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COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as established by the Energy Reorganization Act 

of 1974, is responsible for licensing and regulating nuclear facilities and materials and for 

conducting research in support of the licensing and regulatory process. The President's 

Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980 (Reorganization Plan) clarified and strengthened the 

duties of the Chairman as the NRC's principal executive officer and more specifically 

defined the responsibilities of the Commission members acting as a collegial body. 

Consistent with the requirements of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980, on May 18, 1988, 

the Commissioners approved COMLZ-88-10, which made more explicit the operational 

responsibility of the Chairman of the Commission, as the principal executive officer of the 

Commission, and the other members of the Commission. Each Commission member has 

equal authority in all Commission decisions and equal (prompt and full) access to all 

agency information pertaining to Commission responsibilities. 

COLLEGIAL FUNCTIONS 

1. Policy, Rulemaking, and Adjudication

Functions pertaining to policy formulation, rulemaking (with certain exceptions), 

adjudications, and orders are reserved for the Commission itself (Reorganization 

Plan No. 1 of 1980, Section 1(a)). The Commission also must approve the 

appointment and the removal of certain senior agency officials. All other functions 

are vested in the Chairman (Id., Section 2(a)). In an area of doubt, a Commissioner 

may request that SECY poll1 the Commission on whether any matter, action, 

question, or area of inquiry pertains to one of the Commission's functions (Id., 

Section 1(a)). The outcome will be determined by majority vote. As a 

recommended best practice, a Commissioner should consider use of a COM as 

the appropriate vehicle for raising more substantive policy issues that might require 

more detailed explanation of a Commissioner’s views on a matter of Commission 

policy. For minor matters, however, a Commissioner may request that SECY poll 

the Commission. In either case, SECY will document the voting in an agency 

record. 

The Commission's collegial functions also include: 

a. approval of outgoing agency correspondence that formulates a new, 

revised, or expanded policy position (pertains to policy formulation function 

-- See id., Section 1(a)(1)); 

 

b. revising budget estimates and determining the distribution of appropriated 

funds according to major programs and purposes (Energy Reorganization 

 

 1 For this purpose, and in other instances where the Secretary polls the 

Commission, e-mail may be used. 
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Act of 1974, Section 201(a)(5); Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980, Section 

2(b)) (See Appendix 14); 

c. being informed of all significant reallocation and reprogramming actions at 

a threshold of $500,000 in contract costs or 4 FTE; and approval of all 

resource reallocations/reprogramming actions that establish or modify 

policy consistent with SRM-COMSECY-10-0020; 

 d. approval of formal responses to Government Accountability Office (GAO) 

reports and review of formal responses to GAO draft reports that the 

Commission has designated require Commission review of staff comments 

before they are sent to GAO (COMSECY-03-0035). The staff should 

provide the Commission a draft copy of staff’s comments 3 business days 

in advance of the EDO’s signature; 

 

e. review of draft Orders that may be signed pursuant to the Secretary’s 

authority under 10 CFR 2.346 or 110.88. Draft orders will be circulated to 

the Commissioners’ Legal Counsel by e-mail 3 business days in advance 

of the Secretary’s action on the Order, unless a shorter time period is 

specified because of the need for prompt action. The Secretary will issue 

the order as circulated unless a majority of the Commission instructs 

otherwise. Commissioner input may be submitted via e-mail; 

f. approval of proposals for the reorganization of the major offices within the 

Commission. The Commission will approve reorganizations for all offices 

that report to the Commission as well as NRR, NRO, NMSS, RES, NSIR, 

EDO, and CFO (Reorganization Plan, Section 2(b)); 

g. approval of nominations for the NRC's Distinguished and Meritorious 

Service Awards, Edward McGaffigan Jr. Public Service Award, all (OPM) 

