Prohibiting State Procurement of Electric Vehicles Made With Forced Labor Act

Summary: AN ACT relating to government procurement of electric vehicles; prohibiting governmental entities procuring electric vehicles that may have been made through forced labor; requiring a provision in public contracts; setting remedies and penalties for manufacturers and sellers; and providing an effective date.

SECTION 1. Legislative Findings

The State of [name of state] finds that:

  1. Many electric vehicles are being made with components created through the use of forced labor, including materials mined by Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang region;
  2. Concerns about the use of forced labor to create these components and materials prompted the U.S. Congress to enact (with near unanimous votes) the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA);1
  3. Under the UFLPA, there is a rebuttable presumption that any product manufactured in whole or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was produced by forced labor;2
  4. In addition, many electric vehicles are being made with components created through the use of oppressive child labor, including copper ore mined in dangerous conditions by thousands of young children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and sent to China for use in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries;4
  5. The use of forced labor and oppressive child labor is repugnant and deplorable, violates basic human rights, constitutes unacceptable discrimination, and damages free and fair competition; and
  6. This State should take steps to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being used to pay for electric vehicles that may have been partially manufactured through forced labor.

SECTION 2. Definitions

  1. “Forced labor” means all work or service that is (i) obtained by force, fraud, or coercion, including by threat of serious harm to, or physical restraint against, any person; by means of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that if the person did not perform such labor or services, the person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint; or by means of the abuse or threatened abuse of law or the legal process; (ii) imposed on the basis of a protected characteristic; (iii) not offered or provided voluntarily by the worker; or (iv) produced through oppressive child labor.
  2. “Electric vehicle” means a motor vehicle that is propelled in whole or in part by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery and is capable of being recharged from an external source of electricity.
  3. “Governmental entity” means a state agency or political subdivision of the state, including but not limited to any county, city [list all other subdivisions possible in the state (village, borough, school district, water district, etc.)], or any school, college, university, administration, authority, or other enterprise operated by the state or any political subdivision of the state.
  4. “Oppressive child labor” means a condition of employment under which any person under the age of fourteen years is employed in an occupation hazardous for the employment of children, such as manufacturing or mining.
  5. “Protected characteristic” means any characteristic protected by [state civil rights law].

SECTION 3. Provision Required in Public Contract

No governmental entity may enter into a contract for the procurement of electric vehicles, or any component of an electric vehicle, unless the governmental entity is provided a sworn certification from the manufacturer of the electric vehicle or the component that (i) consents to personal jurisdiction by the state for any action under this Act; and (ii) certifies that no entity involved in the production of the electric vehicle or component, including the production of any constituent part, or the mining or other sourcing of any materials, used forced labor or oppressive child labor in its activities.

SECTION 4. Remedies and Enforcement

  1. In addition to any other remedies available at law or equity, if the manufacturer or seller provides false or misleading information under Section 3, then the manufacturer or seller shall pay a civil penalty to the state in the amount of the greater of $10,000 per false or misleading statement, or one-half of the total price paid by the governmental entity for the vehicles or components.
  2. Any governmental entity that knowingly violates Section 3 shall return to the state [from shared revenues] one-half of the total price paid by the governmental entity for the vehicles or components.
  3. Any taxpayer within the jurisdiction of any governmental entity that violates this statute has standing to bring an action to enforce this statute. A prevailing taxpayer shall be entitled to reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees. If the defendant prevails in the lawsuit, the taxpayer shall not be required to pay any of the defendants’ reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees, unless the court finds that the lawsuit was brought in bad faith.
  4. This Act, any contracts under this Act, and any representations made by a manufacturer or seller to a governmental entity under this Act, also may be enforced by the attorney general. The attorney general may investigate and prosecute violations of this Act, violations of contracts under this Act, or misrepresentations made by a manufacturer or seller under this Act, according to the authority provided in [state UDAP law].

SECTION 5. Severability

Each section, paragraph, and portion of each paragraph of this Act is severable. If one or more sections, paragraphs, or portions of one or more paragraphs of this Act are held invalid on their face or as applied to particular facts, then the remaining portions and applications of the Act shall be given full effect to the greatest extent practicable.

SECTION 6. Applicability and Effective Date

This Act applies to all electric vehicle procurement contracts entered into, amended, or renewed on or after [date].

1 PL 117-78, December 23, 2021, 135 Stat 1525.
2 https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA
3 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods-print?tid=5531&field_exp_good_target_id=All&field_exp_exploitation_type_target_id_1=All&items_per_page=25&combine=&order=name&sort=asc