Congo Child Labor Act of 2021.

Existing federal law, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, requires the U.S. Secretary of Labor, acting through the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, to monitor and combat forced labor and child labor by, among other things, developing and making available to the public a list of goods from countries that the bureau has reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards. Existing state law, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, requires retail sellers and manufacturers doing business in the state and having annual worldwide gross receipts that exceed $100,000,000 to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their direct supply chains for tangible goods offered for sale, as specified. Existing law governs the bidding and awarding of public contracts by various state agencies. Existing law imposes requirements on contractors awarded various public contracts, including, among others, certifying that no equipment, materials, supplies, apparel, garments, or accessories provided under specified contracts are produced by sweatshop labor, forced labor, convict labor, indentured labor under penal sanction, abusive forms of child labor, or exploitation of children in sweatshop labor. This bill would enact the Congo Child Labor Act of 2021, and would require a retail seller or manufacturer doing business in this state with gross receipts of $10 million or more per year shall not sell or make a product containing 300 or more grams of cobalt unless it has certified, under penalty of perjury, that the cobalt was not mined or refined using child labor by filing a Congo Child Labor Disclosure with the Franchise Tax Board. The bill would require the disclosure to include, among other things, the extent to which the retailer or manufacturer contracts with an independent third party to audit or verify that their supply chains are free of child labor. The bill would specify that a person who certifies under penalty of perjury as true any material matter that the person knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime and expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make the exclusive remedy for selling or making a product containing 300 or more grams of cobalt without the required certification to be an action brought by the Attorney General for injunctive relief. The bill would require the board to develop or contract to develop a list of products sold in California that contain 300 grams or more of cobalt and persons who sell or manufacture those products. The bill would require the board to publish the list on its internet website and to provide the list free of charge to any public entity and to the Legislature, upon request. This bill would prohibit a person that has not filed the disclosure from bidding on or submitting a proposal for a new or renewed contract with a public entity for goods or products that contain more than 300 grams of cobalt and are worth more than $1,000,000. The bill would require a public entity to require a person bidding for or renewing a contract for goods or products containing more than 300 grams of cobalt to submit proof that they have timely filed the disclosure. This bill would prohibit state funds from being used to purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, or for grants to third parties that would be used to purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire, products containing cobalt in an amount of 300 grams or more and appearing on the list developed by the Franchise Tax Board unless the retail seller or manufacturer has filed a valid disclosure. This bill would make related findings and declarations, including that the bill addresses an issue of statewide concern. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.