Presidential Rank Awards, and approval of Senior Executive Service (SES) 

performance awards for those positions for which the Commission is the 

final rating authority; 

h. approval of responses to Petitions for Rulemaking by notation vote, except 

where the matter has been delegated to the EDO. Where the EDO intends 

to sign a Petition for Rulemaking response under his or her delegated 

authority, a “Notice of Resolution of Petition for Rulemaking signed by EDO” 

should be provided for inclusion in the Commission’s daily reading file 5 

business days before being forwarded to the Federal Register. This 

practice provides the Commission with an opportunity to review the action 

before it is issued as an official agency action. The EDO will issue the 

resolution of the Petition for Rulemaking as drafted unless a majority of the 

Commission instructs otherwise. Commissioner input may be submitted via 

e-mail; 
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i. the Chairman shall be governed by the general policies of the Commission 

and by such regulatory decisions, findings, and determinations as the 

Commission may by law be authorized to make. (Energy Reorganization 

Act of 1974, Section 201(a)(3); and Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980, 

Section 2(c)); 

 j. advises the Office of the Secretary or appropriate Office Director regarding 

initial decisions on FOIA requests for documents submitted by the 

Commission-level offices or by the EDO or office directors reporting to the 

EDO to the Commission. Documents determined by OGC to be legally 

withholdable require Commission review prior to release (COMLZ-88-10); 

k. with regard to agency actions pursuant to initial requests under the Freedom 

of Information Act, the Commission reviews the proposed release of 

Commission documents determined by OGC to be legally withholdable. In 

addition to noting which documents are legally withholdable, OGC, in 

consultation with the appropriate technical staff, should provide the 

Commission with a recommendation on whether to withhold any documents 

or portions of documents. The release of Commission documents on 

appeal, other than those generated in individual Commissioner offices, also 

requires Commission review; and 

l. approval of changes to the Management Directives directly related to policy 

formulation or the functions of the Commissioners or their personal offices. 

2. Appointments

The roles of the Commission and the Chairman in the appointment of certain 

officers are detailed in Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980. Statutes enacted 

subsequent to the Reorganization Plan that created or redefined senior agency 

positions include the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and the Information 

Technology Management Reform Act of 1996. 

The Chairman shall initiate the appointment of the following positions subject to 

the approval of the Commission: 

 Executive Director for Operations; 

 Chief Financial Officer; 

 Deputy Chief Financial Officer; 

 General Counsel; 

 Secretary of the Commission; 

 Director, Office of International Programs; 

 Director, Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication; and 

 Chief Administrative Judge and Members of the Atomic Safety 

Licensing Board Panel. 
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The Chairman or a member of the Commission may initiate the removal of these 

officers subject to approval of the Commission. 

After consultation with the Executive Director for Operations, the Chairman shall 

initiate the appointment of the following positions subject to the approval of the 

Commission: 

 Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR); 

 Director of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS); 

 Director of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES); 

 Director of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR); and 

 Director of Office of New Reactors (NRO). 2 

The Chairman or a member of the Commission may initiate the removal of these 

officers subject to approval of the Commission. 

Appointments of the Members of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards 

(ACRS) are subject to the approval of the Commission. Appointments of members 

of the NRC's other Federal Advisory Committees are also subject to consultation 

with or approval of the Commission.3 

Commission guidance on the process for obtaining nominations for NRC’s 

Federal Advisory Committee positions (previously approved in COMIS-94-003 

dated May 4, 1994, and COMSECY-94-0018 dated June 20, 1994) is contained 

in Appendix 1. 

The Chairman is responsible for developing the initial detailed performance appraisals 

and ratings for officials whose appointing authority is the full Commission. The 

Commission, as the appointing authority, is responsible for approving the Final Annual 

Summary Rating Determination after the performance review board has reviewed the 

appraisal and ratings developed by the Chairman. As a best practice the Chairman will 

solicit the input of the other Commissioners in developing the initial performance 

appraisals and ratings. In any event, upon request of a Commissioner, that 

Commissioner shall have the opportunity to provide input to the Chairman for the 

development of the appraisal and shall be afforded access to the completed performance 

plan and appraisal for these positions as needed to inform the decision process for 

approval of the Final Annual Summary Rating Determination. 

