A few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that California's largest public pension plan is planning to create a database of directors, which is being referred to as the "Diverse Director Database" or DDD.  Interestingly, a director registry has been part of the Corporations Code for 17 years.

In 1993, former Senator Lucy Killea authored legislation that created a registry of "distinguished women and minorities who are available to serve on corporate boards of directors" (Corporations Code Section 318).  In the ensuing years, responsibility for maintaining this list has shifted from the Secretary of State to California State University - Fullerton.  For whatever reasons, the registry failed to attract significant interest and it was discontinued in 2003.

In light of the fact that the registry had been for quiescent for seven years, I was surprised last year when Assemblymember Manuel Perez introduced AB 1491 to require the Secretary of State to investigate the operational status of the registry.  In speaking with the author's office earlier this year, I was told that CalPERS had an interest in the bill (although it was not listed as the bill's sponsor).  In any event, the bill now appears to be dead and CalPERS appears to be proceeding to establish its own registry without the benefit of legislation.