An Act to provide for continuous improvement of the administrative procedure of Federal agencies by creating an Administrative Conference of the United States, and for other purposes
PL 88-499 (S.1664), enacted 08/30/1964

78 STAT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 88-499-AUG. 30, 1964 
615 
Public Law 88-499 
AN ACT 
August 30, 1964 
[S. 1664] 
To provide for continuous improvement of the administrative procedure of 
Federal agencies by creating an Administrative Conference of tlie United 
States, and for other purix)ses. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may conf^l^ce^Air* 
be cited as the "Administrative Conference Act". 
FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY 
SEC. 2. The Congress finds and declares that— 
(a) administration of regulatory and other statutes enacted 
by Congress in the public interest substantially affects large num-
bers of private individuals and many areas of business and eco-
nomic activity; 
(b) the protection of public and private interests requires con-
tinuing attention to the administrative procedure of Federal 
agencies to insure maximum efficiency and fairness in achieving 
statutory objectives; 
(c) responsibility for assuring fair and efficient administrative 
procedure is inherent in the general responsibilities of officials 
appointed to administer Federal statutes; 
(d) experience has demonstrated 
that cooperative 
effort 
among Federal officials, assisted hj private citizens and others 
whose interest, competence, and objectivity enable them to make 
a unique contribution, can find solutions to complex problems 
and achieve substantial progress in improving the effectiveness 
of administrative procedure; and 
(e) it is the purpose of this Act to provide suitable arrange-
ments through which Federal agencies, assisted by outside 
experts, may cooperatively study mutual problems, exchange 
information, and develop recommendations for action by proper 
authorities to the end that private rights may be fully protected 
and regulatory activities and other Federal responsibilities may 
be carried out expeditiously in the public interest. 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 3. As used in this Act— 
(a) "Administrative program" includes any Federal 
function 
which involves protection of the public interest and the determina-
tion of rights, privileges, and obligations of private persons through 
rulemaking, adjudication, licensing or investigation, as those terms 
are used in the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 1001-1011), 
except that it does not include any military, naval, or foreign affairs 
function of the United States. 
(b) "Administrative agency" means any authority as defined by 
section 2(a) 
of the Administrative Procedure Act 
(5 U.S.C. 
1001(a)). 
(c) "Administrative procedure" means procedure used in carrying 
out an administrative program and shall be broadly construed to 
include any aspect of agency organization, procedure, or manage-
ment whicn may affect the equitable consideration of public and 
private interests, the fairness of agency decisions, the speed of 
agency action, and the relationship of operating methods to later 
judicial review, but shall not be construed to include the scope of 
agency responsibility as established by law or matters of substantive 
policy committed by law to agency discretion. 
60 Stat. 237. 
31-667 0-65—42 
616 
PUBLIC LAW 88-499-AUG. 30, 1964 
[78 STAT. 
ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE OF T H E UNITED STATES 
SEC. 4. (a) There is hereby established the Administrative Con-
ference of the United States (hereinafter referred to as the "Confer-
ence"), which shall consist of not more than ninety-one nor fewer 
than seventy-five members appointed as set forth in subsection (b) 
of this section. 
(b) The Conference shall be composed of— 
(1) a full-time Chairman, who shall be appointed for a five-
year term by the President, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate. The Chairman shall receive compensation at the 
highest rate established by law for the chairman of an inde-
pendent regulatory board or commission, and may continue to 
serve until his successor has been appointed and has qualified; 
(2) the chairman of each independent regulatory board or 
commission or a person designated by such board or commission; 
(3) the head of each executive department or other admin-
istrative agency which is designated by the President, or a person 
designated by such head of a department or agency; 
(4) when authorized by the Council, one or more appointees 
from any such board, commission, department, or agency, desig-
nated by the department or agency head or, in the case of a 
board or commission, by the head of such board or commission 
with the approval of the board or commission; 
(5) persons appointed by the President to membership upon 
the Council hereinafter established who are not otherwise mem-
bers of the Conference; and 
(6) no more than thirty-six other members appointed by the 
Chairman, with the approval of the Council, for terms of two 
years: Provided^ That the number of members appointed by the 
Chairman shall at no time be less than one-third nor more than 
two-fifths of the total number of members. Such members shall 
be selected in a manner which will provide broad representation 
of the views of private citizens and utilize diverse experience, 
and shall be members of the practicing bar, scholars in the field 
of administrative law or government, or others especially 
informed by knowledge and experience with respect to Federal 
administrative procedure. 
(c) Members of the Conference other than the Chairman shall 
receive no compensation for service, but members appointed from out-
side the Federal Government shall be allowed travel expenses, includ-
ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 
60 Stat. 808; 
73b-2) for persons serving without compensation. 
75 Stat. 339, 340. 
/ 
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DUTIES AND POWERS OF T H E CONFERENCE 
SEC. 5. To carry out the purposes of this Act the Conference is 
authorized to— 
(a) study the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of the admin-
istrative procedure used by administrative agencies in carrying 
out administrative programs, and make recommendations to 
administrative agencies, collectively or individually, and to the 
President, the Congress, or the Judicial Conference of the United 
States, in connection therewith, as it deems appropriate; 
(b) arrange for interchange among administrative agencies of 
information potentially useful in improving administrative pro-
cedure; and 
(c) collect information and statistics from 
administrative 
agencies and publish such reports as it deems useful for evaluating 
and improving administrative procedure. 
Council. 
78 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 88-499-AUG. 30, 1964 
617 
ORGANIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE 
SEC. 6. (a) The membership of the Conference meeting in plenary 
session shall constitute the Assembly of the Conference. The Assem-
bly shall have ultimate authority over all activities of the Conference. 
