Regulations last checked for updates: May 09, 2024

Title 45 - Public Welfare last revised: May 06, 2024
§ 1703.201 - Decision to hold meeting.

When Commission members make a decision to hold a meeting, the proposed meeting will ordinarily be scheduled for a date no earlier than eight days after the decision to allow sufficient time to give appropriate public notice. At the time a decision is made to hold a meeting, the time, place, and subject matter of the meeting will be determined, as well as whether the meeting is to be open or closed to the public.

§ 1703.202 - Provisions under which a meeting may be closed.

(a) A meeting or portion thereof may be closed to public observation, and information pertaining to such meeting may be withheld from the public, where the Commission determines that such portion or portions of its meeting or disclosure of such information is likely to:

(1) Disclose matters that are: (i) Specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or foreign policy and

(ii) In fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;

(2) Relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency;

(3) Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552 of this title). Provided that such statute: (i) Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or

(ii) Establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;

(4) Disclose trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;

(5) Involve accusing any person of a crime, or formally censuring any person;

(6) Disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(7) 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: (i) Interfere with enforcement proceedings,

(ii) Deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication,

(iii) Constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,

(iv) 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 information furnished only by the confidential source,

(v) Disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or

(vi) Endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel;

(8) Disclose information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions;

(9) Disclose information the premature disclosure of which would be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action, except this subparagraph shall not apply in any instance where the agency has already disclosed to the public the content or nature of its proposed action, or where the agency is required by law to make such disclosure on its own initiative prior to taking final agency action on such proposal; or

(10) Specifically concern the agency's issuance of a subpoena, or the agency'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 agency of a particular case of formal agency adjudication pursuant to the procedures in section 554 of this title or otherwise involving a determination on the record after opportunity for a hearing.

(b) The Commission may exercise its authority to open to public observation a meeting which could be closed under one of the provisions of § 1703.202(a), if it would be in the public interest to do so. The Commission will determine whether the discussion comes within one of the specific exemptions. If the discussion is determined to be exempt, the Commission will consider and determine whether the public interest nevertheless requires that the meeting be open.

§ 1703.203 - Decision to close meeting.

(a) Commission members may decide before the meeting to close to public observation a meeting or portion or portions thereof, or to withhold information pertaining to such meeting, only if a majority of the members vote on the record to take such action. No proxy votes on this action shall be allowed. 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 no more than thirty days after the initial meeting in such series. If a decision is made to close a portion or portions of a meeting or a series of meetings, the Commission shall prepare a full written explanation of the closure action together with a list naming all persons expected to attend the meeting and identifying their affiliation.

(b) For every meeting or portion thereof which Commission members have voted to close, the Chairman of NCLIS shall certify that, in his or her opinion, the meeting may properly be closed to the public. In addition, the Chairman shall state each relevant exemptive provision as set forth in § 1703.202(a). A copy of the Chairman's certification, together with a statement from the Chairman setting forth the time and place of the meeting and listing the persons present, shall be retained by the Commission.

(c) Whenever any person whose interests may be directly affected by a portion of a meeting requests that the Commission close such portion to the public for any of the reasons referred to in § 1703.202 (a)(5), (6), or (7), the Commission members, upon request of any of the Commissioners, shall decide by recorded vote whether to close such portion. If a closure decision is made, the Commission shall prepare a full written explanation of the closure action together with a list naming all persons expected to attend the meeting and identifying their affiliation.

§ 1703.204 - Public availability of recorded vote to close meeting.

Within one day of any vote taken on a proposal to close a meeting, the Commission shall make publicly available a record reflecting the vote of each member on the question. In addition, within one day of any vote which closes a portion or portions of a meeting to the public, the Commission shall make publicly available a full written explanation of its closure action together with a list naming all persons expected to attend and identifying their affiliation, unless such disclosure would reveal the information that the meeting itself was closed to protect.

§ 1703.205 - Public announcement of meeting.

(a) Except as provided in §§ 1703.207 and 1703.208, the Commission shall make a public announcement at least one week before the scheduled meeting, to include the following:

(1) Time, place, and subject matter of the meeting;

(2) Whether the meeting is to be open or closed; and

(3) Name and telephone number of agency official who will respond to requests for information about the meeting.

(b) If announcement of the subject matter of a closed meeting would reveal the information that the meeting was closed to protect, the subject matter shall not be announced.

§ 1703.206 - Providing information to the public.

Individuals or organizations interested in obtaining copies of information available in accordance with § 1703.204 may request same under provisions set forth in §§ 1703.402 and 1704.404. Individuals or organizations having a special interest in activities of the Commission may request the Executive Director to the Commissioners to place them on a mailing list for receipt of information available under § 1703.205. The Commission shall provide information to publications whose readers are likely to have a special interest in the work of the Commission.

§ 1703.207 - Change in meeting plans after public announcement.

(a) Following public announcement of a meeting, the time or place of a meeting may be changed only if the change is announced publicly at the earliest practicable time.

§ 1703.208 - Meetings for extraordinary agency business.

Where agency business so requires, Commission members may decide by majority, recorded vote to schedule a meeting for a date earlier than eight days after the decision. Such a decision would obviate the general requirement for a public announcement at least one week before the scheduled meeting. At the earliest practicable time, however, the Commission will announce publicly the time, place, and subject matter of the meeting, whether the meeting is to be open or closed, and the name and telephone number of an agency official who will respond to requests for information about the meeting.

§ 1703.209 - Notice of meeting in Federal Register.

Immediately following each public announcement required by this subpart, the following information, as applicable, shall be submitted for publication in the Federal Register:

(a) Notice of the time, place, and subject matter of a meeting;

(b) Whether the meeting is open or closed;

(c) Any change in one of the preceding; and

(d) The name and telephone number of an agency official who will respond to requests for information about the meeting.

authority: 5 U.S.C. 552b.
source: 42 FR 13553, Mar. 11, 1977, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 45 CFR 1703.204