5 C.F.R. PART 1206—OPEN MEETINGS
Title 5 - Administrative Personnel
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552b.
Source: 54 FR 20367, May 11, 1989, unless otherwise noted.
The purpose of this part is to prescribe the procedures by which the Board will conduct open meetings in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b) (“the Act”). The Board will provide the public with the fullest practicable information regarding its decision-making processes, while protecting individuals' rights and the Board's ability to carry out its responsibilities. Meetings at which the Board members jointly conduct or dispose of official business are presumptively open to the public. The Board will close those meetings in whole or in part only in accordance with the exemptions provided under 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), and only when doing so is in the public interest. The following definitions apply to this part: (a) Meeting means deliberations of at least two Board members that determine or result in the joint conduct of official Board business. (b) Member means one of the members of the Merit Systems Protection Board. (a) Notice of a Board meeting will be published in the (1) The time of the meeting; (2) The place where the meeting will be held; (3) The subject and agenda of the meeting; (4) Whether the meeting is to be open to the public or closed; and (5) The name and telephone number of a Board official responsible for receiving inquiries regarding the meeting. (b) The Board, by majority vote, may provide less than one week's notice. When it does so, however, it will provide notice of the meeting at the earliest practicable time. (a) After notice of a meeting has been published, the Board may change the time or place of the meeting only if it announces the change publicly at the earliest practicable time. (b) After notice of a meeting has been published, the Board may not change either the subject matter of the meeting or the decision that the meeting will be open to the public or closed unless both of the following conditions are met: (1) By majority, recorded vote, the Board members determine that Board business requires the change and that no earlier announcement of the change was possible; and (2) Notice of the change, and of the individual Board members' vote, is published in the (a) Basis. The Board, by majority vote, may decide to close a meeting in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1) to 552b(c)(10) when closing the meeting is in the public interest. (b) General Counsel certification. For every meeting that is closed to the public in whole or in part, the General Counsel will certify that closing the meeting is proper, and will state the basis for that opinion. (c) Vote. Within one day after voting to close a meeting, the Board will make publicly available a record reflecting the vote of each member. In addition, within one day after any vote to close a portion or portions of a meeting to the public, the Board will make publicly available a full written explanation of its decision to close the meeting, together with a list naming all persons expected to attend the meeting and identifying their affiliation, unless that disclosure would reveal the information that the meeting was closed to protect. (a) Closed Meeting. When the Board has decided to close a meeting in whole or in part, it will maintain the following record: (1) A transcript or recording of the proceeding; (2) A copy of the General Counsel's certification under §1206.6(b) of this part; (3) A statement from the presiding official specifying the time and place of the meeting and naming the persons present; and (4) A record (which may be part of the transcript) of all votes and all documents considered at the meeting. (b) Open meeting. Transcripts or other records will be made of all open meetings of the Board. Those records will be made available upon request at a fee representing the Board's actual cost of making them available. [54 FR 20367, May 11, 1989, as amended at 54 FR 28664, July 6, 1989] Information available to the public under this part will be made available by the Office of the Clerk of the Board, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M Street, NW., Washington, DC 20419. Individuals or organizations with a special interest in activities of the Board may ask the Office of the Clerk to have them placed on a mailing list for receipt of information available under this part. [54 FR 20367, May 11, 1989, as amended at 65 FR 48886, Aug. 10, 2000] Instead of following the procedures described in §§1206.4 through 1206.8 of this part, and in §§1206.11 and 1206.12, the Board may expedite the closing of its meetings under the following conditions by using the following procedures: (a) Finding. (1) Most regular Board business consists of reviewing initial decisions in cases adjudicated after an opportunity for a hearing has been provided. Based on a review of this circumstance, the legislative history of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95–454), the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b), and the Board's regulations at 5 CFR part 1201, the Board finds that a majority of its meetings may properly be closed to the public under 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(10) and 552b(d)(4). (2) Absent a compelling public interest to the contrary, meetings or portions of meetings that can be expected to be closed under these procedures include meetings held to consider the following: Petitions for review or cases that have been or may be reopened under 5 CFR 1201.114 through 1201.117; proposals to take action against administrative law judges under 5 CFR 1201.131 through 1201.136; and actions brought by the Special Counsel under 5 CFR 1201.129. (b) Announcement. The Board will announce publicly, at the earliest practicable time, the time, place, and subject matter of meetings or portions of meetings that are closed under this provision. (c) Procedure for closing meetings under this section. At the beginning of a meeting or portion of a meeting that is to be closed under this section, the Board may, by recorded vote of two of its members, decide to close the meeting or a portion of it to public observation. The Board may take this action, however, only after it receives a certification by the General Counsel under §1206.6(b) of this part. (d) Record Availability. When the Board has closed a meeting or portion of a meeting under this paragraph, it will make the following available as soon as practicable: (1) A written record reflecting the vote of each participating member of the Board with respect to closing the meeting; and (2) The General Counsel certification under §1206.6(b). The Board will hold open meetings in meeting rooms designated in the public announcements of those meetings. Whenever the number of observers is greater than can be accommodated in the designated meeting room, however, it will make alternative facilities available to the extent possible. The public may attend open meetings for the sole purpose of observation. Observers may not participate in the meetings unless they are expressly invited to do so. They also may not create distractions that interfere with the conduct and disposition of Board business, and they may be asked to leave if they do so. Observers of meetings that are partially closed must leave the meeting room when they are asked to do so.
Title 5: Administrative Personnel
PART 1206—OPEN MEETINGS
Section Contents
§ 1206.1 Purpose.
§ 1206.2 Policy.
§ 1206.3 Definitions.
§ 1206.4 Notice of meeting.
§ 1206.5 Change in meeting plans after notice.
§ 1206.6 Decision to close meeting.
§ 1206.7 Record of meetings.
§ 1206.8 Providing information to the public.
§ 1206.9 Procedures for expedited closing of meetings.
§ 1206.11 Meeting place.
§ 1206.12 Role of observers.
Subpart A—Purpose and Policy
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§ 1206.1 Purpose.
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§ 1206.2 Policy.
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§ 1206.3 Definitions.
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Subpart B—Procedures
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§ 1206.4 Notice of meeting.
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§ 1206.5 Change in meeting plans after notice.
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§ 1206.6 Decision to close meeting.
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§ 1206.7 Record of meetings.
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§ 1206.8 Providing information to the public.
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§ 1206.9 Procedures for expedited closing of meetings.
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Subpart C—Conduct of Meetings
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§ 1206.11 Meeting place.
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§ 1206.12 Role of observers.
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