896 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 6 / Friday, January 9, 2009 / Notices 

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Program Authority: Consolidated Security, 

Disaster Assistance, and Continuing 

Appropriations Act, 2009 at Div. B, Title I, 

Chapter 7, Pub. L. 110–329, 122 Stat. 3595 

(Sept. 30, 2008). 

Dated: January 6, 2009. 

Kerri L. Briggs, 

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. E9–237 Filed 1–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 

Notice of Request for Public Comment 

on Proposed Working Group Policy 

AGENCY: United States Election 

Assistance Commission. 

ACTION: Notice: Request for public 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The EAC seeks public 

comment on a proposed policy entitled 

‘‘Proposed Working Group Policy.’’ This 

policy is designed to set procedures and 

requirements for the formation and use 

of working groups to assist the United 

States Election Assistance Commission 

in developing proposed policies, 

including advisories, guidance, 

opinions, regulations and rules 

regarding the implementation of the 

Help American Vote Act (HAVA) and 

the National Voter Registration Act of 

1993 (NVRA). EAC issues this notice 

according to a policy adopted on 

September 18, 2008 that requires EAC to 

provide notice and an opportunity for 

public comment on, among other things, 

advisories being considered for 

adoption by the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

5 p.m. EST on February 9, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted: Via e-mail at 

havainfo@eac.gov, Via mail addressed 

to the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission, 1225 New York Ave., NW., 

Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005, or 

by fax at 202/566–3127. Commenters are 

encouraged to submit comments 

electronically and include ‘‘Working 

Group Policy’’ in the subject line, to 

ensure timely receipt and consideration. 

Person to Contact for Information: 

Bryan Whitener, Telephone: (202) 566– 

3100. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following is the complete text of the 

proposed Working Group Policy the 

EAC is seeking public comment on. The 

proposed policy may also be viewed on 

the EAC Web site at http://www.eac.gov. 

Proposed Working Group Policy 

I. Purpose 

This document sets policy concerning 

the use, makeup and administration of 

working groups. For the purposes of this 

policy, a working group is a collection 

of persons with unique experience and 

expertise gathered to provide their 

individual opinions on matters 

impacting EAC’s mission. Working 

groups do not vote or otherwise provide 

a consensus opinion on matters 

presented. They are assembled either to 

provide individual advice on a common 

issue or exchange information. Working 

groups are not permanent and meet only 

for a limited purpose and time. 

The United States Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) believes that seeking 

diverse input from qualified individuals 

is critical to developing sound public 

policy. As EAC works meet its mission 

under the Help America Vote Act of 

2002 (HAVA) and the National Voter 

Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) the 

agency must utilize the experience of 

technical experts, election 

administrators and nongovernmental 

organizations in developing its policies. 

II. Roles and Responsibilities 

The Executive Director is hereby 

directed to develop internal procedures 

concerning the use, make-up, 

administration and product of working 

groups. These procedures must reflect 

and implement the policy goals adopted 

in this directive. 

III. Membership, Use and Product of 

Working Group 

Diversity of Opinion and Membership. 

The membership of EAC working 

groups shall reflect the diversity of 

opinion on a given issue. This 

commitment to diversity of opinion 

requires EAC staff to seek out new 

voices in the debate. Therefore, when 

reasonable, EAC will openly recruit 

candidates to be considered and may 

limit participation of an individual or 

organization in consecutive working 

groups. EAC has various important 

constituencies that should be 

represented on working groups formed 

under this policy. These may include 

state and local election officials, state 

and local legislative bodies and 

nongovernmental organizations. EAC 

working groups must include a fairly 

balanced membership. Members of the 

working group should represent a crosssection of the election or other 

communities that are directly affected 

by the topic under consideration and 

academics and/or technical experts who 

are uniquely qualified as appropriate to 

the nature and functions of the working 

group. The reasonable credibility of the 

individual and the organization 

represented will be considered in the 

selection process. 

Limited Use. Working groups should 

only be used in the development of EAC 

policy or other matters where gathering 

of a variety of technical expertise or 

stakeholder opinions are essential to 

meeting agency objectives. Other 

determining factors for the creation of a 

working group shall include EAC’s 

strategic plan and its annual operating 

budget, goals and objectives. The 

creation of working groups shall be 

subject to the approval of the Executive 

Director. Any request for a working 

group must be submitted to the 

Executive Director in writing and 

identify the need for the working group, 

the proposed charge of the working 

group, the identification of the various 

opinions or interests that must be 

represented, a proposed composition of 

the group, an approximate length of 

time that the working group will be in 

place. 

Group Focus. Any working group 

established by the EAC must be 

provided a clear focus in the form of a 

written agenda or group mandate. Staff 

must be assigned to the group to 

facilitate discussion, maintain group 

focus and document opinion or facts 

expressed. 

Publication of Working Group 

Discussion Points. In reporting on the 

activities of a working group, the EAC 

shall capture the opinions or facts 

expressed by the working group and 

make that information available to the 

Commissioners and EAC program staff 

for use in making a final policy 

determination. This information will 

also be made available to the public. 

Gracia Hillman, 

Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. E9–197 Filed 1–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–KF–P 

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