41 C.F.R. 102 app A to Subpart D of Part 102-3 Key Points and Principles

• Library: Code of Federal Regulations
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through December 31, 2023
• Citation: 41 C.F.R. 102 app A to Subpart D of Part 102-3
• Year: 2023

This appendix provides additional guidance in the form of answers to frequently asked questions and identifies key points and principles that may be applied to situations not covered elsewhere in this subpart. The guidance follows:

Key points and principles	Section(s)	Question(s)	Guidance
I. With some exceptions, advisory committee meetings are open to the public	102-3.140, 102-3.145(a), 102-3.155	1. Must all advisory committee and subcommittee meetings be open to the public?	A. No. Advisory committee meetings may be closed when appropriate, in accordance with the exemption(s) for closure contained in the Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 5undefined552 b(c). (i) Subcommittees that report to a parent advisory committee, and not directly to a Federal officer or agency, are not required to open their meetings to the public or comply with the procedures in the Act for announcing meetings. (ii) However, agencies are cautioned to avoid excluding the public from attending any meeting where a subcommittee develops advice or recommendations that are not expected to be reviewed and considered by the parent advisory committee before being submitted to a Federal officer or agency. These exclusions may run counter to the provisions of the Act requiring contemporaneous access to the advisory committee deliberative process.
II. Notices must be published in the Federal Register announcing advisory committee meetings	102-3.150	1. Can agencies publish a single Federal Register notice announcing multiple advisory committee meetings?	A. Yes, agencies may publish a single notice announcing multiple meetings so long as these notices contain all of the information required by § 102-3.150. (i) "Blanket notices" should not announce meetings so far in advance as to prevent the public from adequately being informed of an advisory committee's schedule. (ii) An agency's Office of General Counsel should be consulted where these notices include meetings that are either closed or partially closed to the public.
III. Although certain advisory committee records may be withheld under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. 5undefined552, agencies may not

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