 

 2 Reorganization Plan at Section 1(b)(2). 

 3 As to the ACRS, see id. at 1(b)(3). As to other Advisory Committees, it is the 

Commission’s policy that appointments of Members of the NRC’s other Federal 

Advisory Committees (except for the LSN Advisory Review Panel, see 10 CFR 

2.1011(e)(1)) are also subject to consultation with or approval of the Commission. 
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3. Personnel Appointment Process

When filling positions initiated by the Chairman and subject to the Commission’s 

approval, the following process is generally used:4

a. The Chairman at his/her discretion conducts interviews with potential 

candidates. When providing his/her recommendation to the Commission, 

the Chairman will include a summary of the basis for his/her 

recommendation and relevant background information on the 

recommended candidate. In addition, if requested by a Commissioner, 

individual background information on the other candidates who were 

considered shall be provided to the Commission. 

b. Individual Commissioners may, at their discretion, interview the 

recommended candidate.5 Each Commissioner provides to the Chairman 

his/her approval/disapproval of the Chairman’s recommendation for the 

position along with any additional comments. 

The process to be used for Advisory Committee members is set forth in 

Appendix 1 of these Procedures. 

CHAIRMAN DUTIES 

 

The Chairman is the official spokesman for the Commission and appoints, supervises, 

and removes, without further action by the Commission, the Directors and staff of the 

Offices of Public Affairs and Congressional Affairs, who report to the Chairman. The 

Chairman is also the principal executive officer of the Commission and is responsible to 

the Commission for developing policy planning and guidance for consideration by the 

Commission. The Chairman shall be governed by the general policies of the Commission 

and by such regulatory decisions, findings, and determinations as the Commission may 

by law be authorized to make. (Reorganization Plan, Section 2(c)). The Chairman, on 

behalf of the Commission, shall see to the faithful execution of the policies and decisions 

of the Commission and shall report thereon to the Commission from time to time or as the 

Commission may direct. (Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, Section 201(a)(1)). The 

Chairman is responsible to the Commission for ensuring that the Executive Director for 

Operations and the agency staff (other than the officers and staff referred to in Sections 

 4 The Chairman may also elect to fill a position that he or she initiates through the 

use of a competitive process. To the extent that a competitive process is being 

used to fill a position, the position will be formally posted and noticed and the 

Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer will provide the Chairman with a list of 

qualified candidates. 

 5 Nothing in this procedure would authorize the initiation of these appointments by 

anyone other than the Chairman, as provided in Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 

1980. 
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(1)(b)(4), (1)(c), and (2)(a) of the Reorganization Plan) are responsive to the requirements 

of the Commission in the performance of its functions. The Chairman determines the use 

and expenditure of funds of the Commission, in accordance with the distribution of 

appropriated funds according to major programs and purposes approved by the 

Commission. The Chairman presents to the Commission for its consideration proposals 

for the reorganization of the major offices within the Commission and the budget 

estimates for the Commission. (Reorganization Plan, Section 2(b)) 

The Chairman and the Executive Director for Operations, through the Chairman, are 

responsible for ensuring that the Commission is fully and currently informed about matters 

within its functions (Id., Section 2(c)).6 The Chairman shall ensure prompt and full delivery 

of original information with any changes thereto, including draft SECYs and COMs. This 

does not include preliminary information for development of proposals for the 

reorganization of major offices within the Commission, the budget estimate for the 

Commission, and the proposed distribution of appropriated funds, (Id., Section 2(b)). The 

Executive Director for Operations reports for all matters to the Chairman (Id., Section 

4(b)). 

In carrying out his or her duties, the Chairman: 

● approves the internal reorganization of offices, except for those that the 

Commission must approve under Section 2(b) of the Reorganization Plan 

or those that have been delegated to the NRC staff (Id., Section 2(b)(3)(j)). 

● takes all personnel actions and makes appointments, except for those 

described above which have been given to the Commission or to individual 

Commissioners under the Reorganization Plan and those which have been 

delegated to individual Office Directors by the Commission or to the EDO 

by the Chairman (Id., Section 2(b)); 

● ensures that nominations for NRC Distinguished and Meritorious Service 

Awards, Edward McGaffigan Jr. Public Service Award, all Presidential 

Awards, and SES performance awards for those positions for which the 

Commission is the final rating authority are submitted to the Commission 

for approval;7 8 

 

 6 For example, the Commission has found the "Daily NRC Notes," and the “One 

Week Look Ahead” very useful. The Commission recommends at least this level 

of information sharing. 

