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VOTING 

Commission decision-making is done through notational voting on prescribed vote 

sheets,12 by affirming a notational vote at an Affirmation session, by responding to action 

memoranda, or through voting at scheduled Commission meetings. Generally, following 

the Commission vote and Commission review of the draft Staff Requirements 

Memorandum (SRM), the Office of the Secretary issues a final SRM. In the case of 

Affirmation votes, before the Affirmation Session the Secretary circulates, for Commission 

review and approval, a draft Affirmation Statement that the Secretary will read at the 

Affirmation Session, and immediately following the Affirmation Session the Secretary 

issues a final SRM. (See section below on “Closure Process”). 

A majority Commission position is needed for action.13 On vote sheets supplied 

electronically by the Secretary, Commissioners vote "Approve," "Disapprove," "Abstain," 

or "Not Participating.” The vote sheet also provides space for Commissioners to provide 

views and propose modifications for consideration by other Commissioners. The majority 

is determined by counting the "Approve" votes and the "Disapprove" votes. Nonresponding Commissioners are recorded as “Not Participating” and are not included in 

the majority determination. 

For meeting activities, a quorum is required for the transaction of business. The quorum 

is determined by including only the number of Commissioners participating who are voting 

to "Approve" or "Disapprove" or have chosen to "Abstain." 

 

Under certain circumstances, a Commissioner may wish to recuse himself/herself from 

participation in a particular matter in order to avoid any actual or apparent conflict of 

interest. When this occurs, the determination of a quorum and the majority vote will be 

based upon the number of other Commissioners voting.14 The recused Commissioner is 

not included for purposes of determining a quorum. 

As a general matter, requests for Commission action will be denied if the Commission 

vote is 2-2 or there is a lack of quorum;15 however, in those instances where the staff has 

authority to act on a matter, but must first consult with the Commission before taking a 

proposed action, the staff may, at its discretion, proceed with its proposed action after it 

has been informed by the Secretary that the Commission has been unable to act on the 

staff's proposal either because of a lack of a quorum or an evenly divided vote. 

 

 12 A sample vote sheet is in Appendix 3. 

 13 The "Basis for Determining Voting Results" is described in Appendix 4. 

 14 See Chapter IV, Format for Commission Meetings, footnote 22. 

 15 See Appendix 5, Resolution of 2-2 Votes. 
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VOTES ON SECY PAPERS 

Electronic vote sheets are prepared by the Secretary for each SECY voting paper. They 

are e-mailed to each Commissioner's office when the paper is issued, and a signed 

original of each Commissioner’s vote is returned to SECY by each office. Specific 

guidance for voting is as follows: 

1. Action Dates

a. The Commission’s goal is that Commission action on the majority of the 

papers be completed within 18 business days. 

b. Commissioners are expected to complete voting within the first 10 business 

days on the recommendation of a paper in most cases. After evaluation of 

the action required, the Office of the Secretary will, in some cases, set a 

shorter or longer time frame for Commission response (e.g., the substance 

of the paper, and/or a scheduled Commission meeting may require that a 

longer time frame for Commission response be set). The Office of the 

Secretary will poll the Commission if there is a need to set a shorter time 

frame for Commission response. The Office of the Secretary generally sets 

longer voting due dates for rulemakings: 30 business days for proposed 

rules and 60 business days for final rules. For papers that are the subject 

of Commission meetings, the Office of the Secretary generally sets the 

voting due date as 10 business days after the Commission meeting. 

(Commission-level offices may comment on the recommendation within the 

first 5 business days.) Commissioners are urged to vote early and to 

request any necessary extensions of time as early as possible, particularly 

if they are expected to be out of town or unavailable to vote by the end of 

the 10 business day voting period. 

c. With respect to Adjudicatory SECY papers, Commissioners are expected 

to vote no later than 10 business days after the issuance of the paper. 

