44 C.F.R. PART 12—ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Title 44 - Emergency Management and Assistance
Authority: Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 1; Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978; E.O. 12127; E.O. 12148; E.O. 12024.
Source: 45 FR 64180, Sept. 29, 1980, unless otherwise noted.
(a) The regulations in this part implement the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Executive Order 12024 and General Services Administration Regulation 41 CFR part 101–6. The provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act in this part shall apply to all advisory committees established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including advisory committees created pursuant to any act of Congress relating to the United States Fire Administration, Federal Insurance Administration, or any other component of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, except to the extent that any act of Congress establishing an advisory committee reporting to the agencies specifically provides otherwise. (b) This part does not apply to inter-agency advisory committees or advisory committees established by the President unless specifically made applicable by the establishing authority. (c) This part does not apply to any local group, contractor, grantee, or other organization whose primary function is to render public service with respect to a Federal program, or any state or local committee, counsel, board, commission, or similar group established to advise or make recommendations to State or local officials or agencies. [45 FR 64180, Sept. 29, 1980, as amended at 48 FR 44543, Sept. 29, 1983; 50 FR 40007, Oct. 1, 1985] As used in this part— Act means the Federal Advisory Committee Act (86 Stat. 770). Advisory Committee is used as per the meaning set forth in section 3(2) of the Act. Agency means the Federal Emergency Management Agency, established by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978, or any component thereof. Administrator, GSA means the Administrator of General Services. Director means the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA means the Federal Emergency Management Agency. GSA means the General Services Administration. Presidential Advisory Committee means an advisory committee which advises the President of the United States. Secretariat means the Committee Management Secretariat of the General Services Administration. Any officer of the Federal Government means any agency official or employee of the Federal government designated to perform duties with respect to an advisory committee established under this part. Nonstatutory advisory committee means an advisory committee not established by statute or reorganization plan. In determining whether an advisory committee should be created, and in reviewing the functions of operating advisory committees, the Agency will: (a) Establish new advisory committees only when they are determined to be essential, keeping their number to the minimum necessary to accomplish the assigned mission of the agency or its components; (b) Provide standards and uniform procedures to govern the establishment, operation, administration, and duration of the advisory committees; (c) Terminate the advisory committees when they are no longer necessary to carry out the purposes for which they were established; and (d) Keep the Congress and the public informed with respect to the number, purpose, membership, activity, and cost of the advisory committees. Except as specifically authorized in writing by the Director, including internal instructions, no interpretation of the meaning of the regulations in this part by any employee or officer of the Agency, other than a written interpretation by the General Counsel, will be recognized to be binding upon the Agency. (a) The Director will designate as advisory committee management officer the Chief, Staff Planning and Evaluation, Office of Administrative Support, who shall: (1) Exercise control and supervision over the establishment, procedures, and accomplishments of the advisory committees established by the Director; and (2) Assemble and maintain the reports, records, and other papers of any advisory committee during its existence. (b) The name of the Advisory Committee Management Officer designated in accordance with this part shall be provided to the Secretariat. [45 FR 64180, Sept. 29, 1980, as amended at 47 FR 13149, Mar. 29, 1982; 48 FR 44543, Sept. 29, 1983; 49 FR 33879, Aug. 27, 1984] (a) No advisory committee shall be established under this part unless such establishment is: (1) Specifically authorized by statute or the President of the United States; or (2) Determined as a matter of formal record by the Director after consultation with the Secretariat, with timely notice published in the (b) The determination required by paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall: (1) Contain a clearly defined purpose for the advisory committee; (2) Require the membership of the advisory committee to be fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented in the functions performed by the advisory committee; (3) Contain appropriate provisions to assure that the advice and recommendations of the advisory committee will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or by any special interest, but will instead be the result of the advisory committee's independent judgment; (4) Contain provisions dealing with the date for submission of reports (if any), the duration of the advisory committee, and the publication of reports and other materials, to the extent that the agency determines the provisions of §12.16 of this part to be inadequate; and (5) Contain provisions which will assure that the advisory committee will have adequate staff (either supplied by the Agency or employed by it), will be provided adequate quarters, and will have funds available to meet its other necessary expenses. (c) Consultation with the Secretariat may be in the form of a letter from the Agency describing the nature and purpose of the proposed advisory committee, including an explanation of why the functions of the proposed committee could not be performed by FEMA or by an existing committee. The letter should describe the Agency's plan to attain balanced membership on the proposed committee, as prescribed in paragraph (b)(2) of this section. If the Secretariat is satisfied that the establishment of the advisory committee will be in accord with the Act, the Agency shall certify in writing that creation of the advisory committee is in the public interest. (d) Unless otherwise specifically provided by statute or Presidential directive, advisory committees