FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE ADVISORY COMMITTEES

29 C.F.R. Part 1430
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

29 C.F.R. § 1430.1 Scope and purpose.

(a) This part contains the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service's regulations implementing section 8(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770, (5 U.S.C. App.)), which requires each agency head to establish uniform guidelines and management controls for the advisory committees. These regulations supplement the Government-wide guidelines issued jointly by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Justice, and should be read in conjunction with them. (b) The regulations provided under this part do not apply to statutorily created or established advisory committees of the Service, to the extent that such statutes have specific provisions different from those promulgated herein.

29 C.F.R. § 1430.2 Definitions.

For the purposes of this part: (a) The term Act means the Federal Advisory Committee Act; (b) The term advisory committee means any committee, board, commission, counsel, conference, panel, task force, or other similar group, or any subgroup or subcommittee thereof which is: (1) Established by statute or reorganization, plan, or (2) Established or utilized by the President, or (3) Established or utilized by one or more agencies or officers of the Federal Government in the interest of obtaining advice or recommendations for the President or one or more agencies of the Federal Government, except that such term excludes: (i) The Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations; (ii) The Commission on Government Procurement; and (iii) Any committee which is composed wholly of full-time officers or employees of the Federal Government. (c) The term agency has the same meaning as in 5 U.S.C. 552(1); (d) The term committee management officer means the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service employee or his delegee, officially designated to perform the advisory committee management functions delineated in this part; (e) The term Service means the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (f) The term OMB means the Office of Management and Budget; (g) The term Director means the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (h) The term secretariat means the OMB Committee Management Secretariat.

29 C.F.R. § 1430.3 Establishment of advisory committees.

(a) Guidelines for establishing advisory committees. The guidelines in establishing advisory committees are as follows: (1) No advisory committee shall be established if its functions are being or could be performed by an agency or an existing committee; (2) The purpose of the advisory committee shall be clearly defined; (3) The membership of the advisory committee shall be fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the committee's functions; (4) There shall be appropriate safeguards to assure that an advisory committee's advice and recommendations will not be inappropriately influenced by any special interests; and (5) At least once a year, a report shall be prepared for each advisory committee, describing the committee's membership, functions, and actions. (b) Advisory committees established by the Service not pursuant to specific statutory authority. (1) Advisory committees established by the Service not pursuant to specific statutory authority may be created by the Director after consultation with the secretariat. (2) When the Director determines that such an advisory committee needs to be established, he shall notify the secretariat of his determination and shall inform the secretariat of the nature and purpose of the committee, the reasons why the committee is needed, and the inability of any existing agency or committee to perform the committee's functions. (3) After the secretariat has determined that establishment of such a committee is in conformance with the Act and has so informed the Director, the Director shall prepare a certification of the committee, stating the committee's nature and purpose, and that it is established in the public interest. That certification shall be published in the Federal Register. (c) Advisory committees created pursuant to Presidential directive. Advisory committees established by Presidential directive are those created pursuant to Executive Order, executive memorandum, or reorganization plan. The Director shall create such committees in accordance with the provisions of the Presidential directive and shall follow the provisions of this part, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the directive. (d) Advisory committees created pursuant to specific statutory authority. The Director shall create advisory committees established pursuant to specific statutory authority in accordance with the provisions of the statute and shall follow the provisions of this part, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the statute: Provided, however, That the Director need not utilize the procedures described in paragraph (b) of this section. (e) Advisory committees established by persons outside the Federal Government, but utilized by the Service to obtain advice or opinion. In utilizing such committees, the Director shall follow the provisions of this part and the requirements of the Act. Such committees, to the extent they are utilized by the Service, shall be considered, for the purposes of this part, to be advisory committees established by the Service.

29 C.F.R. § 1430.4 Filing of advisory committee charter.

(a) Filing charter with Director. Before an advisory committee takes any action or conducts any business, a charter shall be filed with the Director, the standing committees of Congress with legislative jurisdiction over the Service, and the Library of Congress. Except for a committee in existence on the effective date of the Act, or when authorized by statute, Presidential directive, or by the secretariat, such charter shall be filed no earlier than 30 days after publication of the committee's certification in the Federal Register. (b) Charter information. A charter shall contain the following information: (1) The committee's official designation; (2) The committee's objectives and scope of activity; (3) The period of time necessary for the committee to carry out its purposes; (4) The agency or official to whom the advisory committee reports; (5) The agency responsible for providing necessary support; (6) A description of the committee's duties; (7) The estimated number and frequency of committee meetings; (8) The estimated annual operating costs in dollars and man-years; (9) The committee's termination date, if less than two years; and (10) The date the charter is filed. (c) Preparation and filing of initial charter. Responsibility for preparation of the initial committee charter shall be with the head of the appropriate program within the Service, in cooperation with the committee management officer. The Director of Administration shall have responsibility for assuring the appropriate filings of such charters.