When a majority of the Commission has voted and it is within 3 business 

days of the voting due date, SECY will notify the Commissioners who have 

not voted. A request for extension of time to vote beyond the 10 business 

day voting period or a request to delay the affirmation of the vote on a matter 

shall be granted only by a majority of the Commission. 

d. SECY will poll the Commission on scheduling the affirmation of a paper as 

soon as a majority position on the paper has been established and all 

extensions have expired. The Commission should strive to schedule 

affirmation at the earliest opportunity giving at least 7 calendar days public 

notice (unless a majority of the Commission agrees to short notice) following 

either the establishment of a majority position of the Commission and 

expiration of all extensions, or direction from a majority of the Commission 

that affirmation should be scheduled. 
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e. For non-adjudicatory SECY papers, a Commissioner may obtain an 

automatic extension of voting time of 5 days.

 f. At the completion of voting, SECY will draft an SRM that reflects the majority 

position of the Commission and forward it to the Commission for review. 

 g. In urgent cases, when a majority of the Commission has weighed in and 

agreed, Commission action should not be held for a Commissioner who is 

unavailable. SECY would note that the Commissioner was unavailable in 

the Commission Voting Record (CVR). That Commissioner could then 

create a vote and place it on the record once he/she returned so that his/her 

opinion on the topic would be known. 

h. Three (3) business days are allowed for circulation and review of the 

Secretary's SRM by the Commission. 

i. Commissioner requests for extensions of review time on an SRM will be 

granted up to 2 business days, unless a majority of the Commission objects. 

 

j. If Commissioners propose modifications to the SRM, SECY will poll the 

other Commissioners and determine a majority position with regard to 

inclusion of the changes. However, SECY may make non-substantive 

syntax, grammatical, or formatting changes to an SRM without formal 

Commission voting on such changes. Subsequent revisions on an SRM 

will normally be circulated for a 2-business-day review period with no more 

than a 2-business-day extension on each version, unless a majority of the 

Commission objects to the extension. 

k. SECY shall promptly transmit to the Commissioners any comments on a 

draft SRM that a Commission-level or staff office transmits to SECY. 

l. Absent an objection from a majority of the Commission, extensions on the 

due date will be granted for voting papers and SRMs, and the extensions 

will apply to all Commissioners, without requiring subsequent requests from 

each Commissioner office. 

m. SECY will issue an SRM when a majority view exists and all extensions 

have expired. The SRM should be issued by noon on the next business 

day after SECY notifies all Commissioner offices that an SRM will be issued. 

 n. In instances where SECY polls the Commission, a Commissioner shall have 

2 business days to respond or request an extension of time once a majority 

position has been established in response to polling. If a Commissioner 

does not respond or request an extension of time within this two-day period, 

the action subject to the polling will proceed according to the Commission 

majority’s decision. An extension of time of up to 2 business days will be 
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granted unless a majority of the Commission objects. Further extensions 

must be approved by the majority of the Commission. 

 

2. Submission of Votes to the Secretary

a. Commissioners select the appropriate expression of their position and mark 

the vote sheet accordingly ("Approved," "Disapproved," "Abstain," or "Not 

Participating"). 

 

b. Commissioners may also use the vote sheet to propose revisions to any 

course of action discussed in the paper, to propose a course of action not 

discussed in the paper, or to record comments on the issue. 

c. Commissioners’ staff prepare the vote in the Secretariat Tracking and 

Reporting System (STARS); attach any comments; then register the vote, 

which automatically e-mails the vote to SECY and other Commissioner 

offices. SECY will then forward the electronic vote to OGC, EDO, CFO, and 

Commission-level offices as appropriate. In the case of hand written 

remarks or edits in the vote, the edits should be digitally scanned and 

attached to the vote in STARS, if possible. If not possible, the original and 

7 hard copies should be provided to SECY for distribution. Similarly, votes 

containing Classified or Safeguards Information cannot be transmitted 

electronically and hard copies need to be delivered to SECY for further 

distribution to the other Commissioners and appropriate offices. 

d. Commissioners' staff forward the original signed paper copies of completed 

votes to the Secretary as soon as they are available. 

e. Further distribution of non-adjudicatory vote sheets within the staff is 

permissible upon issuance of the vote, but distribution outside the agency 

is permissible only after the final collegial decision is recorded by the 

Secretary in an SRM to the action office and the votes have been released 

to the public. For votes that are not made publicly available, specific 

permission of each Commissioner is required prior to distribution of his or 

her own vote outside the NRC. Staff actions are not to be based upon 

individual Commissioner votes; the staff's actions are controlled by a 

majority vote of the Commission as directed in the SRM when issued. 

