[Federal Register: December 11, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 238)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 76112-76114]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11de02-6]
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BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS
22 CFR Part 507
Sunshine Act Meetings
AGENCY: The Broadcasting Board of Governors.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This regulation establishes rules for implementing open
meetings under the Sunshine Act for the Broadcasting Board of Governors
(BBG or Agency).
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 11, 2002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol M. Booker, Legal Counsel, at
(202) 401-3736.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Law 103-236, the United States
Broadcasting Act of 1994, created the BBG within the United States
Information Agency (USIA). By law, the bipartisan board consisted of
nine members--eight members who were appointed by the President, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, and the USIA Director.
On October 21, 1998, President Clinton signed Pub. L. 105-277, the
Omnibus Consolidated Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for
Fiscal Year 1999. Contained as Division G of this legislation was the
Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, which reorganized
the foreign affairs agencies of the U.S. Government. Under this
reorganization, the Broadcasting Board of Governors became an
independent Federal entity on October 1, 1999. Under the reorganization
of the foreign affairs agencies, the responsibilities of the Board
remained intact, and the membership of the Board remained the same,
except that the USIA Director was replaced by the Secretary of State.
The BBG has responsibility for oversight of all United States
sponsored, non-military broadcasting to foreign countries. The BBG
oversees the operations of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB),
which includes the worldwide broadcasting services of the Voice of
America (VOA), WORLDNET, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB),
Engineering and Technical Operations. The BBG also oversees two grantee
organizations, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free
Asia (RFA). The Board members also serve as the members of the Board of
Directors of both RFE/RL and RFA.
The Board's authorities include, among others:
[sbull] To review and evaluate the mission and operation of, and
assess the quality, effectiveness, and professional integrity of, all
such activities within the broad foreign policy objectives of the
United States;
[sbull] To make and supervise grants for broadcasting and related
activities of RFE/RL and RFA;
[sbull] To review, evaluate and determine, at least annually, the
addition or deletion of language services; and
[sbull] To allocate funds appropriated for international
broadcasting activities among the various elements of the IBB and
grantees, subject to reprogramming notification.
In total, the BBG broadcasting entities transmit more than 2,000
hours of weekly programming in 61 languages to more than 100 million
weekly listeners worldwide.
The Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b) is a Federal Law that requires
meetings of Federal Agencies to remain public and in most cases the
time, place and subject matter of the meeting should be announced prior
to its occurrence.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the BBG certifies that the
rules do not have a significant adverse economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. This rule is not considered
significant regulatory action within the meaning of section 3(f) of
Executive Order 12866, nor does this rule have Federalism implications
warranting the preparation of a Federalism Assessment in accordance
with Executive Order 12612.
Dated: December 3, 2002.
Carol M. Booker,
Legal Counsel, Broadcasting Board of Governors.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 507
Sunshine Act.
Accordingly, for the reasons set out in the preamble, 22 CFR Part
507 is added to read as follows:
PART 507--RULES FOR IMPLEMENTING OPEN MEETINGS UNDER THE SUNSHINE
ACT FOR THE BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Sec.
507.1 General policies.
507.2 Definitions.
507.3 Requirement for open meetings.
507.4 Grounds on which meetings may be closed.
507.5 Procedures for announcing meetings.
507.6 Procedures for closing meetings.
507.7 Reconsideration of opening or closing a meeting.
507.8 Recording keeping of closed meetings.
Authority: Pub. L. 93-129, 87 Stat. 956, 5 U.S.C. 552b.
Sec. 507.1 General policies.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors will provide the public with
the fullest practical information regarding its decision making process
while protecting the rights of individuals and its abilities to carry
out its responsibilities.
Sec. 507.2 Definitions.
The following definitions apply:
(a) The term agency includes any establishment in the executive
branch of the government headed by a collegial body composed of two or
more individual members, a majority of whom are appointed to such
position by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate,
and any subdivision thereof authorized to act on behalf of the agency.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is a government agency headed by a
nine-member board, eight of whom are appointed by the President with
the advice and consent of the Senate, and the ninth being the Secretary
of State. Therefore, the Broadcasting Board of Governors is an
``agency'' under these terms.
(b) The term meeting means the deliberation of this Board where
such deliberations determine or result in the joint conduct or
disposition of official Board business.
(c) The term member means an individual who belongs to the Board
who has been appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate or
is the Secretary of State.
[[Page 76113]]
Sec. 507.3 Requirement for open meetings.
Members shall not jointly conduct or dispose of agency business
other than in accordance with this part. Except as provided in Sec.
507.4 every portion of every meeting of the agency shall be open to
public observation.
Sec. 507.4 Grounds on which meetings may be closed.
