Missouri governor rescinds purchasing goals order for businesses owned by women and minorities [Video]

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has rescinded an executive order that set modest goals for state agencies to make purchases from businesses owned by minorities and women, claiming the goals carried “legal concerns.”

Parson, a Republican serving his final months in office, rescinded 177 executive orders on Oct. 23, some of which dated to the 1980s, deeming them no longer “necessary or applicable,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday.

An executive order issued by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon in 2015 set goals for state agencies to purchase 10% of goods and services from companies owned by minorities and 10% from businesses owned by women.

Leaders of some organizations worried about the impact rescinding the order might have.

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“What Missouri is doing is sending out a clear signal to anyone who has faced a barrier to participating in …