the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b, and part 1013, in which one or more employees, including Commissioners, discusses with an outside party any subject relating to the Agency or any subject under its jurisdiction. The term Agency meeting does not include telephone conversations, but see § 1012.8 which relates to telephone conversations.

(c) Outside party. Any person not an employee, not under contract to do work for the Agency, or not acting in an official capacity as a consultant to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, such as advisory committee members or offeror personnel. Examples of persons falling within this definition are representatives from industry and consumer groups. Members of the news media when acting in a newsgathering capacity are not outside parties. (See also § 1012.7.) Officers and employees of the Federal Government when acting in their official capacities (except when advocating a particular course of action on behalf of an outside party) are not outside parties.

(d) Substantial interest matter. Any matter, other than that of a trivial nature, that pertains in whole or in part to any issue that is likely to be the subject of a regulatory or policy decision by the Commission. Pending matters, i.e., matters before the Agency in which the Agency is legally obligated to make a decision, automatically constitute substantial interest matters. Examples of pending matters are: Scheduled administrative hearings; matters published for public comments; petitions under consideration; and mandatory standard development activities. The following are some examples of matters that do not constitute substantial interest matters: Inquiries concerning the status of a pending matter; discussions relative to general interpretations of existing laws, rules, and regulations; inspection of nonconfidential CPSC documents by the public; negotiations for contractual services; and routine CPSC activities such as recruitment, training, meetings involving consumer deputies, or meetings with hospital staff and other personnel involved in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

§ 1012.3 Advance public notice of agency meetings.

(a) Commissioners and Agency employees are responsible for reporting meeting arrangements for Agency meetings to the Office of the Secretary so that they may be published in the Public Calendar or entered on the Master Calendar at least seven days before a meeting, except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section. These reports shall include the following information:

(1) Probable participants and their affiliations;

(2) Date, time and place of the meeting;

(3) Subject of the meeting (as fully and precisely described as possible);

(4) Who requested the meeting; (5) Whether the meeting involves matters of substantial interest;

(6) Notice that the meeting is open or reason why the meeting or any portion of the meeting is closed (e.g., discussion of trade secrets); and

(7) Names and telephone number of the CPSC host or CPSC contact person.

(b) Once a report has been made to the Office of the Secretary, Agency employees subsequently desiring to attend the meeting need not notify the Office of the Secretary.

(c) When there is no opportunity to give seven days advance notice of a meeting, Agency employees (other than the Commissioners or their personal staff) who desire to hold or attend such a meeting must obtain the approval of the General Counsel or his or her designee. Requests for waiver of the seven-day advance notice requirement by members of the staff who report to the Executive Director may only be submitted to the General Counsel or his or her designee in writing by the Executive Director or his or her designee. Personal staff of Commissioners must obtain the approval of their respective Commissioners. If the short notice is approved, the Agency employee must notify the Office of the Secretary in advance of the meeting to record the meeting on the Master Calendar. The Office of the Secretary shall publish notice of the meeting as an addendum to the next Public Calendar.

(d) Exceptions. The notice requirement shall not apply to:

(1) Meetings with outside parties not involving substantial interest matters (although such meetings should be limited where the public interest would be served);

(2) Meetings with outside parties held during the normal course of surveillance, inspection, or investigation under any of the Acts administered by the Commission, including informal citation hearings under the Federal Hazardous Substance Act or the Poison Prevention Packaging Act;

(3) Meetings with outside parties concerning the settlement or negotiation of an individual case, including proposed remedial action, or meetings concerning any administrative or judicial action in which the outside party is a participant, party, or amicus curiae; (4) Routine speeches given by CPSC personnel before outside parties. However, for information purposes, personnel are encouraged to submit advance notice of these speeches to the Office of the Secretary for inclusion in the Public Calendar;

(5) Meetings with other Federal personnel that are also attended by outside parties except where a specific matter to be discussed is also pending before the Commission or its staff;

(6) Meetings with state, local or foreign government personnel concerning intergovernmental cooperative efforts and not the advocacy of a particular course of action on behalf of a constituency of the governmental entity;

(7) Meetings or discussions with or at the request of either members of Congress and their staffs relating to legislation, appropriation or oversight matters, or Management and Budget personnel relating to legislation or appropriation matters;

(8) Pre-proposal conferences involving confidential contracts made pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 252(c)(12) in connection with potential litigation matters.

$1012.4 Public attendance at agency meetings.

(a) Any person may attend any meeting involving a substantial interest matter unless that meeting has been listed as a closed meeting. For meetings not involving substantial interest matters, the chairperson of the meeting may exercise his or her discretion

to allow attendance by a member of the public.

(b) When meetings between Agency employees and outside parties are open to the public, attendance may be limited by space. When feasible, a person or organization desiring to attend such a meeting should give at least one day advance notice to one of the employees holding or attending the meeting so that sufficient space can be arranged for all those wishing to attend.