SECY shall promptly transmit to the Commission any comments that a 

Commission-level or staff office submits to SECY. Nothing in this section 

precludes a Commissioner from releasing his/her own vote outside of the 

agency at any time, as long as the vote does not contain Classified 

Information, Safeguards Information, or other information the 

Commissioner deems sensitive. 
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f. If a Commissioner proposes modifications to the course of action 

recommended in the paper, or proposes revisions to a document on which 

voting is taking place, other Commissioners may indicate in their vote their 

agreement/disagreement with the proposed changes. SECY transmits all 

votes/comments to other Commissioners and determines, through the SRM 

process and discussions with Commissioner offices, whether individual 

modifications to the initial proposal receive support by a majority of the 

Commission. 

g. The Office of the Secretary will handle the release of the SRM and CVR, 

which includes individual Commissioner votes, as a unit, based upon the 

releasibility of the SECY paper. As a matter of collegiality, a Commissioner 

should inform SECY and his or her fellow Commissioners promptly if he or 

she makes a decision to release his or her vote prior to release of the SRM 

and CVR by SECY. SECY will then inform appropriate staff offices. 

3. Recording of Commissioner Votes While Away from the Office 

The following are some methods for recording Commissioner votes while a 

Commissioner is away from the office: 

● The Commissioner votes either through telephone or e-mail contact with his 

or her staff. The Commissioner’s Assistant registers the vote in STARS. 

(This continues to allow the Commission’s action to be taken and the SRM 

drafted on the issue without delay.) Upon the Commissioner’s return, he or 

she should sign and date on that date an additional vote sheet and forward 

it to SECY. The additional vote sheet should note the date of the original 

vote. SECY will use this vote sheet for placement in the official record, and, 

if appropriate, release it to the public in the CVR. 

● The Commissioner faxes the signed vote to his or her office from the offsite location for processing and forwarding to SECY. 

● The Commissioner uses an overnight mail service to transmit the vote to 

his or her office for processing and forwarding to SECY. 

SECY will ensure that no delay is incurred while waiting for the actual 

Commissioner-signed vote sheet in the issuance and public release of SRMs and 

the CVRs. If a Commissioner-signed vote sheet is not available at the normal time 

of public release of an SRM and the CVR, SECY will include a note in the CVR 

stating that the missing Commissioner-signed vote sheet will be added to the CVR 

when it is available. 
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4. Handling of Separate Views16 on Commission Documents Published in the 

Federal Register 

Individual Commissioner decisions to have his or her separate views to be 

appended to the end of a Federal Register notice being issued by the Commission 

should be provided in the Commissioner’s response to the draft SRM. The 

separate views will be noted in the SRM, and the other Commissioners will be 

afforded the opportunity to consider them. The other Commissioners may submit 

responding individual or majority views to also be included in or appended to the 

Federal Register notice. 

Including a separate view in response to an SRM will automatically generate a new 

version of the SRM. Commissioners will have 3 business days, as opposed to the 

usual 2 business days, to respond to versions of SRMs that were generated as a 

result of the inclusion of separate views. 

The SRM, CVR, and SECY paper (or COM) will be released in accordance with 

guidance noted in Chapter II, Decision Documents. 

5. Handling of Separate Views in Commission Adjudicatory Decisions 

A Commissioner must circulate his or her separate, additional views on 

adjudicatory orders subject to affirmation to his/her fellow Commissioners. If 

affirmation of the adjudicatory order has already been noticed, the Commissioner’s 

views must be distributed no later than 3 business days before affirmation. Should 

a majority desire to make substantive changes to the order to be affirmed, or 

submit additional views in response to the additional views already submitted, and 

requires more than 3 business days to do so, a majority of the Commission may 

determine that “extraordinary circumstances” exist such that the Commission may 

cancel the announced Affirmation Session and reschedule it to a later date. The 

Commission may waive this 3-business-day rule if agreed to by a majority of the 

Commission. 

COMMENTS ON DRAFT CONGRESSIONAL LETTERS AND 

PRESS RELEASES ASSOCIATED WITH DECISION DOCUMENTS 

1. Draft Congressional letters and Press Releases associated with a decision 

document on policy formulation, rulemaking, or adjudication require Commission 

approval. These drafts are forwarded separately from the associated SECY paper 

or action memoranda to SECY. 

