LANSING (AP) - Government efforts to promote diversity and equal opportunity in Michigan largely can continue despite a new law banning some types of public affirmative action programs, according to a report released yesterday.

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission reviewed 45 state programs it thought could be in jeopardy because of the new law, which bans giving preferential treatment based on race and gender in education, government hiring and contracting.

Only eight of those programs likely need changes to comply with the new law, according to the report, which was done under an order from Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm. It includes recommendations but doesn't carry legal weight.

The specific implications of Proposal 2 are likely to be settled in court.

"This is unsettled law," said Linda Parker, director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. "Preferential treatment has never even been defined by a Michigan court. We've got work to do in terms of interpretation."

Granholm and some members of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission opposed Proposal 2, which Michigan voters approved in November. It took effect Dec. 23, although some legal challenges by pro-affirmative action groups continue in federal court.

Opponents have said the measure could devastate programs aimed at promoting diversity, but the report said affirmative action programs that are inclusive and don't grant preferential treatment can continue.

Supporters of Proposal 2 said that was their position all along.

"Look at the flip-flop this commission has made," said Chetly Zarko, former treasurer of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, the group that sponsored Proposal 2. "During the campaign they made it clear they thought everything was being banned and the sky was going to fall."

The programs that would need to be changed are connected to the state's Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs, women and minority business owners, special needs adoptions, minority student grants for some higher education programs and some collective bargaining issues.

Programs that grant money specifically to black and Latino college students majoring in K-12 education or enrolling in medical schools could be in jeopardy, for example.

The report said most state government departments do not use preferential treatment for hiring or contracting decisions. The two departments that sometimes do - the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality - must do so to continue qualifying for federal money, according to the report.

Proposal 2 allows some exceptions for programs needed to qualify for federal funding.

But some supporters of the measure worry the state might try to use that as an excuse to get around obeying the new law.

The review included 17 state departments and six other agencies, but did not include the attorney general and secretary of state offices.

A spokeswoman for Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land said the department's hiring and contracting policies follow those established for other state departments.

Although the commission was under orders to do the report, Attorney General Mike Cox's office is the one charged with giving state departments legal advice and representation on issues, including those related to Proposal 2, spokesman Rusty Hills said.