(c) Members of the public attending Agency meetings generally may observe only. The chairperson of the meeting may exercise his or her discretion to permit members of the public to participate as well.

(d) The following Agency meetings are not open to the public:

(1) Meetings, or, if possible, portions of meetings where the General Counsel or his or her designee has determined that proprietary data are to be discussed in such a manner as to imperil their confidentiality;

(2) Meetings held by outside parties at which limits on attendance are imposed by lack of space, provided that such meetings are open to the news media;

(3) Meetings with outside parties held during the normal course of surveillance, inspection, or investigation under any of the Acts administered by the Commission, including informal citation hearings under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act or the Poison Prevention Packaging Act;

(4) Meetings with outside parties concerning the settlement or negotiation of an individual case, including proposed remedial action, or meetings concerning any administrative or judicial action in which the outside party is a participant, party, or amicus curiae;

(5) Meetings with other Federal personnel that are attended by outside parties except where a specific matter to be discussed is also pending before the Commission or its staff;

(6) Meetings with state, local or foreign government personnel concerning intergovernmental cooperative efforts and not the advocacy of a particular course of action on behalf of a constituency of the governmental entity;

(7)(i) Meetings between Agency staff (other than Commissioners and their

personal staff) and an outside party when the General Counsel or his or her designee determines that extraordinary circumstances require that the meeting be closed. Requests for exemption by members of the staff who report to the Executive Director may be submitted to the General Counsel or his or her designee in writing only by the Executive Director or his or her designee. In such a case, the reasons for closing the meeting or a portion of the meeting shall be stated in the Public Calendar notice announcing the meeting;

(ii) Meetings between a Commissioner (or his or her personal staff) and an outside party when, in the opinion of the Commissioner, extraordinary circumstances require that the meeting be closed. In such a case, the reasons for closing the meeting or a portion of the meeting must be stated in the Public Calendar notice announcing the meeting;

(8) Meetings or discussions with or at the request of either members of Congress and their staffs relating to legislation, appropriation or oversight matters, or Management and Budget personnel relating to legislation or appropriation matters; and

(9) Pre-proposal conferences involving confidential contracts made pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 252(c)(12), in connection with the potential litigation matters.

(a) This section describes and establishes requirements for the two types of records maintained for Agency meetings, Agency meeting summaries and transcripts.

(b) Agency meeting summaries. Agency meeting summaries are written records settling forth the issues discussed at all Agency meetings with outside parties involving substantial interest matters. Any Commission employee who holds or attends an Agency meeting involving a substantial interest matter must prepare a meeting summary. However, only one agency meeting summary is required for each meeting even if more than one CPSC employee holds or attends the meeting. Agency meeting summaries are generally available to the public in the Agency's

Public Reading Room in the Office of the Secretary as described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

(1) An agency meeting summary should state the essence of all substantive matters relevant to the Agency, especially any matter discussed which was not listed on the Public Calendar, and should describe any decisions made or conclusions reached regarding substantial interest matters. An agency meeting summary should also indicate the date of the meeting and the identity of persons who attended.

(2) An agency meeting summary or a notice of cancellation of the meeting must be submitted to the Office of the Secretary within twenty (20) calendar days after the meeting for which the summary is required. The Office of the Secretary shall maintain a file of the meeting summaries in chronological order, which shall be available to the public to the extent permitted by law.

(c) Transcripts. Transcripts are generally taken at public hearings and certain Agency meetings when complex subjects indicate verbatim records are desirable. The transcript may also inIclude exhibits submitted to be part of the formal record of an Agency meeting. Copies of such transcripts are placed on file for public inspection in the Office of the Secretary.

§ 1012.6 The news media.

The Agency recognizes that the news media occupy a unique position in informing the public of the Agency's activities. The Commission believes that the inherently public nature of the news media allows their activities to be exempt from the requirements of this part whenever Agency meetings are held with the news media for the purpose of informing them about Agency activities. Such Agency meetings are not exempt in the event that any representative of the news media attempts to influence any Agency employee on a substantial interest matter.

§ 1012.7 Telephone conversations.

(a) Telephone conversations present special problems regarding Agency meetings. The Commission recognizes that persons outside the Agency have a

legitimate right to receive information and to present their views regarding Agency activities. The Commission also recognizes that such persons may not have the financial means to travel to meet with Agency employees. However, because telephone conversations, by their very nature, are not susceptible to public attendance, or participation, Agency employees must take care to ensure that telephone conversations are not utilized to circumvent the provisions of this part.

(b) Two basic rules apply to telephone conversations:

(1) Any Agency employee holding a telephone conversation in which substantial interest matters are discussed with an outside party must prepare a telephone call summary of the conversation. The summary must meet the requirements of § 1012.5(b), and must be submitted to the Office of the Secretary within twenty (20) calendar days of the conversation. The Office of the Secretary shall maintain file of telephone call summaries in chronological order which shall be available to the public to the extent permitted by law.