2. SECY attaches a cover sheet that indicates the supplemental material is being 

forwarded in support of the relevant SECY/COMSECY paper and circulates it with 

 16 Separate views may include, for example, dissents, concurrences, or additional 

views. 
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the associated SECY/COMSECY paper to the Commission for review and 

approval. In the case of a COM, any draft Congressional letters and Press 

Releases are forwarded to SECY and provided to the Commission for its review 

and approval once voting on the related SRM has concluded. 

3. Commission comments are returned to SECY separately from votes on the 

associated SECY/COMSECY/COM paper. SECY provides any comments on 

Congressional letters and draft Press Releases to the Chairman, Commissioners, 

OGC, OCA, OPA, and originating office point of contact for the SECY/COMSECY 

paper. 

4. Editorial comments to Congressional letters are incorporated by SECY. 

Substantive comments are considered by the Chairman. SECY provides support 

to finalize letters and provides the final letters to Program Offices and OCA as 

appropriate. 

5. The Chairman reviews the comments on the draft Press Release and coordinates 

with OPA any changes to the Press Release. OPA finalizes the Press Release 

and publishes it. 

6. Comments on Congressional letters or press releases that are supported by a 

majority of the Commission will be incorporated into the final version of the letter 

or press release by the Chairman, and the Chairman may incorporate changes 

suggested in individual Commissioner’s comments. 

 

VOTES ON ACTION MEMORANDA (COMS AND COMSECYS) 

 

1. When a Commissioner sends an action memorandum to his or her fellow 

Commissioners and requests their views or when the staff sends a memorandum 

requesting Commission views, it is forwarded to the Office of the Secretary with 

the notation: "SECY, please track." 

2. SECY assigns a specific reply date of 10 business days or less, depending upon 

the subject matter (or the date requested by the originator), and assigns a 

distinctive control and identification number (e.g., COMABC-YY-XXXX if 

Commission originated memorandum, or COMSECY-YY-XXXX if originated by the 

staff, see Chapter II-Decision Documents, “Action Memoranda (COMs and 

COMSECYs”)). If the memorandum is related to a SECY paper, a projected 

response date will be assigned in conjunction with the date assigned to the SECY 

paper (including any approved extensions). 

3. A copy of the memorandum is circulated to each Commissioner's office, and SECY 

tracks each Commissioner’s response. If the memorandum is related to a SECY 

paper, the Secretary tracks the comments in conjunction with the SECY paper. 
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4. Commissioners may respond on COMs and COMSECYs by electronic submission 

of the COM or COMSECY response sheet, in writing by separate memorandum to 

SECY, or by handwritten or typed comments directly on their copy (or photocopy) 

of the COM or COMSECY memorandum. 

5. SECY transmits all responses to other Commissioners for information. (See 

section on “Closure Process” later in this chapter.) 

6. After all Commissioner responses are received, SECY develops an SRM. For 

COMSECYs, an SRM is generated. For Commissioner-generated COMs, a 

memorandum reporting the outcome is addressed to the individual Commissioner 

initiating the COM, and an SRM is prepared if tasking or guidance to the staff is 

the result. When Commissioners' responses differ and there is not a majority 

position, SECY may meet with Commissioner assistants, the staff, OGC, and/or 

Commissioners to resolve differing points of view. If necessary, a Commission 

meeting may be scheduled to resolve the issue. 

7. Normally, SECY will handle the release of the COM or COMSECY, the SRM, and 

individual Commissioner responses as a unit after Commission action has been 

completed, based upon the releasibility of the COM or COMSECY paper. This 

procedure, however, does not preclude a Commissioner from withholding his or 

her response when the COM or COMSECY has been released or releasing his or 

her response when the COM or COMSECY has been withheld. A Commissioner 

should inform SECY and their fellow Commissioners promptly if they make a 

release/withhold determination on their response that is different from the 

release/withhold determination made for a COM or COMSECY. 

VOTES AT COMMISSION MEETINGS 

If an opportunity for voting occurs at a Commission meeting, the Chairman may identify 

the need for a formal vote. If a majority of the Commission agrees to vote at the meeting, 

the Chairman may call for a vote and Commissioners may vote orally. At an Affirmation 

Session, the Secretary describes the item on which formal voting is to take place; reviews 

the outcome of the notational voting and any agreed-to modifications which have occurred 

on the issue, noting the position taken by the Commission; and asks the individual 

Commissioners to declare formally that they affirm the positions as described. 

