Title 45—Public Welfare--Volume 1
PART 1703—GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE ACT
§ 1703.101   Purpose.
This part sets forth the regulations under which the Commission shall engage in public decision-making processes, make public announcement of meetings at which a quorum of or all Commission members consider and determine official Commission action, and inform the public of which meetings they are entitled to observe.
§ 1703.102   Definitions.
In this part:
(a) Meeting means the deliberations of a majority of the Commission members who have been appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate where such deliberations determine or result in the joint conduct of official Commission business.
(b) Member means one of the Commissioners of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) who is appointed to that position by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
§ 1703.103   Applicability and scope.
This part applies to deliberations of a majority of the Commission members who have been appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Excluded from coverage of this part are deliberations of interagency committees whose composition includes Commission members and deliberations of Commission officials who are not members; individual member's consideration of official agency business circulated to the members in writing for disposition or notation; and deliberations by the agency in determining whether or not to close a portion or portions of a meeting or series of meetings as provided in § 1703.202.
§ 1703.104   Open meeting policy.
The public is entitled to the fullest practicable information regarding the decision-making processes of the Commission. Commission meetings involving deliberations which determine or result in the joint conduct or disposition of official Commission business are presumptively open to the public. It is the intent of these regulations to open such meetings to public observation while protecting individuals' rights and the Commission's ability to carry out its responsibilities. Meetings or portions of meetings may be closed to public observation only if closure can be justified under one of the provisions set forth in § 1703.202.
§ 1703.201   Decision to hold meeting.
When Commission members make a decision to hold a meeting, the proposed meeting will ordinarily be scheduled for a date no earlier than eight days after the decision to allow sufficient time to give appropriate public notice. At the time a decision is made to hold a meeting, the time, place, and subject matter of the meeting will be determined, as well as whether the meeting is to be open or closed to the public.
§ 1703.202   Provisions under which a meeting may be closed.
(a) A meeting or portion thereof may be closed to public observation, and information pertaining to such meeting may be withheld from the public, where the Commission determines that such portion or portions of its meeting or disclosure of such information is likely to:
(1) Disclose matters that are: (i) Specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or foreign policy and
(ii) In fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;
(2) Relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency;
(3) Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552 of this title). Provided that such statute: (i) Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or
(ii) Establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;
(4) Disclose trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;
(5) Involve accusing any person of a crime, or formally censuring any person;
(6) Disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(7) Disclose investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, or information which if written would be contained in such records, but only to the extent that the production of such records or information would: (i) Interfere with enforcement proceedings,
(ii) Deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication,
(iii) Constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,
(iv) Disclose the identity of a confidential source and, in the case of a record compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, confidential information furnished only by the confidential source,
(v) Disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or
(vi) Endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel;
(8) Disclose information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions;
(9) Disclose information the premature disclosure of which would be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action, except this subparagraph shall not apply in any instance where the agency has already disclosed to the public the content or nature of its proposed action, or where the agency is required by law to make such disclosure on its own initiative prior to taking final agency action on such proposal; or
(10) Specifically concern the agency's issuance of a subpoena, or the agency's participation in a civil action or proceeding, an action in a foreign court or international tribunal, or an arbitration, or the initiation, conduct, or disposition by the agency of a particular case of formal agency adjudication pursuant to the procedures in section 554 of this title or otherwise involving a determination on the record after opportunity for a hearing.
(b) The Commission may exercise its authority to open to public observation a meeting which could be closed under one of the provisions of § 1703.202(a), if it would be in the public interest to do so. The Commission will determine whether the discussion comes within one of the specific exemptions. If the discussion is determined to be exempt, the Commission will consider and determine whether the public interest nevertheless requires that the meeting be open.
§ 1703.203   Decision to close meeting.
(a) Commission members may decide before the meeting to close to public observation a meeting or portion or portions thereof, or to withhold information pertaining to such meeting, only if a majority of the members vote on the record to take such action. No proxy votes on this action shall be allowed. A single vote may be taken with respect to a series of meetings, a portion or portions of which are proposed to be closed to the public, or with respect to any information concerning such series of meetings, so long as each meeting in such series involves the same particular matters and is scheduled to be held no more than thirty days after the initial meeting in such series. If a decision is made to close a portion or portions of a meeting or a series of meetings, the Commission shall prepare a full written explanation of the closure action together with a list naming all persons expected to attend the meeting and identifying their affiliation.
(b) For every meeting or portion thereof which Commission members have voted to close, the Chairman of NCLIS shall certify that, in his or her opinion, the meeting may properly be closed to the public. In addition, the Chairman shall state each relevant exemptive provision as set forth in § 1703.202(a). A copy of the Chairman's certification, together with a statement from the Chairman setting forth the time and place of the meeting and listing the persons present, shall be retained by the Commission.
(c) Whenever any person whose interests may be directly affected by a portion of a meeting requests that the Commission close such portion to the public for any of the reasons referred to in § 1703.202 (a)(5), (6), or (7), the Commission members, upon request of any of the Commissioners, shall decide by recorded vote whether to close such portion. If a closure decision is made, the Commission shall prepare a full written explanation of the closure action together with a list naming all persons expected to attend the meeting and identifying their affiliation.
§ 1703.204   Public availability of recorded vote to close meeting.
Within one day of any vote taken on a proposal to close a meeting, the Commission shall make publicly available a record reflecting the vote of each member on the question. In addition, within one day of any vote which closes a portion or portions of a meeting to the public, the Commission shall make publicly available a full written explanation of its closure action together with a list naming all persons expected to attend and identifying their affiliation, unless such disclosure would reveal the information that the meeting itself was closed to protect.