(2) All Agency employees must exercise sound judgment in discussing substsantial interest matters during a telephone conversation. In the exercise of such discretion Agency employees should not hesitate to terminate a telephone conversation and insist that the matters being discussed be postponed until an Agency meeting with appropriate advance public notice may be scheduled, or, if the outside party is financially or otherwise unable to meet with the Agency employee, until the matter is presented to the Agency in writing.

AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 552b(g).

SOURCE: 46 FR 38326, July 24, 1981, unless otherwise noted.

§ 1013.1 General policy considerations; scope.

(a) In enacting the Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b, the Congress stated the policy that, to the fullest practicable extent, the public is entitled to information regarding the decisionmaking processes of the Federal Government. The purpose of the Government in the Sunshine Act is to provide the public with such information while protecting both the rights of individuals and the ability of the Government to carry out its responsibilities. When the Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission hold meetings for the purpose of jointly conducting or disposing of Commission business they will conduct these meetings in accordance with the provisions of the Government in the Sunshine Act.

(b) This part 1013 prescribes rules the Commission follows in carrying out the Government in the Sunshine Act.

§ 1013.2 Definitions.

(a) As used in this part 1013, the following terms shall have the respective meanings set forth in paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of § 1011.2 of this subchapter: "Agency," "Commissioner," "Commission."

(b) Majority of the Commission. Three or more of the Commissioners.

a

(c) Commission meeting. The joint deliberations of at least a majority of the Commission where such deliberations determine or result in the joint conduct or disposition of official Agency business. This term does not include meetings required or permitted by § 1013.4(b) (to determine whether meeting will be open or closed), meetings required or permitted by § 1013.3(e) (to change the subject matter of a meeting or the determination to open or close a meeting after the public announcement) or meetings required or permitted by 1013.3(c) (to dispense with the one week advance notice of a meeting).

§ 1013.3 Announcement of Commission meetings and changes after announcement.

(a) The Secretary of the Commission is responsible for preparing and making public the announcements and notices relating to Commission meetings that are required in this part.

(b) The Agency shall announce each Commission meeting in the Public Calendar or Master Calendar at least one week (seven calendar days) before the meeting. The Agency shall concurrently submit the announcement for publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER. The announcement and the FEDERAL REGISTER notice shall contain the following information:

(1) The date, time, and place of the meeting;

(2) The subject matter of the meeting;

(3) Whether the meeting will be open or closed to the public;

(4) The name and phone number of the official who responds to requests for information about the meeting.

(c) If a majority of the Commission determines by recorded vote that Agency business requires calling a meeting without seven calendar days advance public notice, the Office of the Secretary shall announce this determination in the Public Calendar or Master Calendar at the earliest practicable time and shall concurrently transmit the announcement for publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

(d) When necessary and at the direction of the Chairman, the Secretary shall change the time of a Commission meeting after the announcement in the Public Calendar or Master Calendar. Any such change shall be entered on the Master Calendar and such other notice shall be given as is practicable.

(e) After announcement of a Commission meeting in the Public Calendar or Master Calendar, the Commission may change the subject matter of a Commission meeting or the decision to open or close a Commission meeting or portion thereof to the public, only if a majority of the Commission determines by recorded vote that Agency business so requires, and only if a majority of the Commission determines by recorded vote that no earlier announcement of the change was pos

sible. The Commission shall announce the change in the Public Calendar or Master Calendar at the earliest practicable time before the meeting and shall concurrently transmit the announcement for publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Announcement of the change shall include the vote of each Commissioner upon the change. (See also §1013.4(d) for requirements for Commission reconsideration of a decision to open or close a meeting to the public.)

§ 1013.4 Public attendance at Commission meetings.

(a) Attendance by the public. Every portion of every Commission meeting shall be open to public observation except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section. Notwithstanding the applicability of the exemptions contained in paragraph (b) of this section, a Commission meeting or portions thereof shall be open to public observation when the Commission determines that the public interest so requires. The Commission shall take into account in all cases the relative advantages and disadvantages to the public of conducting the Commission meeting in open session. The number of public observers shall be limited only by availability of space. Attendance by the public shall usually be limited to observation and shall not include participation except where, by majority vote, the Commission determines that data or views from certain members of the public will be permitted. To the extent their use does not interfere with the conduct of open meetings, cameras and sound-recording equipment may be

used at open Commission meetings. The Chairman or presiding Commissioner shall insure that use of such equipment does not disrupt the meeting.

(b) Exemptions to the requirement of openness. The requirement in paragraph (a) of this section that all Commission meetings be open to public observation shall not apply to any Commission meeting or portion thereof for which the Commission has determined in accordance with the procedures for closing meetings set forth in paragraph (c) of this section, that such meeting or portion thereof is likely to: