equality before the law. People should be treated as individuals, not as members of a group they did not choose.
Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation at no charge, the American Alliance for Equal Rights is fighting back. Its federal lawsuit challenges the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board’s race-based membership quota as violating the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. A victory would ensure that all candidates can compete equally to serve on AREAB, regardless of race.
Alabama’s real estate appraisal board isn’t a one-off either. The state makes race-based appointments when filling vacancies on a laundry list of other public boards and commissions, including medical, professional engineer, and land surveyor licensing, as well as cosmetology and barbering.
Nor is Alabama the only state that uses immutable characteristics to limit opportunities for individuals to serve their state and local communities.
A new report released by PLF found instances in 25 states where such unconstitutional discrimination has been codified. Without action, the problem is likely to worsen. PLF is working to defeat race and sex board quotas in Alabama and everywhere else the unconstitutional practice is allowed.
What’s At Stake?
- The government cannot use race to favor or disfavor individuals who want to serve the public. Doing so unfairly discounts people’s experiences and qualifications based on arbitrary and offensive assumptions about race.
- Treating people differently according to immutable characteristics like race violates the very notion of equality before the law. People should be treated as individuals, not as members of a group they did not choose.