shall be utilized solely for advisory functions. (a) No advisory committee established under this part shall meet or take any action until an advisory committee charter has been filed with the Agency and the standing Committee or Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives having legislative jurisdiction over the FEMA component to which the advisory committee renders its advice. (b) The charter required by paragraph (a) of this section shall contain at least the following information: (1) The committee's official designations; (2) The committee's objectives and the scope of its activities; (3) The period of time necessary for the committee to carry out its purposes; (4) The FEMA component and official to whom the committee reports; (5) The FEMA component responsible for providing the necessary support for the committee; (6) A description of the duties for which the committee is responsible, and, if such duties are not solely advisory, specification of the authority for such functions; (7) The estimated annual operating cost in dollars and man years for the committee; (8) The estimated number in frequency of committee meetings; (9) The committee's termination date, if less than 2 years from the date of committee's establishment; and (10) The date the charter is filed. (c) A copy of the charter required by paragraph (a) of this section shall also be furnished at the time of filing to the Library of Congress, Exchange and Gift Division, Federal Advisory Committee, Washington, DC 20540. (d) An amendment to the charter may be filed whenever there is a substantial change regarding matters stated in the original charter. (e) The requirements of this section shall also apply to committees utilized as advisory committees, even though not expressly established for that purpose. (a) Advisory committees established under this part shall not hold any meetings, nor shall they render any advice, except at the call of, or with the advice and approval of, the Federal Officer or employee designated in accordance with §12.10 of this part, who shall also approve the agenda of such meetings. Timely notice of each meeting shall be provided in accordance with §12.11 of this part. (b) The agenda required by paragraph (a) of this section shall list the matters to be considered at the meeting. It shall also indicate when any part of the meeting will concern matters within the exceptions of the (Government) Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b, and §12.9 of this part. (c) Subject to the provisions of §12.9 of this part, each advisory committee meeting shall be open to the public. Meetings which are completely or partly open to the public shall be held at reasonable times and at such a place that is reasonably accessible to the public. The size of the meeting room should be determined by such factors as the size of the committee, the number of members of the public who could reasonably be expected to attend, the number of persons who attended similar meetings in the past, and the resource facilities available. (d) Any member of the public shall be permitted to file a written statement with the committee related to any meeting that is completely or partly open to the public. Interested persons may also be permitted by the committee chairman to speak at such meetings in accordance with the procedures established by the committee. (a) The requirements of §12.8 (c) and (d) of this part that meetings shall be open to the public and that the public shall be afforded an opportunity to participate in such meetings shall not apply to any advisory committee meeting which the President or the Director determines is concerned with matters listed in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c). (b) An advisory committee which seeks to have all or part of its meetings closed shall notify the Director before the scheduled date of the meeting. The notification shall be in writing and shall specify the reasons why any part of the meeting should be closed. (c) A request that the meeting be closed will be granted upon determination by the Director that the request is in accordance with the policies of this part. The Director's determination will be in writing and will state the specific reasons for closing all or part of the meeting. The determination will be made available to the public upon request. (d) The Director may delegate responsibility for making the determination required by paragraph (c) of this section. In any case where the determination to close the meeting is made by the Director's delegate, the determination will be reviewed by the General Counsel. (e) When a meeting is closed to the public, the advisory committee shall issue a report, at least annually, setting forth a summary of its activities in such meetings, addressing those related matters as would be informative to the public and consistent with the policy of 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) and of this part. Notice of the availability of such annual reports shall be published in accordance with §12.11 of this part. (a) The Agency will designate an officer or employee of the Federal Government to chair or attend each meeting of each advisory committee established under this part. (b) No advisory committee shall conduct any meeting in the absence of the Federal employee or officer designated in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section. (c) The Federal officer or employee designated in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section is authorized, whenever he/she determines it to be in the public interest, to adjourn any committee meeting he/she is designated to chair or attend. (a) The Agency's determination procedure described by §12.6 of this part for the creation of the advisory committee, and a description of the nature and purpose of the committee, should be published in the (b) Except when the Administrator GSA determines contrarily for reasons of national security, timely notice of each advisory committee meeting, whether open or closed to the public, shall be published in the (c) In addition to the notice required by paragraph (b) of this section, other forms of notice such as public releases and notices by mail should be used to inform the public of advisory committee meetings. (d) The Committee Management Officer, in coordination with the Office of Public Affairs, should, where practical, maintain lists of people and organizations interested in advisory committees and notify them of meetings by mail. (e) Notice of the availability of the annual reports required by §12.9(e) of this part will be published in the (a) Detailed minutes of each advisory committee meeting shall be kept and shall contain a record of the persons present, a complete summary of matters discussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all reports received, issued, or approved by the advisory committee. The record of persons present shall include the time and place of the meeting, a list of advisory committee members and staff and agency employees present at the meeting, a list of members of the public who presented oral or written statements, and an estimated number of members of the public who attended the meeting. The minutes shall describe the extent to which the meeting was open to the public and the extent of public participation. If it is impracticable to attach to the minutes of the meeting any report received, issued, or approved by the advisory committee, then the minutes will describe the report in sufficient detail to enable any person requesting the report to readily identify it. (b) The accuracy of all minutes shall be certified by the chairperson of the advisory committee concerned, except in the case of a subcommittee or subgroup of the advisory committee, in which case the accuracy of the minutes shall be certified by the chairperson of the subcommittee or subgroup concerned and co-signed by the chairperson of the advisory committee. Copies of transcripts of advisory committee meetings which have been prepared will be made available to any person at the actual cost of duplication, as prescribed in §12.17 of this part. (a) The Agency will conduct an annual comprehensive review of the activities and responsibilities of each advisory committee to determine: (1) Whether such committee is carrying out its purpose; (2) Whether, consistent with the provisions of applicable statutes, the responsibilities assigned to it should be revised; (3) Whether it should be merged with any other advisory committee or committees; or (4) Whether it should be abolished. (b) Pertinent factors to be considered in the comprehensive review required by paragraph (a) of this section includes the following: (1) The number of times the committee has met in the past year; (2) The number of reports or recommendations submitted by the committee; (3) An evaluation of the substance of the reports or recommendations submitted by the committee, regarding the Agency's programs or operations; (4) An evaluation of the utilization by the Agency of the committee's policy formation recommendations in: program planning, decision making, more effective achievement of program objectives, and more economical accomplishment of programs in general, with emphasis in such evaluation on the preceding 12 month period of the committee's work; (5) Whether information or recommendations could be obtained from sources within the Agency or from other advisory committees already in existence; (6) The degree of duplication of effort by the committee as compared with that of other parts of the Agency or other advisory committees; and (7) The estimated annual cost of the committee. (c) The annual review required by this section shall be conducted on a calendar year basis, and results of the review shall be included in the annual report to the Secretariat required by §12.16(b) of this part. The report shall contain a justification of each advisory committee which the Agency determines should be continued, making reference, as appropriate, to the factors specified in paragraph (b) of this section. (d) The review will examine all advisory committees, and committees found to be no longer needed shall be terminated. Advisory committees established by act of Congress or the President of the United States will be reviewed, and if appropriate, their termination will be recommended. (a) Each advisory committee shall terminate not later than the expiration of the 2 year period beginning on the date of its establishment, unless: (1) In the case of an advisory committee established by the President or an officer of the Federal Government, such advisory committee is renewed by the President or such officer by appropriate action prior to the end of such period; or (2) In the case of an advisory committee established by an Act of Congress, its duration is otherwise provided by law. (b) Any advisory committee which is renewed by the President or any officer of the Federal Government may be continued only for successive 2-year periods by appropriate action taken by the President or such officer prior to the date on which the advisory committee would otherwise terminate. (c) Before it renews a non-statutory advisory committee in accordance with paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, the Agency will inform the Secretariat by letter, not more than 60 days nor less than 30 days before the committee expires, of the following: (1) Its determination that a renewal is necessary and is in the public interest; (2) The reasons for its determination; (3) The Agency's plan to attain balanced membership on the committee; (4) An explanation of why the committee's functions cannot be performed by the Agency or by an existing advisory committee. (d) After concurrence by the Secretariat, the Agency will certify in writing that the renewal of the advisory committee is in the public interest, and will publish a notice of the renewal in the (e) Any advisory committee established by an Act of Congress shall file a charter in accordance with §12.7 of this part upon the expiration of each successive 2-year period following the date of enactment of the Act establishing such advisory committee. (f) No advisory committee required under this section to file a charter shall take any action, other than preparation and filing of such charter, between the date the new charter is required and the date on which such charter is actually filed. (a) The Agency will furnish a report of the activities of the FEMA advisory committees annually to the Administrator, General Services Administration, in accordance with the Federal Property Management Regulations. (b) The Agency will furnish a report of the activities of FEMA advisory committees annually to the Secretariat. (c) The Agency will inform the Secretariat, by letter, of the termination of, or other significant changes with respect to, its advisory committees no later than 10 working days following the end of the month in which the committee is changed. If no changes are made during any given month the report of the Secretariat is not required. [45 FR 64180, Sept. 29, 1980, as amended at 48 FR 44543, Sept. 29, 1983] (a) Subject to the provisions of §§12.12 and 12.13 of this part, the records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appendices, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, or other documents which