(a) Final authority for amending the charter of an NRC advisory committee established or utilized by the NRC is vested in the Commission.

(b) Any proposed changes made to a current charter for an NRC advisory committee shall be coordinated with the General Counsel to ensure that they are consistent with applicable legal requirements. When a statute or Executive Order that directed or authorized the establishment of an advisory committee is amended, those sections of the advisory committee's charter affected by the amendments shall also be amended.

(c)(1) The charter of an NRC advisory committee established under general agency authority may be amended when the Commission determines that the existing charter no longer reflects the objectives or functions of the committee. Such changes may be minor (such as revising the name of the advisory committee or modifying the estimated number or frequency of meetings), or they may be major (such as revising the objectives or composition of the committee).

(2) The procedures in paragraph (b) of this section shall be used in the case of charter amendments involving minor changes. A proposed major amendment to the charter of an advisory committee established under general agency authority shall be submitted to the Committee Management Secretariat for review with an explanation of the purpose of the changes and why they are necessary.

(3) A committee charter that has been amended pursuant to this paragraph is subject to the filing requirements set forth in § 7.8.

(4) Amendment of an existing advisory committee charter pursuant to this paragraph does not constitute renewal of the committee for purposes of § 7.7.