Commissioners normally "affirm" their votes by declaring "aye" or "yes" in unison.17 

Separate, individual views of Commissioners on matters to be affirmed must be circulated 

to the other Commissioners no later than 3 business days before affirmation. Should a 

majority desire to make substantive changes to the matter to be affirmed or submit 

additional views in response to the views already submitted, and requires more than 3 

 17 The Affirmation Statement will follow this template in describing the outcome of 

the notation voting: “The Commission, with Commissioner(s) [insert names(s)] 

[disapproving] [disapproving in part] [dissenting] [dissenting in part] [concurring] 

[concurring in part] [offering additional views] has voted to [approve]....” 
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business days to do so, a majority of the Commission may determine that “extraordinary 

circumstances” exist such that the Commission may cancel the announced meeting and 

reschedule it to a later date. (See Chapter IV, Commission Meetings, Development of a 

Commission Schedule, paragraph 5). The Commission may waive this 3-business-day 

rule if agreed to by a majority of the Commission. 

CONTINUANCES AND EXTENSIONS OF TIME18

1. When a majority of the Commission has voted, SECY notifies the remaining 

Commissioners in writing. The Commissioners who have not responded are 

advised that they have 3 additional business days to vote.19 If there are more than 

3 business days remaining of the original 10 business day voting period, their votes 

would not be due until the end of that period. 

 

2. If a Commissioner is unable to meet an original due date, he or she may request 

an extension of time to vote on a SECY Notation or Affirmation paper or on a COM 

or COMSECY. The Secretary will honor requests submitted within the 10 business 

day voting period and within the additional 3 business day period, if needed, when 

Commissioners who have not yet responded are advised that a majority of the 

Commission has voted. Extensions of voting time are normally limited to 5 

business days. Any extension after the initial request will be granted unless a 

majority of the Commission objects. 

3. When voting papers are issued, Commission-level offices are normally asked to 

provide any comments within 5 business days. If a Commission level office wishes 

to comment but cannot meet the 5 business day deadline, it should inform SECY 

in writing of the reason(s) for the delay and provide the approximate date that 

comments will be submitted. SECY will inform the Commissioners. 

4. If a Commissioner has requested that additional information or analyses be 

received from the staff before voting, it is incumbent upon the staff to fulfill the 

request expeditiously to avoid delay in completing the voting process. 

5. If a Commissioner requests and is granted an extension of voting time, all 

Commissioners who have not yet responded on a matter will be given the same 

amount of time. 

 

 18 Appendix 6 contains procedures for assuring that the Commission will have 

sufficient voting time when its formal review time for adjudicatory actions is 

limited by NRC regulations. 

 19 If a majority of Commissioners has not voted by the end of the 10 business 

day voting limit, no action can be taken. SECY may institute the closure 

process only after a majority of the Commission votes have been received. 
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6. With respect to Adjudicatory SECY papers, if a Commissioner requests an 

extension of the voting time beyond the 10 day voting period or requests a delay 

in the affirmation of the vote on a matter, such requests shall be granted only by a 

majority of the Commission. 

CLOSURE PROCESS 

1. After at least a majority of the Commission has voted and all extensions of time 

have expired, SECY records the decision in an SRM.20 

2. After voting is complete on a Commission decision document, SECY will circulate 

a draft SRM to the Commission for its review and approval. SECY will transmit the 

draft SRM via e-mail. SECY will incorporate only those decisions that are 

supported by a majority into the main body of the draft SRM. For those comments 

that are not supported by a majority of the Commission and do not conflict with the 

majority position, SECY will include them as “Additional Commissioner Comments” 

in an attachment to the main body of the draft SRM. Once voting is complete on 

the draft SRM, SECY will prepare a final SRM reflecting the decisions supported 

by a majority of the Commission. SECY shall consult with the applicable 

Commissioner office if there are questions on how an individual Commissioner’s 

decisions or comments should be incorporated into the SRM. 

3. In the case of an affirmation action, the SRM is issued immediately after the formal 

vote has been taken at the Commission meeting scheduled for that purpose (see 

Chapter IV, "Affirmation Sessions", pages IV-5 and 6). 

