Source: http://ecfr.io/Title-22/pt22.2.504
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 04:08:29+00:00

Document:
§504.5 Factors the BBG will consider.
§504.6 Filing requirements for litigants seeking documents or testimony.
§504.7 Service of requests or demands.
§504.8 Processing requests or demands.
§504.10 Restrictions that apply to testimony.
§504.11 Restrictions that apply to released records.
§504.12 Procedure when a decision is not made prior to the time a response is required.
§504.13 Procedure in the event of an adverse ruling.
Source: 72 FR 19798, Apr. 20, 2007, unless otherwise noted.
(2) The testimony of current and former BBG employees, relating to official information, official duties, or the BBG's records, in connection with federal or state litigation in which the BBG is not a party.
(4) Protect sensitive, confidential information and the deliberative processes of the BBG.
(c) In providing for these requirements, the BBG does not waive the sovereign immunity of the United States.
(d) This part provides guidance for the internal operations of BBG. It does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, that a party may rely upon in any legal proceeding against the United States.
(d) Congressional demands and requests for testimony, records or information.
(a) Demand means an order, subpoena, or other command of a court or other competent authority for the production, disclosure, or release of records or for the appearance and testimony of a BBG employee in a legal proceeding.
(b) General Counsel means the General Counsel of the BBG or a person to whom the General Counsel has delegated authority under this part.
(c) Legal proceeding means any matter before a court of law, administrative board or tribunal, commission, administrative law judge, hearing officer or other body that conducts a legal or administrative proceeding. Legal proceeding includes all phases of litigation.
(d) BBG means the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
(1) Any current or former employee of the BBG.
(2) This definition does not include persons who are no longer employed by the BBG and who agree to testify about general matters, matters available to the public, or matters with which they had no specific involvement or responsibility during their employment with the BBG.
(f) Records or official records and information means all information in the custody and control of the BBG, relating to information in the custody and control of the BBG, or acquired by a BBG employee in the performance of his or her official duties or because of his or her official status, while the individual was employed by the BBG.
(g) Request means any informal request, by whatever method, for the production of records and information or for testimony which has not been ordered by a court or other competent authority.
(h) Testimony means any written or oral statements, including depositions, answers to interrogatories, affidavits, declarations, interviews, and statements made by an individual in connection with a legal proceeding.
(a) In any United States federal, state, and local proceeding or administrative action, or proceeding or administrative action conducted in a foreign country, in which the BBG is not a party, no BBG employee shall, in response to a demand or request for official records or information, furnish or produce documents or testimony as to any material contained in BBG files, any information relating to or based upon material contained in BBG files, or any information or material acquired as part of the performance of that person's official duties (or because of that person's official status) without the prior written approval of the General Counsel.
(b) Whenever a request or demand for information is made upon a BBG employee, the employee, wherever located, shall immediately prepare a report that specifically describes the testimony or documents sought and immediately notify the General Counsel. The BBG employee shall then await instructions from the General Counsel concerning a response to the request or demand. The failure of any BBG employee to follow the procedures specified in this subpart neither creates nor confers any rights, privileges, or benefits on any person or party.
(n) The demand or request is sufficiently specific to be answered and/or can be limited to information to that which would be consistent with the factors specified herein.
A litigant must comply with the following requirements when filing a request for official records and information or testimony under this subpart. A request should be filed before a demand.
(a) The request must be in writing and must be submitted to the General Counsel.
(9) An estimate of the amount of time that the requester and other parties will require for each BBG employee for time spent by the employee to prepare for testimony, in travel, and for attendance in the legal proceeding.
(c) The BBG reserves the right to require additional information to complete the request where appropriate.
(d) The request should be submitted at least 30 days before the date that records or testimony is required. Requests submitted in less than 30 days before records or testimony is required must be accompanied by a written explanation stating the reasons for the late request and the reasons for expedited processing.
(e) Failure to cooperate in good faith to enable the General Counsel to make an informed decision may serve as the basis for a determination not to comply with the request.
(f) The request should state that the requester will provide a copy of the BBG employee's statement free of charge and that the requester will permit the BBG to have a representative present during the employee's testimony.
(a) After receiving service of a request or demand for testimony, the General Counsel will review the request and, in accordance with the provisions of this Subpart, determine whether, or under what conditions, to authorize the employee to testify on matters relating to official information and/or produce official records and information.
(b) Absent exigent circumstances, the BBG will issue a determination within 30 days from the date the request is received.
(c) The General Counsel may grant a waiver of any procedure described by this Subpart where a waiver is considered necessary to promote a significant interest of the BBG or the United States, or for other good cause.
