The regulations prescribed in this part set forth the administrative guidelines and management controls for advisory committees reporting to the Marine Mammal Commission. These regulations are authorized by section 8(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. appendix I. Guidelines and controls are prescribed for calling of meetings, notice of meetings, public participation, closing of meetings, keeping of minutes, and compensation of committee members, their staff and consultants.

These regulations shall apply to the operation of advisory committees reporting to the agency.

For the purposes of this part,

(a) The term Act means the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. appendix I;

(b) The term Chairperson means each person selected to chair an advisory committee established by the Commission;

(c) The term Commission means the Marine Mammal Commission, established by 16 U.S.C. 1401(a);

(d) The term committee means any advisory committee reporting to the Commission; and

(e) The term Designee means the agency official designated by the Chairman of the Commission (1) to perform those functions specified by sections 10(e) and (f) of the Act, and (2) to perform such other responsibilities as are required by the Act and applicable regulations to be performed by the “agency head.”

(a) No committee shall hold any meeting except with the advance approval of the Designee. Requests for approval may be made, and approval to hold meetings may be given orally or in writing, but if approval is given orally, the fact that approval has been given shall be stated in the public notice published pursuant to § 510.5 of these regulations.

(b) An agenda shall be submitted to, and must be approved by, the Designee in advance of each committee meeting, and that meeting shall be conducted in accordance with the approved agenda. The agenda shall list all matters to be considered at the meeting, and shall indicate when any part of the meeting will be closed to the public on the authority of exemptions contained in the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b).

(a) Notice of each committee meeting shall be timely published in the Federal Register. Publication shall be considered timely if made at least 15 days before the date of the meeting, except that shorter notice may be provided in emergency situations.

(b) The notice shall state the time, place, schedule and purposes of the committee meeting, and shall include, whenever it is available, a summary of the agenda. The notice shall indicate the approximate times at which any portion of the meeting will be closed to the public and shall include an explanation for the closing of any portion of the meeting pursuant to § 510.7.

(a) All committee meetings, or portions of meetings, that are open to the public shall be held at a reasonable time and at a place that is reasonably accessible to the public. A meeting room shall be selected which, within the bounds of the resources and facilities available, affords space to accommodate all members of the public who reasonably could be expected to attend.

(b) Any member of the public shall be permitted to file a written statement with the committee, either by personally delivering a copy to the Chairperson, or by submitting the statement by mail to the Marine Mammal Commission Offices at the address indicated in the notice of meeting. Such statements should be received at least one week in advance of the scheduled meeting at which they are expected to be considered by the committee.

(c) Opportunities will ordinarily be afforded to interested persons to speak to agenda items during that portion of the open meeting during which that item is to be considered by the committee, subject to such reasonable time limits as the committee may establish, and consideration of the extent to which the committee has received the benefit of comments by interested persons, the complexity and the importance of the subject, the time constraints under which the meeting is to be conducted, the number of persons who wish to speak during the meeting, and the extent to which the statement provides the committee with information which has not previously been available and is relevant to its decision or other action on that subject. Interested persons may be required to serve reasonable notice of their intentions to speak so that the committee may assess whether procedures and scheduling for the meeting can be adjusted to accommodate large numbers of participants.

(a) Whenever the committee seeks to have all or a portion of a meeting closed to the public on the basis of an exemption provided in 5 U.S.C. 552(b), the Chairperson shall notify the Designee at least 30 days before the scheduled date of the meeting. The notification shall be in writing and shall specify all the reasons for closing any part of the meeting.

(b) If, after consultation with the General Counsel of the Commission, the Designee finds the request to be warranted and in accordance with the policy of the Act, the request shall be granted. The determination of the Designee to grant any such request shall be in writing and shall state the specific reasons for closing all or a part of the meeting. Copies of the determination shall be made available to the public upon request.

Detailed minutes shall be kept of each portion of each committee meeting. The minutes shall include: the time and place of the meeting; a list of the committee members and staff in attendance; a complete summary of matters discussed and conclusions reached; copies of all reports received, issued, or approved by the committee; a description of the extent to which the meeting was open to the public; and a description of public participation, including a list of members of the public who presented oral or written statements and an estimate of the number of members of the public who attended the open sessions. The Chairperson shall certify to the accuracy of the minutes.

(a) Compensation of members and staff of, and consultants to the Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals is fixed in accordance with 16 U.S.C. 1401(e), 1403(b), and 1406.

(b) Compensation for members and staff of, and consultants to all advisory committees reporting to the Commission except the Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals shall be fixed in accordance with guidelines established by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to section 7(d) of the Act, 5 U.S.C. appendix I.