The Board shall open every portion of every meeting of the agency
for public observation except where the agency determines that such
portion or portions of the meeting or the disclosure of such
information is likely to:
(a) Disclose matters that are:
(1) Specifically authorized under criteria established by an
Executive order to be kept secret in the interests of national defense
or foreign policy, and
(2) In fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;
(b) Relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practice of
the agency;
(c) Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by
statute: Provided, that such statute:
(1) Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such
manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or
(2) Established practical criteria for withholding or refers to
particular types of matters to be withheld;
(d) Disclose trade secrets and commercial or financial information
obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;
(e) Involve accusing any person of a crime, or formally censuring
any person;
(f) Disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(g) Disclose investigatory records compiled for law enforcement
purposes, or information which if written would be contained in such
records, but only to the extent that the production of such records or
information would:
(1) Interfere with enforcement proceedings,
(2) Deprive a person of a right to a fair trial on an impartial
adjudication,
(3) Constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,
(4) Disclose the identity of a confidential source and, in the case
of a record compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the
course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful
national security intelligence investigation, confidential source,
(5) Disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or
(6) Endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement
personnel;
(h) Disclose information, the premature disclosure of which would
be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed
agency action. This shall not apply in any instance where the Board has
already disclosed to the public the content or the nature of its
proposed action, or where the Board is required by law to make such
disclosures on its own initiative prior to taking final Board action on
such proposal; or
(i) Specifically concern the Board's issuance of a subpoena, or the
Board's participation in a civil action or proceeding, an action in a
foreign court or international tribunal, or an arbitration, or the
initiation, conduct or disposition by the Board of a particular case of
formal agency adjudication, or otherwise involving a determination on
the record after opportunity for a hearing.
Sec. 507.5 Procedures for announcing meetings.
(a) In the case of each meeting, the Board shall make public, at
least one week before the meeting, the time, place, and subject matter
of the meeting, whether it is to be open or closed to the public, and
the name and phone number of the official designated by the Board to
respond to requests for information about the meeting. Such
announcement shall be made unless a majority of the members of the
Board determine by a recorded vote that such meeting must be called at
an earlier date, in which case the Board shall make public announcement
of the time, place, subject matter of such meeting and whether it is
open or closed to the public, at the earliest practical time.
(b) Immediately following the public announcement, the Board will
publish it in the Federal Register.
Sec. 507.6 Procedures for closing meetings.
(a) The closing of a meeting shall occur only when:
(1) A majority of the membership of the Board votes to take such
action. A separate vote of the Board members shall be taken with
respect to each Board meeting, a portion or portions of which are
proposed to be closed to the public pursuant to Sec. 507.4, or with
respect to any information which is proposed to be withheld under Sec.
507.4. A single vote may be taken with respect to a series of meetings,
a portion or portions of which are proposed to be closed to the public,
or with respect to any information concerning such series of meetings,
so long as each meeting in such series involves the same particular
matters and is scheduled to be held not more than thirty days after the
initial meeting in such series. The vote of each Board member
participating in such vote shall be recorded and no proxies shall be
allowed.
(2) Whenever any person whose interest may be directly affected by
a portion of the meeting requests that the Board close such a portion
to the public for any of the reasons referred to in Sec. 507.4 (e),
(f) or (g), the Board, upon request of any of its Board members, shall
take a recorded vote, whether to close such portion of the meeting.
(b) Within one day of any vote taken, the Board shall make publicly
available a written copy of such vote reflecting the vote of each
member on the question and full written explanation of its action
closing the entire or portion of the meeting together with a list of
all persons expected to attend the meeting and their affiliation.
(c) The Board shall announce the time, place and subject matter of
the meeting at least eight (8) days before the meeting.
(d) For every closed meeting, the Board's Legal Counsel shall
publicly certify that, in his or her opinion, the meeting may be closed
to the public and shall state each relevant exemptive provision. A copy
of such certification, together with a statement from the presiding
officer of the meeting setting forth the time and place of the meeting,
and the persons present, shall be retained by the Board.
Sec. 507.7 Reconsideration of opening or closing a meeting.
The time or place of a Board meeting may be changed following the
public announcement only if the Board publicly announces such change at
the earliest practicable time. The subject matter of a meeting, or the
determination of the agency to open or close a meeting, or a portion of
a meeting, to the public, may be changed following the public
announcement only if a majority of the Board members determines by a
recorded vote that Board business so requires and that no earlier
announcement of the change was possible, and the Board publicly
announces such change and the vote of each member upon such change at
the earliest practicable time.
Sec. 507.8 Recording keeping of closed meetings.
(a) The Board shall maintain an electronic recording of the
proceedings of each meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed to the
public.
(b) The Board, after review by the Chairman, shall make promptly
[[Page 76114]]
available to the public in a place easily accessible to the public, a
complete transcript or electronic record of the discussion of any item
on the agenda, or any item of testimony of any witness received at the
Board meeting, except for such item or items of such discussion or
testimony as the Board determines to contain information which may be
withheld under Sec. 507.4. Copies of such record, disclosing the
identity of each speaker, shall be furnished to any person at the
actual cost of duplication. The Board shall maintain a complete
transcript or electronic copy of each meeting, or portion of a meeting,
closed to the public, for a period of at least two years after such
meeting, or until one year after the conclusion of any Board proceeding
with respect to which the meeting or portion was held, whichever occurs
later.
[FR Doc. 02-31168 Filed 12-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8610-01-P