Rescinding Portions of Department of the Treasury Title VI Regulations To Conform More Closely With the Statutory Text and To Implement an Executive Order

By this rule, the Department of the Treasury (“Department”) amends its regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) to eliminate disparate-impact liability. There are also serious concerns about whether the Department's Title VI regulations pass constitutional muster under the Equal Protection Clause. At least since Sandoval, the Department's enforcement of its Title VI disparate-impact regulations has been minimal and sporadic. Moreover, these Title VI regulations are required by statute; Congress specifically directed Federal agencies to adopt implementing regulations when Title VI was enacted. Additionally, Executive Order 12250 delegated the President's responsibility to approve Title VI regulations to the Attorney General.