[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 41, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 41CFR105-54.201]

[Page 393]
 
           TITLE 41--PUBLIC CONTRACTS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
 
              CHAPTER 105--GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 105-54_ADVISORY COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT--Table of Contents
 
          Subpart 105-54.2_Establishment of Advisory Committees
 
Sec. 105-54.201  Proposals for establishing advisory committees.

    (a) The Administrator approves the establishment of all GSA Federal 
Advisory Committees.
    (b) When it is decided that it is necessary to establish a 
committee, the appropriate Head of the Service or Staff Office (HSSO) 
must consider the functions of similar committees in GSA to ensure that 
no duplication of effort will occur.
    (c) The HSSO proposes the establishment of a Central Office or 
regional advisory committee within the scope of assigned program 
responsibilities. In doing so, the HSSO assures that advisory committees 
are established only if they are essential to the conduct of agency 
business. Advisory committees are established only if there is a 
compelling need for the committees, the committees have a truly balanced 
membership, and the committees conduct their business as openly as 
possible under the law and their mandate. Each proposal is submitted to 
the GSA Committee Management Officer for review and coordination and 
includes:
    (1) A letter addressed to the Committee Management Secretariat 
signed by the HSSO with information copies for the Administrator, Deputy 
Administrator, the Associate Administrator for Congressional and 
Industry Relations, and the Special Counsel for Ethics and Civil Rights, 
describing the nature and purpose of the proposed advisory committee; 
why it is essential to agency business and in the public interest; why 
its functions cannot be performed by an existing committee of GSA, by 
GSA, or other means such as a public hearing; and the plans to ensure 
balanced membership;
    (2) A notice for publication in the Federal Register containing the 
Administrator's certification that creation of the advisory committee is 
in the public interest and describing the nature and purpose of the 
committee; and
    (3) A draft charter for review by the Committee Management 
Secretariat.
    (d) Subcommittees that do not function independently of the full or 
parent advisory committee need not follow the requirements of paragraph 
(c) of this section. However, they are subject to all other requirements 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
    (e) The requirements of paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section 
apply to any subcommittee of a chartered committee, whether its members 
are drawn in whole or in part from the full or parent advisory 
committee, that functions independently of the parent advisory 
committee, such as by making recommendations directly to a GSA official 
rather than for consideration by the chartered advisory committee.