§ 41. — Federal Trade Commission established; membership; vacancies; seal.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC41]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 2--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION; PROMOTION OF EXPORT TRADE AND
PREVENTION OF UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION
SUBCHAPTER I--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Sec. 41. Federal Trade Commission established; membership;
vacancies; seal
A commission is created and established, to be known as the Federal
Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission), which
shall be composed of five Commissioners, who shall be appointed by the
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Not more
than three of the Commissioners shall be members of the same political
party. The first Commissioners appointed shall continue in office for
terms of three, four, five, six, and seven years, respectively, from
September 26, 1914, the term of each to be designated by the President,
but their successors shall be appointed for terms of seven years, except
that any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the
unexpired term of the Commissioner whom he shall succeed: Provided,
however, That upon the expiration of his term of office a Commissioner
shall continue to serve until his successor shall have been appointed
and shall have qualified. The President shall choose a chairman from the
Commission's membership. No Commissioner shall engage in any other
business, vocation, or employment. Any Commissioner may be removed by
the President for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in
office. A vacancy in the Commission shall not impair the right of the
remaining Commissioners to exercise all the powers of the Commission.
The Commission shall have an official seal, which shall be
judicially noticed.
(Sept. 26, 1914, ch. 311, Sec. 1, 38 Stat. 717; Mar. 21, 1938, ch. 49,
Sec. 1, 52 Stat. 111; 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 8, Sec. 3, eff. May 24, 1950,
15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat. 1265.)
Amendments
1938--Act Mar. 21, 1938, inserted proviso clause to third sentence.
Transfer of Functions
Executive and administrative functions of Federal Trade Commission,
with certain reservations, transferred to Chairman of such Commission by
Reorg. Plan No. 8 of 1950, set out below.
Functions of Federal Trade Commission (1) under Flammable Fabrics
Act [section 1191 et seq. of this title] and under this subchapter to
extent that such functions relate to administration of Flammable Fabrics
Act, and (2) under Act of August 2, 1956, [section 1211 et seq. of this
title], transferred to Consumer Product Safety Commission by section 30
of Act Oct. 27, 1972, Pub. L. 92-573 [section 2079 of this title].
By section 3 of act Sept. 26, 1914, Bureau of Corporations abolished
and all employees and functions of said Bureau transferred to Federal
Trade Commission.
Clarification of Status of Subsidiaries and Affiliates
Pub. L. 106-102, title I, Sec. 133(a), (b), Nov. 12, 1999, 113 Stat.
1383, provided that:
``(a) Clarification of Federal Trade Commission Jurisdiction.--Any
person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled directly or
indirectly by, or is directly or indirectly under common control with,
any bank or savings association (as such terms are defined in section 3
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act [12 U.S.C. 1813]) and is not itself
a bank or savings association shall not be deemed to be a bank or
savings association for purposes of any provisions applied by the
Federal Trade Commission under the Federal Trade Commission Act [15
U.S.C. 41 et seq.].
``(b) Savings Provision.--No provision of this section [amending
section 18a of this title] shall be construed as restricting the
authority of any Federal banking agency (as defined in section 3 of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act [12 U.S.C. 1813]) under any Federal
banking law, including section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act
[12 U.S.C. 1818].''
REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. 8 OF 1950
Eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat. 1264
Prepared by the President and transmitted to the Senate and the House of
Representatives in Congress assembled, March 13, 1950, pursuant to
the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949, approved June 20,
1949 [see 5 U.S.C. 901 et seq.].
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Section 1. Transfer of Functions to the Chairman
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section,
there are hereby transferred from the Federal Trade Commission,
hereinafter referred to as the Commission, to the Chairman of the
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Chairman, the executive and
administrative functions of the Commission, including functions of the
Commission with respect to (1) the appointment and supervision of
personnel employed under the Commission, (2) the distribution of
business among such personnel and among administrative units of the
Commission, and (3) the use and expenditure of funds.
(b)(1) In carrying out any of his functions under the provisions of
this section the Chairman shall be governed by general policies of the
Commission and by such regulatory decisions, findings, and
determinations as the Commission may by law be authorized to make.
(2) The appointment by the Chairman of the heads of major
administrative units under the Commission shall be subject to the
approval of the Commission.
(3) Personnel employed regularly and full time in the immediate
offices of members of the Commission other than the Chairman shall not
be affected by the provisions of this reorganization plan.
(4) There are hereby reserved to the Commission its functions with
respect to revising budget estimates and with respect to determining
upon the distribution of appropriated funds according to major programs
and purposes.
Sec. 2. Performance of Transferred Functions
The Chairman may from time to time make such provisions as he shall
deem appropriate authorizing the performance by any officer, employee,
or administrative unit under his jurisdiction of any function
transferred to the Chairman by the provisions of this reorganization
plan.
Sec. 3. Designation of Chairman
The functions of the Commission with respect to choosing a Chairman
from among the membership of the Commission are hereby transferred to
the President.