29 C.F.R. § 1430.5 Termination of advisory committees.

(a) All nonstatutory advisory committees including those authorized, but not specifically created by statute, shall terminate no later than 2 years after their charters have been filed, unless renewed as provided in § 1430.6. (b) The charter of any committee in existence on the date the Act became effective (January 5, 1973) shall terminate no later than January 5, 1975, unless renewed, as provided in § 1430.6. (c) Advisory committees specifically created by statute shall terminate as provided in the establishing statute.

29 C.F.R. § 1430.6 Renewal of advisory committees.

(a) Renewal of advisory committees not created pursuant to specific statutory authority. (1) The Director may renew an advisory committee not created pursuant to specific statutory authority after consultation with the secretariat. (2) When the Director determines that such an advisory committee should be renewed, he shall so advise the secretariat within 60 days prior to the committee's termination date and shall state the reasons for his determination. (3) Upon concurrence of the secretariat, the Director shall publish notice of the renewal in the Federal Register and cause a new charter to be prepared and filed in accordance with the provisions of § 1430.3. (b) Renewal of advisory committees established pursuant to specific statutory authority. The Director may renew advisory committees established pursuant to specific statutory authority through the filing of a new charter at appropriate 2-year intervals. (c) No advisory committee shall take any action or conduct any business during the period of time between its termination date and the filing of its renewal charter.

29 C.F.R. § 1430.7 Application of the Freedom of Information Act to advisory committee functions.

(a) Subject to 5 U.S.C. 552, the records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appendices, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, and other documents which are made available to or are prepared for or by an advisory committee shall be available to the public. (b) Advisory committee meeting conducted in accordance with § 1430.7 may be closed to the public when discussing a matter that is of a 5 U.S.C. 552(b) nature, whether or not the discussion centers on a written document. (c) No record, report, or other document prepared for or by an advisory committee may be withheld from the public unless the Office of the General Counsel determines that the document is properly within the exemptions of 5 U.S.C. 552(b). No committee meeting, or portion thereof, may be closed to the public unless the Office of the General Counsel determines in writing, prior to publication of the meeting in the Federal Register that such a closing is within the exemptions of 5 U.S.C. 552(b).

29 C.F.R. § 1430.8 Advisory committee meetings.

(a) Initiation of meetings. (1) Committee meetings may be called by: (i) The Director or the head of the office most directly concerned with the committee's activities; (ii) The agency officer referred to in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, and the committee chairman, jointly; or (iii) The committee chairman, with the advance approval of the officer referred to in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section. (2) The Service's committee management officer shall be promptly informed that a meeting has been called. (b) Agenda. Committee meetings shall be based on agenda approved by the officer referred to in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Such agenda shall note those items which may involve matters which have been determined by the Office of the General Counsel as coming within the exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b). (c) Notice of meetings. (1) Notice of advisory committee meetings shall be published in the Federal Register at least 7 days before the date of the meeting, irrespective of whether a particular meeting will be open to the public. Notice to interested persons shall also be provided in such other reasonable ways as are appropriate under the circumstances, such as press release or letter. Responsibility for preparation of Federal Register and other appropriate notice shall be with the officer referred to in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. (2) Notice in the Federal Register shall state all pertinent information related to a meeting and shall be published at least 7 days prior to a meeting. (d) Presence of agency officer or employee at meetings. No committee shall meet without the presence of the officer referred to in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, or his delegate. At his option the officer or employee may elect to chair the meeting. (e) Minutes. Detailed minutes shall be kept of all committee meetings and shall be certified by the chairman of the advisory committee as being accurate. (f) Adjournment. The officer or employee referred to in paragraph (a)(1) of this section may adjourn a meeting at any time he determines it in the public interest to do so. (g) Public access to committee meetings. All advisory committee meetings shall be open to the public, except when the Office of the General Counsel determines, in writing, and states his reasons therefor prior to Federal Register notice, that a meeting or any part thereof, is concerned with matters related to the exemptions provided in the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b). In such instances, those portions of a committee meeting which come within the section 552(b) exemptions may be closed to the public. (h) Public participation in committee procedures. Interested persons shall be permitted to file statements with advisory committees. Subject to reasonable committee procedures, interested persons may also be permitted to make oral statements on matters germane to the subjects under consideration at the committee meeting.

29 C.F.R. § 1430.9 Agency management of advisory committees.

Consistent with the other provisions of this part, the Service's advisory committee management officer shall: (a) Exercise control and supervision over the establishment, procedures, and accomplishments of advisory committees established by the Service; (b) Assemble and maintain the reports, records, and other papers of advisory committees, during their existence; (c) Carry out, with the concurrence of the Office of the General Counsel, the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, as those provisions apply to advisory committees; (d) Have available for public inspection and copying all pertinent documents of advisory committees which are within the purview of the Freedom of Information Act; and (e) When transcripts have been made of advisory committee meetings, provide for such transcripts to be made available to the public at actual cost of duplication, except where prohibited by contractual agreements entered into prior to January 5, 1973, the effective date of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

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