In this post last month, I wrote about SB 861 authored by Senator Ellen Corbett. This bill would prohibit a “scrutinized company” from bidding on or submitting a proposal for a contract with a state agency. Although the bill was amended on April 7, 2011 to clarify some of the language, the author has so far declined to correct numerous embarrasing technical errors that I pointed out in this comment letter (for example, referring to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Exchange Commission).

The bill is scheduled to be heard today by the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, which is chaired by Senator Roderick Wright. Accordingly to the committee consultant’s analysis, concerns exist whether it is premature for California to enact legislation before the Securities and Exchange Commission adopts its own conflict minerals rules. As Broc Romanek reported yesterday in this post, the SEC has recently pushed back its estimate of when it will adopt its final rules to August-December.