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Committee advances SB 77 to require ethical sourcing disclosures for state vehicle purchases
Summary
Senators passed SB 77 as amended, directing state light‑duty vehicle suppliers to certify sourcing for materials such as lithium, cobalt and aluminum and to represent that those materials were not produced with child labor; the bill moves to Appropriations.
The Senate Committee on Governmental Organization passed SB 77 as amended, moving the measure to the Appropriations Committee. The bill, as amended in committee, would require suppliers of state‑purchased light‑duty vehicles that contain lithium, cobalt or aluminum to certify that those materials were not produced using child labor and to provide sourcing information for covered materials.
Senator Grove, the bill’s author, said California should use its purchasing power “to make sure that state procures its vehicles from an ethical source of supply.” He cited reporting and documentary evidence of hazardous child labor in small artisanal mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which produces a substantial share of the world’s cobalt used in lithium‑ion batteries.
Committee members supported the goal and questioned the bill’s scope and enforcement. Senator Archuleta asked whether the requirement applies only to state vehicles or could be a starting point for broader procurement rules; the author said the bill is intended as a legislative example and a starting point that focuses on state procurement of light‑duty vehicles. Senator Weber Pearson asked whether existing procurement standards, such as the California Sweat‑Free Code of Conduct, already cover these concerns. The author and committee staff said the bill requires additional accountability, including disclosure of the mine or sourcing locations, not just a general sweat‑free certification.
Senator Smallwood Cuevas and others discussed international leverage and whether U.S. foreign assistance (for example, prior USAID efforts) and documentary reporting influence supply‑chain improvements; the author said state purchasing can send a market signal and protect children affected by abusive mining practices.
The committee recommendation was support with amendments; the motion to pass as amended to Appropriations was carried. The committee record shows broad bipartisan acknowledgement of documented abuses in some foreign mining operations and a desire to require greater supplier transparency for covered minerals used in state vehicle procurement. The author said the measure aims to ensure that California’s purchase power does not indirectly finance child labor or other human‑rights abuses in global supply chains.