(d) Certification (authentication) of copies of records. The BBG may certify that records are true copies in order to facilitate their use as evidence. If a requester seeks certification, the requester must request certified copies from the BBG at least 30 days before the date they will be needed. The request should be sent to the BBG General Counsel.
The General Counsel makes the final determination on demands or requests to employees for production of official records and information or testimony in litigation in which the BBG is not a party. All final determinations are within the sole discretion of the General Counsel. The General Counsel will notify the requester and, when appropriate, the court or other competent authority of the final determination, the reasons for the grant or denial of the request, and any conditions that the General Counsel may impose on the release of records or information, or on the testimony of an BBG employee. The General Counsel's decision exhausts administrative remedies for discovery of the information.
(3) Requiring that the transcript will be used or made available only in the particular legal proceeding for which testimony was requested. The General Counsel may also require a copy of the transcript of testimony at the requester's expense.
(b) The BBG may offer the employee's written declaration in lieu of testimony.
(2) For a current BBG employee, testify as an expert or opinion witness with regard to any matter arising out of the employee's official duties or the functions of the BBG unless testimony is being given on behalf of the United States (see also 5 CFR 2635.805).
(d) The scheduling of an employee's testimony, including the amount of time that the employee will be made available for testimony, will be subject to the BBG's approval.
(a) The General Counsel may impose conditions or restrictions on the release of official records and information, including the requirement that parties to the proceeding obtain a protective order or execute a confidentiality agreement to limit access and any further disclosure. The terms of the protective order or of a confidentiality agreement must be acceptable to the General Counsel. In cases where protective orders or confidentiality agreements have already been executed, the BBG may condition the release of official records and information on an amendment to the existing protective order or confidentiality agreement.
(b) If the General Counsel so determines, original BBG records may be presented for examination in response to a request, but they may not be presented as evidence or otherwise used in a manner by which they could lose their identity as official BBG records, nor may they be marked or altered. In lieu of the original records, certified copies may be presented for evidentiary purposes.
If a response to a demand or request is required before the General Counsel can make the determination referred to in §504.9, the General Counsel, when necessary, will provide the court or other competent authority with a copy of this part, inform the court or other competent authority that the request is being reviewed, provide an estimate as to when a decision will be made, and seek a stay of the demand or request pending a final determination.
If the court or other competent authority fails to stay a demand or request, the employee upon whom the demand or request is made, unless otherwise advised by the General Counsel, will appear, if necessary, at the stated time and place, produce a copy of this part, state that the employee has been advised by counsel not to provide the requested testimony or produce documents, and respectfully decline to comply with the demand or request, citing United States ex rel. Touhy v. Ragen, 340 U.S. 462 (1951).
(a) Generally. The General Counsel may condition the production of records or appearance for testimony upon advance payment of a reasonable estimate of the costs to the BBG.
(b) Fees for records. Fees for producing records will include fees for searching, reviewing, and duplicating records, costs of attorney time spent in reviewing the request, and expenses generated by materials and equipment used to search for, produce, and copy the responsive information. Costs for employee time will be calculated on the basis of the hourly pay of the employee (including all pay, allowances, and benefits). Fees for duplication will be the same as those charged by the BBG in its Freedom of Information Act regulations at 22 CFR Part 503.
(c) Witness fees. Fees for attendance by a witness will include fees, expenses, and allowances prescribed by the court's rules. If no such fees are prescribed, witness fees will be determined based upon the rule of the Federal district court closest to the location where the witness will appear and on 28 U.S.C. 1821, as applicable. Such fees will include cost of time spent by the witness to prepare for testimony, in travel and for attendance in the legal proceeding, plus travel costs.
(d) Payment of fees. A requester must pay witness fees for current BBG employees and any record certification fees by submitting to the General Counsel a check or money order for the appropriate amount made payable to the Treasury of the United States. In the case of testimony of former BBG employees, the requester must pay applicable fees directly to the former BBG employee in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1821 or other applicable statutes.
(e) Waiver or reduction of fees. The General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, may, upon a showing of reasonable cause, waive or reduce any fees in connection with the testimony, production, or certification of records.
(f) De minimis fees. Fees will not be assessed if the total charge would be $10.00 or less.
(a) An employee who discloses official records or information or gives testimony relating to official information, except as expressly authorized by the BBG, or as ordered by a Federal court after the BBG has had the opportunity to be heard, may face penalties as provided in any applicable enforcement statute.
(b) A current BBG employee who testifies or produces official records and information in violation of this part shall be subject to disciplinary action and, if done for a valuable consideration, may subject that person to criminal prosecution.

References: §504

§504

§504

§504

§504

§504

§504
 §504
 v.