While the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to move forward to meet the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, it does not appear that it or its staff have much enthusiasm for the conflict mineral portion of those requirements. Nevertheless, absent Congressional action, adoption of the conflict mineral rules appears to be inevitable.
At a budget hearing before the House Committee on Appropriations on March 6, 2012, SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro indicated that the rules will not be adopted until "the middle of the year." In response to questions, Chairman Schapiro indicated that the SEC would need more time to complete the rules due to the complexity of the rulemaking and the fact that the nature of the Congressionally mandated rules is "so out of the ordinary for the SEC."
She also said that the final rules will "try to give latitude and flexibility in some areas" to help companies comply and will include some phase-in period to allow time for supply chain due diligence mechanisms to be developed and implemented. In her prepared testimony, Chairman Schapiro also observed that, in fiscal year 2013, the SEC expects to see a heightened level of interpretive inquiries from public companies about new rules, including the conflicts minerals rules.
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