 7 See Exhibit 1 to the Senior Executive Performance Management System 

Handbook, 10.137 for a list of positions for which the Commission is the awarding 

authority for performance awards. (See Appendix 15.) 

 8 The General Counsel has found that these performance award determinations 

bear on management policy and it is reasonable to conclude that how well senior 
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● establishes and appoints members to task forces, except for those 

established by the EDO or Office Directors and those established to review 

policy matters. All Commissioners are consulted when task forces involve 

either policy or highly sensitive matters. Establishment of task forces that 

include non-NRC employees or advisory committees, or tasking 

memoranda to such task forces or advisory committees, including the 

ACRS, are approved by the Commission (COMLZ-88-10); 

● initiates the update of the agency Strategic Plan and the Commission's 

annual review of the Performance Budget; presents the Strategic Plan, 

Performance Budget, and Congressional Budget Justification to the 

Commission for its review and approval; and proposes to the Commission 

the distribution of appropriated funds according to the agency's major 

programs and purposes (COMLZ-88-10); 

● as a best practice provides high-level planning objectives for budget 

development and prioritization of planned activities to the Commission for 

review and approval, to inform the annual budget formulation process; 

● presents the agency's testimony at Congressional hearings (Section 2 of 

Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980); 

● makes, or delegates as appropriate, decisions relative to, and is responsible 

for, the administrative and logistical support services for the agency, 

including physical consolidation of the agency and individual offices. 

Commissioners must approve matters that directly affect their individual 

offices (COMLZ-88-10); 

● transmits to the Commission 3 business days in advance draft speeches, 

remarks, or presentation materials to be delivered in his or her capacity as 

Chairman to afford the Commission the opportunity to review any 

discussion of existing Commission policy;9 

● consults with Commissioners on draft tasking memoranda concerning 

policy issues and obtains Commission input to ensure that the tasking 

memoranda are consistent with existing Commission policy before the 

memoranda are issued to staff. Copies of all final tasking memoranda will 

be provided to the Commission at the same time the memoranda are 

forwarded to the staff for action. If a Commissioner believes an issued 

 

NRC officials respond to Commission decisions and requirements can be a 

management policy issue. 

 9 Additionally, the Commission finds useful the circulation of press releases at least 

one hour in advance of issuance. The Commission recommends this as a collegial 

practice. 
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tasking memorandum is not consistent with existing Commission policy, he 

or she should notify the Chairman. If not satisfied with the Chairman’s 

explanation, the Commissioner may seek through the COM process or 

through polling Commissioner views on whether the tasking memorandum 

is consistent with previous Commission policy decisions. As a 

recommended best practice, a Commissioner should consider use of a 

COM as the appropriate vehicle for raising whether the tasking 

memorandum is consistent with previous Commission policy and/or 

whether the staff should defer action during the Commission’s deliberation 

on the matter. At the request of the Commissioner who raised the issue, 

SECY will also poll the Commission. If polling is used, the results will be 

addressed through the SRM process. The Chairman will direct the staff to 

defer action if agreed to by a majority of the Commission. Action on any 

remaining issue(s) will go forward; 

● as a recommended best practice informs the Commission of direction or 

guidance provided to the NRC Staff on significant issues relating to 

administration of the agency or execution of Commission policy; 

● The Chairman, at his or her discretion, may exercise his or her authority 

under Section 201(a)(1) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 to 

designate an Acting Chairman. An Acting Chairman shall have only those 

duties the Chairman specifically delegates, which may include all or only 

some of the Chairman’s responsibilities. The Chairman may delegate the 

emergency response functions described below. If the Chairman is 

unavailable and circumstances require actions to carry out NRC Priority 

Mission Essential Functions, then the order of succession procedures set 

forth in the NRC’s Continuity of Operations Plan will be followed. 

Emergency Response 

The Chairman is responsible for all the functions pertaining to an actual emergency 

concerning a particular facility or materials licensed or regulated by the Commission, 

including the functions of declaring, responding, issuing orders, determining specific 

policies, advising the civil authorities and the public, directing, and coordinating actions 

relative to such emergency incident (Section 3(a) of the Reorganization Plan). The 

terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, as well as the Nation's and the NRC's responses to 

those acts, added dimensions to the consideration of emergency management. It is 

understood that the Chairman's authority includes situations when an emergency threat 

is generic to a group or category of facilities licensed or regulated by the NRC or NRC 

regulated materials and thus involves an emergency pertaining to the specific facilities or 

materials within the group or category. 

