Governor, Prison Officials Promoting DEI, Enriching Woke Companies

LITTLE ROCK – The governor should follow hers and the legislature’s own rules and the state of Arkansas should terminate multi-million dollar contracts to promote DEI policies that enrich "woke" companies Senator Bryan B. King of Green Forest said Friday.
The governor and the state Board of Correction have pushed through plans for construction of a new prison unit in southern Franklin County, and have chosen companies that actively brag about their policies of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), King said.
The state of Arkansas should not award multi-million contracts to promote DEI policies and enrich “woke” companies Senator Bryan B. King of Green Forest said Friday.
The governor and the state Board of Correction have pushed through plans for construction of a new prison unit in southern Franklin County, and have chosen companies that actively brag about their policies of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), King said.
“They say they’re against government programs that give preference to certain groups, but judging by their actions they don’t care when it’s their chosen friends who get the preferential treatment,” King said.
“In the 2025 legislative session we passed Act 938 and Act 747 to do away with DEI programs in local government and to repeal preferential treatment in government,” King said. “In the 2023 session we passed Act 411 to stop government pension funds from investing in companies that use environmental, social justice, or governance related metrics.”
Other state policies against DEI are in provisions of the newly enacted ACCESS Act, which prohibits indoctrination in higher education.
“Arkansas elected officials have made clear that they are against DEI programs and using tax dollars to benefit certain groups of people at the expense of others,” King said. “That’s why prison officials should not award multi-million contracts to companies that openly and proudly boast of their DEI policies.”
The companies are Vanir Construction Management, Inc. of Sacramento, California and JE Dunn of Kansas City. Vanir has been awarded a contract valued at up to $16.5 million to be a liaison between the state and the construction firms chosen to build the proposed prison. JE Dunn is one of the general contractors chosen for the prison, which is estimated to cost a minimum of $825 million.

Here are samples of JE Dunn’s policy on diversity, taken from its web site. “We strive to promote inclusion in all aspects of our business, celebrating all aspects of diversity of our associates…”.
“In 2020, CEO Gordon Lansford took the CEO Action Pledge to build productive, diverse, and inclusive workplaces. The CEO Action Pledge is the largest business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.”
Here is a link to the web page: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - JE Dunn Construction
Here is a sample of Vanir’s policy:
At Vanir, we understand that our employees are our most valuable asset. As such, we are committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion by embracing and encouraging differences in: Race, Ethnicity, National origin, Religion, Gender, gender identity or expression, Age, Family or marital status, Language, Physical and mental ability, Political affiliation, Sexual orientation, Socioeconomic background or status, Military or veteran status, Other characteristics that make our employees unique.
After all, it is the collective sum of these characteristics, together with our unique life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression and capabilities, that has led to the immense success of our company, people, programs and projects.
Here is a link to the page on Vanir’s web site: https://www.vanir.com/about-us/our-people/
King is one of many skeptics who believe the prison will cost much more to build, and will be a financial burden on the state for decades because the site in southern Franklin County is so unsuitable for a prison. It lacks an adequate workforce, and prisons are labor intensive. It lacks every category of necessary infrastructure, such as water, sewer, utilities and access to roads. The state purchased the land for $2.95 million before conducting any studies of its suitability, and before informing local officials of the plan.
“These contracts have already gone through Legislative Council, but the governor and the Board should not award them,” King said. “It’s never too late to follow the spirit of the law.”