4. If the Commission is unable to reach a decision on an issue not delegated to the 

staff because of a 2-2 split vote, the Secretary’s SRM will advise the staff that the 

proposed action is “not approved.” The staff may resubmit the issue for 

Commission consideration when the reason for the inability to reach a decision 

has been removed or when new or additional information is provided to the 

Commission. In cases where the staff has authority to act but discretion requires 

it to first consult with the Commission before taking a proposed action (e.g., an 

enforcement matter), the SRM will advise the staff that it may proceed with its 

action even though the Commission has been unable to act either because of a 

lack of a quorum or an evenly-divided vote. 

5. With the exception of SRMs on affirmation items (see 10 below), draft SRMs are 

circulated to the Commission, OGC, EDO, CFO, and others as appropriate, for a 

3 business day review period. Commissioner requests for extensions for review 

will be granted up to 2 business days unless a majority of the Commission objects. 

OGC, EDO, CFO, etc. are afforded an opportunity to review the draft SRM to 

ensure that the Commission decision is clear and understandable and that 

resource, schedular, and legal constraints are properly considered. SECY shall 

 

 20 A sample SRM is located at Appendix 7. 
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promptly transmit to the Commission any comments on a draft SRM that a 

Commission-level or staff office transmits to SECY. If Commissioners propose 

substantive modifications to the draft SRM, SECY will issue a subsequent version 

for the purpose of establishing a majority position. In order to conclude the 

decision-making process in a timely manner, subsequent versions of SRMs will 

normally be circulated for a 2 business day review period or less with no more than 

a 2 business day extension granted on each version. However, SECY may make 

non-substantive syntax, grammatical, or formatting changes to an SRM without 

formal Commission voting on such changes. 

6. Absent an objection from the other Commission offices, extensions of 2 business 

days from the due date will be granted for SRMs, and the extensions will apply to 

all Commissioners, without requiring subsequent requests from each Commission 

office. 

7. When the SRM is based upon a unanimous vote, without comment, SECY will 

issue the SRM without circulating a draft for Commission review. 

8. When the Commission must act on a matter quickly, SECY will poll the 

Commission on waiving the normal review period. Waiver action will be 

determined by a majority of the Commission. 

9. After voting is complete on a Commission adjudicatory order, the Office of 

Commission Appellate Adjudication (OCAA) or OGC, as appropriate, will circulate 

a draft of the final order to the Commission for its review and approval. OCAA or 

OGC will submit the draft final order to SECY and the Commission Legal Counsel 

via e-mail. The draft final order will incorporate edits from the Commissioner votes 

that are clearly supported by a majority. If an edit does not have clear majority 

support, OCAA or OGC will mark it as such in the draft final order and request 

Commission views to establish a majority position. However, OCAA or OGC may 

make non-substantive syntax, grammatical, or formatting changes to the draft final 

order without formal Commission voting on such changes. If a Commissioner 

wishes to make substantive changes to the draft final order, including a request to 

incorporate additional views into the order, those changes should be identified in 

the Commissioner’s response to OCAA or OGC. 

10. The 3-business-day Commission review does not apply to SRMs on items 

requiring affirmation. Since these SRMs restate the Commission's formal position 

affirmed in a public Affirmation Session (see item 3 above), they are issued 

immediately following the affirmation. 

11. After the Commission issues an SRM that has not been designated for public 

release, SECY will review the SRM, as well as the underlying SECY paper, COM 

or COMSECY, to determine whether the document must be released, in whole or 

in part, in accordance with the disclosure provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(1) or (a)(2) 

of the Freedom of Information Act. OGC and NRC staff as appropriate, will 
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participate in this review when requested by SECY. These shall include all 

instances where SECY believes the documents could fall within the purview of one 

of those subsections. 

12. Commission Voting Record (CVR)

When the final SRM is issued, the Secretary will issue a CVR package (see 

Appendix 7), which will include: 

a. an indication of affirmative votes, negative votes, abstentions, nonparticipation, and individual views of all Commissioners; and 

b. a copy of each Commissioner’s vote sheet. 

Copies of the CVR will be sent to OGC and the originating office and publicly 

released when appropriate. 

TRACKING OF REQUIREMENTS AND TASKS 

All requirements and tasks identified in SRMs are entered into the Commission Tracking 

System maintained by SECY. The system also tracks staff commitments made in 

Notation Vote and Information papers, staff memoranda to the Chairman and 

Commissioners, and memoranda from the Chairman to staff. The Tracking System is a 

module of STARS (Secretariat Tracking and Reporting System) that enables SECY to 

provide the Commission and the action offices with pertinent status information to assist 

in focusing management attention and setting priorities for the completion of tasks on 

schedule. 