The Reorganization Plan gives the Chairman sole discretion to determine when to declare 

an emergency triggering the Chairman’s emergency authority under section 3(a). The 

Chairman may also delegate the authority to perform emergency functions, in whole or in 
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part, to any other members of the Commission (Id., Section 3(b)). While normally such 

delegations are expected to be made to other members of the Commission, such 

authority may at the discretion of the Chairman also be delegated or re-delegated, in 

whole or in part, to the agency staff (Id., Section 3(b)). No later than 1 day after the 

Chairman (or delegate) begins performing functions under the authority of Section 3 of 

the Reorganization Plan, the Chairman shall provide notice to the other Commissioners, 

the NRC staff, and to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

and the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

Representatives, and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate. 

The notice must include an explanation of the circumstances warranting the exercise of 

the Chairman’s emergency authority. Such notice informs the Congressional Committees 

and the Commissioners and allows the staff to be cognizant that they should follow the 

directives of the Chairman (or delegate) rather than await the normal Commission 

decision-making processes. 

Consistent with the Reorganization Plan, the Chairman (or delegate) shall, to the 

maximum extent possible under emergency conditions, keep the Commission informed 

of actions taken relative to the emergency (Id., Section 3(c)). To that end, the Chairman 

is expected, to the extent it does not interfere with other ongoing emergency actions, to 

inform the other Commissioners of the expected length of the ongoing emergency 

situation and the Chairman’s proposed plan, if any, for returning the agency to a nonemergency status. Further, the Chairman shall report to the aforementioned 

Congressional Committees at least once per week on the actions related to the 

emergency taken by the Chairman (or delegate) under such authority until the emergency 

authority is relinquished. 

When acting under the authority to perform all functions pertaining to an emergency, the 

Chairman (or delegate) shall conform to the policy guidelines of the Commission (Id., 

Section 3(c)). The Chairman has clear authority to take actions during an emergency 

without any consultation with the other Commissioners. But, it is expected that, where it 

will not interfere with the Chairman’s ongoing emergency actions, the Chairman will seek 

insights from other Commissioners before taking actions related to the emergency that 

do not require an immediate response. 

Following the conclusion of the emergency and the relinquishment of his or her 

emergency authority, the Chairman (or delegate) shall notify the Congressional 

Committees within one day. Further, the Chairman (or delegate) shall render a complete 

and timely report to the Commission on the actions taken during the emergency (Id., 

Section 3(d)). The Chairman shall submit this report to the appropriate Congressional 

Committees not later than 1 day after it was submitted to the Commission. 

The terrorist events of September 11, 2001, led to fuller recognition of various kinds of 

emergencies and to consideration of various levels of general threat condition that 

counsel additional protective action measures. As a result, for example, the DHS and the 

NRC employ threat advisory systems that counsel additional protective action measures 

in connection with changes in threat condition. As changes occur in the general threat 
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condition and alert status, it is expected that customary decision-making procedures will 

normally apply, or will be applied within a reasonably short period following such changes, 

unless the circumstances lead the Chairman to invoke his or her authority to exercise all 

emergency functions in accordance with Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980. 

Emergency Response Training 

All Commissioners shall become cognizant of the agency emergency procedures and 

responses in a continuing process. The Chairman should participate in at least one full 

participation exercise each calendar year, including a mock press conference. This 

exercise should be tailored to the Chairman’s needs and schedule in order for the 

Chairman to remain as completely up-to-date as possible in any process changes or 

problems and to maintain proficiency in emergency response functions. In addition, the 

Chairman should serve as the Director of the Executive Team for any full field exercise 

due to its broad scope, the significant involvement of Federal agencies, and the infrequent 

scheduling of this type of exercise. Each Commissioner should have the opportunity for 

refresher training, including participation as Director of the Executive Team, on an annual 

basis. 

A preliminary schedule for NRC participation exercises shall be developed in accordance 

with the Performance Plan. Commissioner participation in scheduled exercises as 

Director of the Executive Team shall then be established by NSIR after consultation with 

individual Commissioners to determine availability and interest in participation. 