Message of the President
To the Congress of the United States:
I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 8 of 1950, prepared in
accordance with the Reorganization Act of 1949 and providing for
reorganizations in the Federal Trade Commission. My reasons for
transmitting this plan are stated in any accompanying general message.
After investigation I have found and hereby declare that each
reorganization included in Reorganization Plan No. 8 of 1950 is
necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in section
2(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949.
The taking effect of the reorganizations included in this plan may
not in itself result in substantial immediate savings. However, many
benefits in improved operations are probable during the next years which
will result in a reduction in expenditures as compared with those that
would be otherwise necessary. An itemization of these reductions in
advance of actual experience under this plan is not practicable.
Harry S. Truman.
REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. 4 OF 1961
Eff. July 9, 1961, 26 F.R. 6191, 75 Stat. 837
Prepared by the President and transmitted to the Senate and the House of
Representatives in Congress assembled, May 9, 1961, pursuant to the
provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949, 63 Stat. 203, as
amended [see 5 U.S.C. 901 et seq.].
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Section 1. Authority To Delegate
(a) In addition to its existing authority, the Federal Trade
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the ``Commission'', shall have
the authority to delegate, by published order or rule, any of its
functions to a division of the Commission, an individual Commissioner, a
hearing examiner, or an employee or employee board, including functions
with respect to hearing, determining, ordering, certifying, reporting or
otherwise acting as to any work, business, or matter; Provided, however,
That nothing herein contained shall be deemed to supersede the
provisions of section 7(a) of the Administrative Procedure Act (60 Stat.
241), as amended [see 5 U.S.C. 556].
(b) With respect to the delegation of any of its functions, as
provided in subsection (a) of this section, the Commission shall retain
a discretionary right to review the action of any such division of the
Commission, individual Commissioner, hearing examiner, employee or
employee board, upon its own initiative or upon petition of a party to
or an intervenor in such action, within such time and in such manner as
the Commission shall by rule prescribe: Provided, however, That the vote
of a majority of the Commission less one member thereof shall be
sufficient to bring any such action before the Commission for review.
(c) Should the right to exercise such discretionary review be
declined, or should no such review be sought within the time stated in
the rules promulgated by the Commission, then the action of any such
division of the Commission, individual Commissioner, hearing examiner,
employee or employee board, shall, for all purposes, including appeal or
review thereof, be deemed to be the action of the Commission.
Sec. 2. Transfer of Functions to the Chairman
In addition to the functions transferred by the provisions of
Reorganization Plan No. 8 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1264) [set out as a note
under this section], there are hereby transferred from the Commission to
the Chairman of the Commission the functions of the Commission with
respect to the assignment of Commission personnel, including
Commissioners, to perform such functions as may have been delegated by
the Commission to Commission personnel, including Commissioners,
pursuant to section 1 of this reorganization plan.
Message of the President
To the Congress of the United States:
I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1961, prepared in
accordance with the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended, and
providing for reorganization in the Federal Trade Commission.
This Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1961 follows upon my message of
April 13, 1961, to the Congress of the United States. It is believed
that the taking effect of the reorganizations included in this plan will
provide for greater efficiency in the dispatch of the business of the
Federal Trade Commission.
The plan provides for greater flexibility in the handling of the
business before the Commission, permitting its disposition at different
levels so as better to promote its efficient dispatch. Thus matters both
of an adjudicatory and regulatory nature may, depending upon their
importance and their complexity, be finally consummated by divisions of
the Commission, individual Commissioners, hearing examiners, and,
subject to the provisions of section 7(a) of the Administrative
Procedure Act (60 Stat. 241), by other employees. This will relieve the
Commissioners from the necessity of dealing with many matters of lesser
importance and thus conserve their time for the consideration of major
matters of policy and planning. There is, however, reserved to the
Commission as a whole the right to review any such decision, report or
certification either upon its own initiative or upon the petition of a
party or intervenor demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Commission
the desirability of having the matter reviewed at the top level.
Provision is also made, in order to maintain the fundamental
bipartisan concept explicit in the basic statute creating the
Commission, for mandatory review of any such decision, report or
certification upon the vote of a majority of the Commission less one
member.
Inasmuch as the assignment of delegated functions in particular
cases and with reference to particular problems to divisions of the
Commission, to Commissioners, to hearing examiners, to employees and
boards of employees must require continuous and flexible handling,
depending both upon the amount and nature of the business, that function
is placed in the Chairman by section 2 of the plan.
By providing sound organizational arrangements, the taking effect of
the reorganizations included in the accompanying reorganization plan
will make possible more economical and expeditious administration of the
affected functions. It is, however, impracticable to itemize at this
time the reductions of expenditures which it is probable will be brought
about by such taking effect.
After investigation, I have found and hereby declare that each
reorganization included in the reorganization plan transmitted herewith
is necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in
section 2(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended.
I recommend that the Congress allow the reorganization plan to
become effective.
John F. Kennedy.