were made available to or prepared for by each advisory committee shall be available for public inspection and copying at a single location in the FEMA Headquarters, Washington, DC, in accordance with the regulations in part 5 of this chapter. (b) The Agency will maintain systematic information on the nature, functions, and operations of each of its advisory committees. A complete set of the charters of the Agency's advisory committees and copies of the annual reports required by §12.16 will be maintained for public inspection in the FEMA Headquarters. [45 FR 64180, Sept. 29, 1980, as amended at 47 FR 13150, Mar. 29, 1982] (a) Members. Subject to the provisions of this section, the pay of any member of an advisory committee shall be fixed at the daily equivalent rate of the FEMA general salary schedule unless the member is appointed as a consultant, to be compensated as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. In determining an appropriate rate of pay for the members of an advisory committee, consideration shall be given to the significance, scope and technical complexity of the matters with which the advisory committee is concerned, and the qualifications required of the members of the advisory committee. The pay of the members of an advisory committee shall not be fixed at a rate higher than the daily equivalent of the maximum rate for GS–15 unless the Director has determined that, under the factors set forth in this paragraph, a higher rate of pay is justified and necessary. Such a determination will be reviewed annually by the Director. (b) Advisory committee staff. The pay of each member of the staff of an advisory committee shall be fixed at a rate of the general salary schedule in which the staff member's position would be appropriately compensated for in the FEMA evaluation system applicable to the position. Pay of the member of the staff of an advisory committee shall not be fixed at a rate higher than the daily equivalent of the maximum rate for a GS–15 unless the Director or his designee has determined that, under its evaluation system, the staff member's position would appropriately be placed in the General Salary Schedule at a grade higher than GS–15. Such a determination will be reviewed by the Director annually. (c) Consultants. The rate of pay of a consultant to an advisory committee shall not exceed the maximum rate of pay which FEMA may pay experts and consultants under 5 U.S.C. 3109. Consideration shall be given to the qualifications required of the consultant and the significance, scope, and technical complexity of the work in fixing the rate of pay for the consultants. (d) Voluntary services. The provisions of this section shall not prevent FEMA from accepting the voluntary services of a member of an advisory committee, or a member of the staff of an advisory committee, provided that FEMA has the authority to accept such services without compensation. (e) Reimbursable travel expenses. The members of an advisory committee and the staff thereof, while engaged in the performance of their duties away from their home or regular places of business, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem and in lieu of subsistences, as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5703 for persons employed intermittently in the government service. (a) The Comptroller, FEMA, shall keep such records as will fully disclose the disposition of any funds which may be at the disposal of any FEMA advisory committee. (b) The FEMA Advisory Committee management officer or designee shall keep such records as are necessary to fully disclose the nature and extent of the activities of the FEMA advisory committees. (c) Support services shall be provided by FEMA for each advisory committee established by or reporting to it, unless the establishing authority provides otherwise. Where such advisory committee reports to more than one agency, only one agency or component thereof shall be responsible for support services at any one time, and the establishing authority shall designate the agency responsible for providing such services. [45 FR 64180, Sept. 29, 1980, as amended at 48 FR 44543, Sept. 29, 1983]
Title 44: Emergency Management and Assistance
PART 12—ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Section Contents
§ 12.1 Purpose and applicability.
§ 12.2 Definitions.
§ 12.3 Policy.
§ 12.4 Interpretations.
§ 12.5 Advisory committee management officer.
§ 12.6 Establishment of advisory committees.
§ 12.7 Charter.
§ 12.8 Meetings.
§ 12.9 Closed meetings.
§ 12.10 Designated Federal officer or employee.
§ 12.11 Public notice.
§ 12.12 Minutes.
§ 12.13 Transcripts of the advisory committee meetings and agency proceedings.
§ 12.14 Annual comprehensive review.
§ 12.15 Termination and renewal of advisory committees.
§ 12.16 Reports about the advisory committees.
§ 12.17 Availability of documents and information on advisory committees.
§ 12.18 Uniform pay guidelines.
§ 12.19 Fiscal and administrative responsibilities.
§ 12.1 Purpose and applicability.
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§ 12.2 Definitions.
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§ 12.3 Policy.
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§ 12.4 Interpretations.
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§ 12.5 Advisory committee management officer.
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§ 12.6 Establishment of advisory committees.
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§ 12.7 Charter.
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§ 12.8 Meetings.
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§ 12.9 Closed meetings.
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§ 12.10 Designated Federal officer or employee.
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§ 12.11 Public notice.
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§ 12.12 Minutes.
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§ 12.13 Transcripts of the advisory committee meetings and agency proceedings.
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§ 12.14 Annual comprehensive review.
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§ 12.15 Termination and renewal of advisory committees.
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§ 12.16 Reports about the advisory committees.
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§ 12.17 Availability of documents and information on advisory committees.
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§ 12.18 Uniform pay guidelines.
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§ 12.19 Fiscal and administrative responsibilities.
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