Schedules of emergency planning exercises will be routinely reported to the Commission 

during Agenda Planning meetings and discussed, as necessary. 

In the event more than one Commissioner expresses timely interest in participating in an 

exercise and the Commissioners cannot work out a solution among themselves, priority 

should be given first, to the Chairman receiving his or her first training; second, to a 

Commissioner receiving his or her first training in order of seniority; third, to the Chairman 

receiving refresher training; and fourth, to Commissioners receiving refresher training in 

order of seniority. 

A Commissioner who has not received his or her first training will not be given preference 

over the Chairman if doing so will prevent the Chairman from meeting the minimum goal 

established above of participating in one full participation exercise each calendar year or 

from sitting as Director of the Executive Team for the infrequent full field exercise. Timely 

interest in participation in emergency exercises will normally be expressed in Agenda 

Planning meetings. Once scheduled to participate in an exercise, no Commissioner will 

be involuntarily replaced as head of the emergency exercise executive team. In the event 

a Commissioner becomes unavailable after scheduling, NSIR will be responsible for 

contacting Commissioners to determine interest and availability of other Commissioners 

(COMNJD-98-002). 
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INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONER RESPONSIBILITIES 

● Each Commissioner shall appoint, remove, and supervise the personnel employed 

in his or her immediate office (Reorganization Plan, Section 1(c)). 

● Each Commissioner, including the Chairman, has equal responsibility and 

authority in all Commission decisions and actions, has full and equal access to all 

agency information pertaining to Commission responsibilities, including the 

considered judgments of the staff as represented by the Executive Director for 

Operations, and has one vote (Energy Reorganization Act, Section 201(a)(1)). 

Except for Reorganization Plan, Section 2(b) proposals and estimates for which 

the Chairman is specifically responsible for developing proposals for Commission 

review, documents, including draft documents, will be provided to all 

Commissioners, including the Chairman, simultaneously. However, upon request 

of a Commissioner, following submission of the Chairman’s budget proposal, the 

Commission shall be provided the budgetary input provided to the Chairman or 

otherwise used for the purpose of formulating the Chairman’s budget proposal. 

● The Chairman and the Executive Director for Operations, through the Chairman, 

are responsible for ensuring that Commissioners are fully and currently informed 

about matters within the Commission’s functions (Reorganization Plan, Section 

2(c)). Significant individual Commissioner requests for information or analyses 

from the NRC staff shall be directed by Commissioners to the Chairman or to the 

EDO, CFO, or Commission-level offices (action offices) with copies to the 

Chairman and SECY. After receipt of the request, if questions of priority arise 

because staff has identified the request as requiring significant resources to fulfill, 

the action office is to discuss the request with the Commissioner who originated it. 

The purpose of that discussion is to ensure that the scope of the request is fully 

understood. Following that discussion, if the Commissioner or the action office still 

believes there is an issue regarding either the nature of the request or its priority, 

the action office notifies the Chairman. The Chairman will then be the initial arbiter 

of the matter. If the Chairman's decision is not satisfactory to the Commissioner 

making the request, that Commissioner can then bring the matter to the full 

Commission for a vote through polling by the Secretary. 

● In response to FOIA requests forwarded to Commission offices, each 

Commissioner is responsible for identifying pertinent records in his or her files and 

for making the necessary disclose/withhold determinations for documents 

originated by his or her office. Commissioners are responsible for making similar 

determinations, if necessary, at the appeal stage. 

● Commissioners will testify at Congressional hearings when invited to do so by the 

Congress and may elect to attend at other times. 

● Each Commissioner, including the Chairman, may maintain office working files to 

the extent necessary for the conduct of daily business. The Office of the Secretary 
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maintains current paper files of SECY Papers, COMs and correspondence. The 

Office of the Secretary also provides an opportunity for storage of Commissioners' 

personal files upon expiration of his/her term of office as defined in NRC 

Management Directive 3.53. 

● Each Commissioner, including the Chairman, may have on the NRC website an 

individual webpage, the content of which is controlled by that Commissioner. 

