[Federal Register: November 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 213)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 67129-67130]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04no05-15]
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COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
45 CFR Part 703
Membership Requirement of State Advisory Committees
AGENCY: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rule change in the State Advisory Committee
(SAC) membership criteria with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The United States Commission on Civil Rights proposes to amend
its regulation on the SAC membership criteria to ensure both diversity
and nondiscrimination are considered in its SAC member appointment
process.
DATES: Comments should be received on or before December 5, 2005 to be
considered in the formulation of final rule.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about the proposed rule change in the
SAC membership criteria to: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Office of
General Counsel, Attn: Christopher Byrnes, Acting Deputy General
Counsel, 624 Ninth Street, NW., Suite 620, Washington, DC 20425. If you
prefer to send your comments via e-mail, use the following address:
cbyrnes@usccr.gov. You must include the term ``SAC Membership
Comments'' in the subject line of your electronic message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Byrnes, Acting Deputy
General Counsel, Telephone: (202) 376-7700 or via e-mail:
cbyrnes@usccr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 31, 2005, the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights approved the proposed rule for public comments. The
Commission invites you to submit comments regarding the proposed change
in the SAC membership criteria. Please clearly identify the specific
proposed criteria each comment addresses.
We will announce the final SAC membership criteria in a notice in
the Federal Register. We will determine the final regulation on SAC
membership criteria after considering responses to this notice and
other information available to the Commission.
List of Subjects in 42 CFR Part 703
Advisory committees, Organization and functions (Government
agencies).
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Commission on Civil
Rights proposes to amend 45 CFR part 703 as follows:
PART 703--OPERATIONS AND FUNCTIONS OF STATE ADVISORY COMMITTEES
1. The authority citation for Part 703 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1975a(d).
2. Revise Sec. 703.5 to read as follows:
Sec. 703.5 Membership.
(a) Subject to exceptions made from time to time by the Commission
to fit special circumstances, each Advisory Committee shall consist of
at least 11 members appointed by the Commission. Members of the
Advisory Committees shall serve for a fixed term to be set by the
Commission upon the appointment of a member subject to the duration of
Advisory Committees as prescribed by the charter, provided that members
of the Advisory Committee may, at any time, be removed by the
Commission.
(b) No person is to be denied an opportunity to serve on a State
Advisory Committee because of race, age, sex, religion, national
origin, or disability. The Commission shall encourage membership on the
State Advisory Committee to be broadly diverse.
(c) State Advisory Committee members shall represent a diversity of
skills and experiences, including, but not limited to, social science
research, legal research and analysis, and statistical analysis.
Educators, lawyers, business and labor leaders, social scientists,
researchers, and news gatherers are some of the more important
professions or activities or avocations that should be represented on
the State Advisory Committees. The State Advisory Committees should
also contain people knowledgeable of the State's governmental machinery
and public service sector, and people involved in and drawn from such
influential sectors as business and financial communities, organized
labor, the news media, and religious groups.
(d) Each State Advisory Committee should contain men or women who
have demonstrated an interest in the civil rights issues of color,
race, religion, sex, age, disability, and national origin and in voting
rights.
(e) Both political parties should be represented in each State
Advisory Committee.
[[Page 67130]]
Dated: October 31, 2005.
Kenneth L. Marcus,
Staff Director/Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05-21986 Filed 11-3-05; 8:45 am]
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