On May 2, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law the Maryland State Procurement and Congo Conflict Minerals Bill, making Maryland the second state to pass such legislation.
The law addresses the link between the minerals in electronics products and the ongoing violence in eastern Congo. It requires that the state of Maryland does not conduct business with companies that fail to comply with the federal laws on conflict minerals passed in 2010 as a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. This provision requires publicly listed companies that use conflict minerals—defined as tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold—to disclose whether or not they source the material from the Democratic Republic of Congo or any of its neighboring countries. Further, it requires that if companies are sourcing from this region that they engage in due diligence measures to determine if their procurement is directly or indirectly financing armed conflict.
Urge them to do more for peace in Congo by complying with regulations that will be issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. There's a Conflict Minerals Hearing May 10th - House Fin Svs - Info on links to 1504 Congressional movement
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