The Commission Tracking System is available online to Commissioner Offices through 

STARS. 

The SECY Tracking Officer provides the following periodic reports in hard copy: 

● Weekly status report to the Commissioners’ Chiefs of Staff of action items 

expected to be provided to the Commission 

● Weekly status report to the Commissioners' Chiefs of Staff on overdue tasks and 

tasks with revised due dates 

● Quarterly reports of open tasks for the Commissioners 

● Annual review of timeliness of task closure to the Chairman 

The Tracking System includes a feature to identify high-priority tasks for which due dates 

are particularly important. When a requirement needs to be expedited or is designated 
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high-priority in an SRM, it is coded to indicate that all due date extensions are subject to 

Commission review. 

For high-priority tasks and extension requests for non-high-priority tasks that will alter the 

due date more than 90 calendar days beyond the original due date, the action office must 

notify the SECY Tracking Officer in writing, or by e-mail, as soon as the staff becomes 

aware that additional time is needed but no later than 10 business days prior to the date 

due to the Commission, explaining the reason for the delay and providing a revised due 

date. The SECY Tracking Officer will poll the Commission to determine if the proposed 

revised date is acceptable. 

Upon responses from the Commission with a majority indicating approval of the extension 

request, SECY will extend the due date. Minority views will be provided to staff for 

information. If a majority of the Commission disapproves a new due date, SECY will 

request the action office to re-evaluate the revised due date. 

For non-high-priority tasks, due date extensions will be accepted by SECY, provided that 

there is a reasonable explanation for the change and the revised due date is not more 

than 90 calendar days beyond the Commission requested due date, or the original due 

date confirmed by the staff if the Commission has not specified a due date. 

For requests to change a task, including the description or frequency, or close a task that 

was specifically directed in an SRM, the action office must submit the request to the 

Commission via a COMSECY. 

MOTIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION OF A DECISION 

Any Commissioner may request the Commission to reconsider a decision. Such requests 

are addressed to SECY in writing and contain a brief explanation of the reason for the 

request. The subject should be entitled "Request for Reconsideration.” Except as noted 

below (3), such a request does not prevent the implementation of the decision or the 

Commission Order that recorded the initial decision. 

1. SECY distributes the request to the other Commissioners with an attached vote 

sheet soliciting Commissioner votes within 5 business days. 

2. If a majority of participating Commissioners votes to reconsider, SECY notifies the 

appropriate action office. The issue then is again presented to the Commission in 

the same format as the original vote, i.e., if the original decision was reached at a 

Commission meeting, another meeting will be scheduled for reconsideration. If a 

different resolution method is preferred, the Commissioners should so indicate on 

their response sheets. Selection of the resolution method will be determined by a 

majority of the Commission. 

3. As a recommended best practice, a Commissioner should consider use of a COM 

as the appropriate vehicle for raising whether the earlier decision should be stayed 

pending Commission reconsideration of the matter. Alternatively, a Commissioner 
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may request that SECY poll the Commission. If polling is used, the results will be 

addressed through the SRM process. Unless a majority supports a stay, the earlier 

decision remains in effect while the Commission reconsiders the matter. If a 

majority of the Commission supports a stay, SECY will notify the appropriate action 

office that the earlier Commission decision has been stayed pending 

reconsideration. In some instances this requires a letter or "withdrawal" order, 

which in turn may require a separate affirmation vote. Copies of these notifications 

are provided to all Commissioners and appropriate staff offices. 

 

RETURN OR WITHDRAWAL OF PAPERS 

SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSION 

Upon request by a Commissioner or the NRC staff, a SECY paper or COMSECY will be 

returned to the staff without action if a majority of the Commissioners participating agree 

to that course of action. Once the staff provides a SECY paper or COMSECY to SECY, 

if the staff subsequently recommends withdrawal or substantial revision of the SECY 

paper or COMSECY, the staff must explain to the Commission the basis for its 

recommendation in writing. SECY will poll the Commission on a staff request to withdraw 

or substantially revise the paper or on a Commissioner’s request to return the paper to 

the staff without Commission action. For COMs issued by a Commissioner or 

Commissioners, the initiating Commissioner may withdraw the COM at any time and 

inform SECY.