§ 1703.205   Public announcement of meeting.
(a) Except as provided in §§ 1703.207 and 1703.208, the Commission shall make a public announcement at least one week before the scheduled meeting, to include the following:
(1) Time, place, and subject matter of the meeting;
(2) Whether the meeting is to be open or closed; and
(3) Name and telephone number of agency official who will respond to requests for information about the meeting.
(b) If announcement of the subject matter of a closed meeting would reveal the information that the meeting was closed to protect, the subject matter shall not be announced.
§ 1703.206   Providing information to the public.
Individuals or organizations interested in obtaining copies of information available in accordance with § 1703.204 may request same under provisions set forth in §§ 1703.402 and 1704.404. Individuals or organizations having a special interest in activities of the Commission may request the Executive Director to the Commissioners to place them on a mailing list for receipt of information available under § 1703.205. The Commission shall provide information to publications whose readers are likely to have a special interest in the work of the Commission.
§ 1703.207   Change in meeting plans after public announcement.
(a) Following public announcement of a meeting, the time or place of a meeting may be changed only if the change is announced publicly at the earliest practicable time.
§ 1703.208   Meetings for extraordinary agency business.
Where agency business so requires, Commission members may decide by majority, recorded vote to schedule a meeting for a date earlier than eight days after the decision. Such a decision would obviate the general requirement for a public announcement at least one week before the scheduled meeting. At the earliest practicable time, however, the Commission will announce publicly the time, place, and subject matter of the meeting, whether the meeting is to be open or closed, and the name and telephone number of an agency official who will respond to requests for information about the meeting.
§ 1703.209   Notice of meeting in Federal Register.
Immediately following each public announcement required by this subpart, the following information, as applicable, shall be submitted for publication in the Federal Register:
(a) Notice of the time, place, and subject matter of a meeting;
(b) Whether the meeting is open or closed;
(c) Any change in one of the preceding; and
(d) The name and telephone number of an agency official who will respond to requests for information about the meeting.
§ 1703.301   Meeting place.
Meetings will be held in meeting rooms designated in the public announcement. Whenever the number of observers is greater than can be accommodated in the meeting room designated, every reasonable effort will be made to provide alternative facilities.
§ 1703.302   Role of observers.
The public may attend open meetings for the sole purpose of observation and may not record any of the discussions by means of electronic or other devices or cameras unless approved in advance by the Executive Committee of the Commission. Observers may not participate in meetings unless expressly invited or create distractions to interfere with the conduct and disposition of Commission business. Such participation or attempted participation shall be cause for removal of any person so engaged at the discretion of the presiding member of the Commission. When meetings are partially closed, observers will leave the meeting room promptly upon request so that discussion, of matters exempt under provisions of subpart B of this part, § 1703.202, may take place expeditiously.
§ 1703.401   Requirements for maintaining records of closed meetings.
(a) A record of each meeting or portion thereof which is closed to the public must be made and retained for two years or for one year after the conclusion of the Commission proceeding involved in the meeting. The record of any portion of a meeting closed to the public shall be a transcript or electronic recording.
(b) When minutes are produced, such minutes shall fully and clearly describe all matters discussed, and will provide a full and accurate summary of any actions taken and the reasons expressed therefor. The minutes must also reflect the vote of each member on any roll call vote taken during the proceedings and identify all documents produced at the meeting.
(c) The following documents produced under provisions of paragraph (b) of this section shall be retained by the agency as part of the minutes of the meeting:
(1) Certification by the Chairman that the meeting may properly be closed; and
(2) Statement from the presiding officer of the meeting setting forth the date, time and place of the meeting and listing the persons present.
§ 1703.402   Availability of records to the public.
(a) The Commission shall make promptly available to the public the minutes maintained as a record of a closed meeting, except for such information as may be withheld under one of the provisions of § 1703.202(a) of this report. Copies of such minutes, disclosing the identity of each speaker, shall be furnished to any person at the actual cost of duplication or transcription.
(b) The nonexempt part of the minutes shall be in the official custody of the Executive Director of the Commission. Appropriate facilities will be made available to any persons who make a request to review these records.
(c) Requests for copies of nonexempt parts of minutes, shall be directed to the Executive Director of the Commission. Such requests shall identify the records being sought and include a statement that whatever costs are involved in furnishing the records will be acceptable or, alternatively, that costs will be acceptable up to a specified amount.
§ 1703.403   Requests for records under Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts.
Requests to review or obtain copies of records other than the minutes of a meeting will be processed under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or, where applicable, the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a).
§ 1703.404   Copying and transcription charges.
(a) The Commission will charge fees for furnishing records at the rate of ten cents per page for photocopies and at the actual cost of transcription. When the anticipated charges exceed $50, a deposit of 20 percent of the amount anticipated must be made within 30 days. Requested information will not be released until the deposit is received. Fees shall be paid by check or money order made payable to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science.
(b) The Executive Director of the Commission has the discretion to waive charges whenever release of the copies is determined to be in the public interest.
§ 1703.501   Administrative Review.
Any person who believes a Commission action governed by this part to be contrary to the provisions of this part may file an objection in writing with the Executive Director to the Commissioners. Wherever possible, the Executive Director will respond within two working days to objections concerning decisions to close meetings or portions thereof. Responses to objections concerning matters other than closed meetings will be made within ten working days.
§ 1703.601   Judicial review.
Any person may bring an action in a United States District Court to challenge or enforce the provisions of this part or the manner of their implementation. Such action may be brought prior to or within sixty days after the meeting in question, except that if proper public announcement of the meeting is not made, the action may be instituted at any time within sixty days after such announcement is made. An action may be brought where the Commission meeting was or is to be held or in the District of Columbia.