● The Commission shall approve the budgets for each Commissioner’s Office, 

including the Chairman’s Office, as part of the budget development process. Until 

such time as the budget cap on the Commissioner’s accounts is removed in the 

annual NRC appropriations act, the CFO should establish accounts for salaries 

and benefits, travel, and other costs for each Commissioner’s Office that reflects 

actual salaries and benefits for each office. A separate account will be established 

for each Commissioner’s Office for Representation Funds, which shall remain 

separate from these other three Commissioner Office accounts. 

 Commissioner Offices may redistribute the allocated funds within their accounts 

and transfer funds to other Commissioner Office accounts by providing written 

notification to the CFO. 

 The CFO should provide each Commissioner Office with biweekly cost projection 

reports for his or her individual office to allow appropriate monitoring of expenses.10 

(SRM COMSECY-13-0012). 

● Commissioners approve requests for official travel (domestic and foreign) for 

themselves and their immediate staff. The Office of International Programs (OIP) 

informs the Chairman of Commissioners’ planned foreign travel to ensure 

adequate coordination and to avoid scheduling conflicts. OIP immediately 

disseminates to the Commission all invitations for foreign travel addressed to the 

Commission. As the official spokesman for the agency, the Chairman responds to 

foreign travel invitations addressed to the Commission and, if he/she does not 

intend to personally accept the invitation on behalf of the Commission, may request 

another Commissioner or high-ranking agency official to accept the invitation on 

behalf of the Commission. If the Chairman declines an invitation addressed to the 

Commission and does not request an alternate representative for the Commission, 

the opportunity to respond to the invitation as an individual Commissioner is 

handled in order of seniority on the Commission. Invitations for foreign travel 

addressed to an individual Commissioner will be evaluated and decided by that 

Commissioner. 

 

 10 Specific expenditures from the representation fund must be approved and 

managed in accordance with the substantive criteria in M.D. 5.4, and any specific 

expenditures for travel must comport with applicable provisions of M.D. 14 on 

Travel and the Federal Travel Regulations. 
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 OIP will inform the Commission of the status of all pending international 

agreements through memoranda, twice a year. 

COMMISSION ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES 

In order to perform its business efficiently and expeditiously, the Commission has 

established mechanisms for obtaining information and for conducting its decision-making 

activities. The following chapters describe the various Commission guidelines and 

procedures. In accordance with these procedures, when due dates are established, the 

Commission must be given the full allotted time established for response. Day 1 for any 

of the timeframes provided in these procedures will begin on the next full business day. 

Guidelines and procedures for the execution of responsibilities reserved to the Chairman 

are established by the Office of the Chairman. Guidelines and procedures for the 

execution of the Commission’s responsibilities shall be approved by the Commission. 

CHAPTER II describes the decision documents utilized by the Commissioners and the 

staff to obtain Commission consideration, guidance, and decisions. 

CHAPTER III outlines the Commission voting process. 

CHAPTER IV contains a description of the development of meeting agendas and 

decision-making in meetings. To a large extent NRC's meeting procedures are governed 

by statute, both in the Government in the Sunshine Act and in the Energy Reorganization 

Act's requirement that a "quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of at 

least three members present" and that "[a]ction of the Commission shall be 

determined by a majority vote of the members present." (Energy Reorganization Act, 

Section 201(a)(1).) Chapter IV also contains the procedures for the Commission conduct 

of mandatory hearings on applications for combined licenses. 

CHAPTER V sets forth the process of obtaining collegial review of significant 

institutional correspondence. 

 

CHAPTER VI contains guidelines for providing sensitive Commission/staff information 

to Congress. 

CHAPTER VII contains guidance regarding the preparation of agency testimony for 

Congressional hearings and procedures for responding to commitments made to 

Congress at Congressional hearings. 

CHANGES TO OR WAIVER OF COMMISSION PROCEDURES 

A majority of the Commission members (as described in the voting procedures in Chapter 

III and Appendix 4) may change or waive its procedures at any time consistent with 

existing law. If a Commissioner or Commissioners request a change or waiver, the Office 
CHAPTER I – COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES

March 24, 2016																																																																																																																																											Chapter I‐	Page 14

of the Secretary will put the question into writing and poll the Commission. Any change 

or waiver will be based on written vote of the majority.