Specifically, it shall have power to (1) adopt such recommendations 
as it deems appropriate for improving administrative procedure: 
Provided^ That any member or members who disagree v»^ith a recom- ^ ^^"^"""^ 
mendation adopted by the Assembly shall be accorded the privilege of 
entering dissenting opinions and alternative proposals in the record 
of Con^rence proceedings, and the opinions and proposals so entered 
shall accompany the Conference recommendation in any publication 
or distribution thereof; and (2) adopt bylaws and regulations not 
inconsistent with this Act for carrying out the functions of the Con-
ference, including the creation of such committees as it deems neces-
sary for the conduct of studies and the development of recommenda-
tions for consideration by the Assembly. 
(b) The Conference shall include a Council composed of the Chair-
man of the Conference, who shall be the Chairman of the Council, 
and ten other members appointed by the President, of whom not 
more than one-half shall be officials or personnel of Federal regulatory 
agencies or executive departments. Members other than the Chairman 
shall be appointed for three-year terms, except that the Council 
members initially appointed shall serve for one, two, or three years, 
as designated iJy the President: Provided^ That (1) the service 
of any member shall terminate whenever a change in his employment 
status would make him ineligible for Council membership under the 
conditions of his original appointment, and (2) except as provided in 
item (1), above, any member whose term has expired may continue 
to serve until a successor is appointed. The Council shall have power 
to (1) determine the time and place of plenary sessions of the Con-
ference and the agenda for such meetings and it shall call at least one 
plenary session each year; (2) propose bylaws and regulations, in-
cluding rules of procedure and committee organization, for adoption 
l)y the Assembly; (3) make recommendations to the Conference or its 
committees upon any subject germane to the purposes of the Con-
ference; (4) receive and consider reports and recommendations of 
committees of the Conference and transmit them to members of the 
Conference with the views and recommendations of the Council; (5) 
designate a member of the Council to preside at meetings of the 
Council in the absence or incapacity of the Chairman and Vice Chair-
man; (6) designate such additional officers of the Conference as it 
may deem desirable; (7) approve or revise the Chairman's budgetary 
proposals; and (8) exercise such other powders as may be delegated 
to it by the Assembly. 
(c) The Chairman shall be the chief executive of the Conference. 
In that capacity he shall have power to (1) make inquiries into mat-
ters he deems important for Conference consideration, including mat-
ters proposed by persons inside or outside the Federal Government; 
(2) be the official spokesman for the Conference in relations with the 
several branches and agencies of the Federal Government and with 
interested organizations and individuals outside the Government, in-
cluding responsibility for encouraging Federal agencies to effectuate 
the recommendations of the Conference; (3) request agency heads 
to provide information needed by the Conference, which informa-
tion shall be supplied to the extent permitted by law; (4) recommend 
to the Council appropriate subjects for action by the Conference; 
(5) appoint, with the approval of the Council, members of committees 
authorized by the bylaws and regulations of the Conference; (6) pre-
618 
PUBLIC LAW 88-500-AUG. 30, 1964 
[78 STAT. 
60 Stat. 810. 
Report to Pres-
ident and Con-
gress. 
Vice Chairman. 
pare, for approval of the Council, estimates of the budgetary require-
ments of the Conference; (7) appoint employees, subject to the civil 
service and classification laws, define their duties and responsibilities, 
and direct and suj)ervise their activities; (8) rent office space in the 
District of Columbia; (9) provide necessary services for the Assembly, 
the Council, and the committees of the Conference; (10) organize and 
direct studies ordered by the Assembly or the Council, utilizing from 
time to time, as appropriate, experts and consultants who may be em-
ployed as authorized by section 15 of the Administrative Expenses Act 
of 1946, as amended (5 U.S.C. 55a), but at rates for individuals not 
to exceed $100 per diem; (11) upon request of the head of any agency, 
furnish assistance and advice on matters of administrative procedure; 
and (12) exercise such additional authority EIS may be delegated to him 
by the Council or the Assembly. 
The Chairman shall preside at 
meetings of the Council and at each plenary session of the Confer-
ence, to which he shall make a full report concerning the affairs of the 
Conference since the last preceding plenary session. The Chairman 
shall, on behalf of the Conference, transmit to the President and the 
Congress an annual report and such interim reports as he deems de-
sirable. 
(d) The President may designate a member of the Council as Vice 
Chairman, who shall serve as Chairman in the event of a vacancy in 
that office or in the absence or incapacity of the Chairman. 
APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 7. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary, not to exceed $250,000, to accomplish the purposes 
of this Act. 
Approved August 30, 1964. 
August 30, 1964 
[H. R. 189] 
Public Law 88-500 
AN ACT 
To authorize the conveyance of certain Federal land under the jurisdiction of 
the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, California, to the county of 
Kern, State of California. 
Kern County, 
Calif. 
Conveyance. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United Stages of America in Congress a^ssembled, That the Secretary 
of the Navy is hereby authorized to convey to the county of Kern, State 
of California, a parcel of land containing pne hundred five and one-
half acres, more or less, situated on the Naval Ordnance Test Station, 
China Lake, California, metes and boundary description of which is 
on file in the Navy Department. 
SEC. 2. Said property is to be conveyed to the county pf Kern at a 
price equal to 50 per centum of the fair market value as determined by 
the Secretary of the Navy. 
The conveyance shall provide that the 
p>roperty shall be used and maintained for park, recreational, educa-
tional, and other public purposes, and that in the event the property 
ceases to be used or maintained for such purposes it shall, in its then 
existing condition, at the option of the Secretary of the Navy, revert 
to the United States and to the control of the Department of the Navy. 
The conveyance may contain such additional terms, reservations, re-
strictions, and Qonditions as may be determined by the Secretary of 
the Navy to be necessary to safeguard the interests of the United 
States. 
Approved August 30, 1964.