(a) The Commission shall conduct an annual comprehensive review of the activities and responsibilities of each advisory committee to determine:

(1) Whether such committee is carrying out its purpose;

(2) Whether, consistent with the provisions of applicable statutes, the responsibilities assigned to it should be revised;

(3) Whether it should be merged with any other advisory committee or committees; or

(4) Whether it should be abolished.

(b) Pertinent factors to be considered in the comprehensive review required by paragraph (a) of this section include the following:

(1) The number of times the committee has met in the past year;

(2) The number of reports or recommendations submitted by the committee;

(3) An evaluation of the substance of the committee's reports or recommendations with respect to the Commission's programs or operations;

(4) An evaluation (with emphasis on the preceding twelve month period of the committee's work) of the history of the Commission's utilization of the committee's recommendations in policy formulation, program planning, decision making, more effective achievement of program objectives, and more economical accomplishment of programs in general.

(5) Whether information or recommendations could be obtained from sources within the Commission or from another advisory committee already in existence;

(6) The degree of duplication of effort by the committee as compared with that of other parts of the Commission or other advisory committees; and

(7) The estimated annual cost of the committee.

(c) The annual review required by this section shall be conducted on a fiscal year basis, and results of the review shall be included in the annual report to the GSA required by § 16.15 of this part. The report shall contain a justification of each advisory committee which the Commission determines should be continued, making reference, as appropriate, to the factors specified in paragraph (b) of this section.