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      "id": 446397,
      "date": "2015-10-08",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T18:14:03.144131",
      "title": "Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges",
      "summary": "Two sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) require that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) issue regulations to make public the involvement of U.S. companies in conflict minerals and in resource extraction payments. Both sections have been subject to litigation. As of the date of this report, the rules pursuant to Section 1502 are in effect, with the exception of the disclosure requirements being reviewed by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The SEC continues its rulemaking proceedings under Section 1504.\nKey Takeaways of This Report:\nSection 1502 requires that the SEC issue rules mandating the disclosure by publicly traded companies of the origins of listed conflict minerals, which it did. \nThe National Association of Manufacturers and other plaintiffs challenged this rule on the bases of several arguments, two of which claimed that the SEC did not conduct an appropriate cost-benefit analysis before promulgating the rule and that the rules violated the Constitution\u2019s First Amendment freedom of speech guarantee. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the rules, but the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, while largely upholding the SEC\u2019s authority to implement the rules, struck down the portion of the rules requiring issuers to describe certain products as having been \u201cnot found to be DRC conflict free.\u201d The court found that the rule was unconstitutional because narrower alternatives were available to achieve the government\u2019s goals.\nRecently, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, overruled an important aspect of the panel\u2019s decision finding that part of the DRC conflict mineral disclosure requirements violated the First Amendment. The en banc court opened up the possibility that a less restrictive test might be applied to the disclosure requirements. Upon rehearing, the panel issued a decision finding that, even after the decision of the en banc court, the requirement to label certain products as \u201cnot found to be DRC conflict free\u201d was unconstitutional. The panel held that the lower standard of scrutiny did not apply to the rule, and argued that even if it did the rule still would not survive review. \nThese decisions highlight an important question in First Amendment jurisprudence. The government more easily may require commercial disclosures in certain circumstances under the Constitution. This case raises important questions about when and how a regulation might qualify to receive that lower standard of scrutiny. \nSection 1504 of Dodd-Frank requires the SEC to issue rules mandating resource extraction issuers to disclose payments made to a foreign government or the federal government for the purpose of the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals, which it did. \nThe American Petroleum Institute brought suit, arguing, among other things, that the SEC acted arbitrarily and capriciously in promulgating the rules, as well as that the rules violated the First Amendment. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the rules on administrative law grounds and did not reach most of the Administrative Procedure Act arguments and the First Amendment issues. The SEC is not appealing this decision and is, instead, working on Section 1504 rules that will take into consideration the court\u2019s decision. However, in response to a lawsuit filed by Oxfam, the U.S. District Court recently ordered the SEC to publish an \u201cexpedited schedule\u201d for issuing a resource extraction rule.",
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      "id": "R43639_2015Apr02",
      "date": "2015-04-02",
      "retrieved": "2015-05-29T05:37:21",
      "title": "Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges",
      "summary": "This report discusses the two sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) that require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) to issue regulations to make public the involvement of U.S. companies in conflict minerals and in resource extraction payments.",
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      "id": "R43639_2014Dec02",
      "date": "2014-12-02",
      "retrieved": "2015-01-27T19:40:46",
      "title": "Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges",
      "summary": "This report discusses the two sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) that require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) to issue regulations to make public the involvement of U.S. companies in conflict minerals and in resource extraction payments.",
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      "id": "R43639_2014Oct15",
      "date": "2014-10-15",
      "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41",
      "title": "Conflict Minerals and Resource Extraction: Dodd-Frank, SEC Regulations, and Legal Challenges",
      "summary": "This report discusses the two sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) that require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) to issue regulations to make public the involvement of U.S. companies in conflict minerals and in resource extraction payments.",
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