U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK

22 AUG 1980

DATE:

TRANSMITTAL NO. 2

The attached material is to be inserted in your Committee Management Handbook, prescribed by Department Administrative Order 201-2. It supersedes all material previously transmitted, except for the "Foreword". The remaining Parts III and IV shall be transmitted as prepared and approved.

This Handbook is prescribed by and is an extension of Department Administrative Order 201-2, "Committee Management," a copy of which is included here at Appendix I-A.

SECTION A. BACKGROUND

The use of committees as a tool of management for the accomplishment of a given task, ad hoc or continuing, is common in both the public and private sectors. Congressional involvement and citizen interest in committees whether national commissions or neighborhood councils is sometimes considerable, the interest deriving from a variety of concerns such as the proliferation, costs, and alleged influence of committees.

Within the public sector, a 1970 Congressional report on the role and effectiveness of advisory committees 1/ was of special interest. This document categorized committees as the "Fifth Branch of Government" along with the legislative, executive, judicial, and regulatory arms; and although it was developed from lengthy Congressional hearings, as well as from a Federal-wide survey of committees, it admitted to certain frustrations, illustrated by the statement that "compilation of a complete list of advisory and interagency committees is an impossibility due to management deficiencies at all levels of the Government." The findings and recommendations of this report presaged the passage of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) in 1972, the bill in which "committee management" as a discrete function was statutorily born.

Enactment of the FACA with a January 5, 1973 date of effectiveness found the Department in a sound management posture. For example, while the Act required that, beginning in 1973, each committee have a formal charter, Commerce management had already been requiring formal charters for its committees. In fact, the use of advisory committees had been controlled by the Department since 1950 2/, and interagency committees had been the subject of a Department order since 1947. 3/ This directive, therefore, is based on years of demonstrated concern and direction.

SECTION B. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY.

.01 The provisions of this Handbook govern all committee-establishment proposals originating in, or under consideration by, the Department; the activities of all committees established under, or used by, the Department; and the activities of all committees assigned to the Department's control by higher authority. In this regard, they apply to all officers, employees, and organizational elements of the Department.

1/ House Report No. 91-1731, December 11, 1970.

2/ Department Order 114, Policies Applicable to Meetings with Groups of Industry Representatives, May 5, 1950.

/ Department Order 67, Department Representation on Interdepartmental ommittees, April 4, 1947.

.02 The requirements of this Handbook do not apply to operating unit committees, i.e., committees composed entirely of personnel from a single operating unit.

SECTION C. RESPONSIBILITIES.

.01 Secretarial Officers, Heads of Operating Units and Heads of Departmental Offices shall be responsible for assuring compliance with the provisions of this Handbook within their organizations. They shall, for this purpose:

a. Designate a Committee Liaison Officer for their unit or office, with organization-wide responsibilities as set forth in paragraph .02 of this section (and further described in relevant portions of the Handbook); and b. Designate & Committee Control Officer for each advisory committee and interagency committee for which the organization is responsible, with duties as discussed in paragraph .03 of this section.

.02 Committee Liaison Officers shall serve as the point of contact for all committee management matters within their organizations, with duties which shall include:

a. Review of proposals to establish or renew committees, such review to be for compliance with the requirements and standards of this Order;

b. Maintenance of files as prescribed in this Handbook;

C. Advice and assistance (in conjunction with the organization's legal office) to officials and Committee Control Officers in establishing, chartering, reporting on, and terminating committees; and

d. Preparation, compilation, or conduct, as appropriate, of all reports and reviews required by this Order, and such special reports or reviews as may from time to time be requested by the Departmental Office of Organization and Management Systems.

.03 Committee Control Officers shall at all times be fully knowledgeable and up-to-date on all the activities and developments of the committee(s) and/or subcommittee(s) assigned to their cognizance, including mission and membership matters as well as management.

a. Duties shall include the filing of reports and the maintenance of records as prescribed in this Handbook.

b. For advisory committees, the duties may include a delegation of the following statutory authorities:

1. issuing the "call" or approve the plans for each meeting,

2. approving the agenda for each meeting, and

3.

chairing or attending each meeting, and adjourning the meeting whenever it is determined that adjournment is in the public interest.

.04 The Departmental Office of Organization and Management Systems (COMS) shall be responsible for the day-to-day direction of the Department's committee management program, and for monitoring the implementation of this Order. Among other things, OOMS shall:

a.

Exercise committee management responsibility for the immediate office of the Secretary;

b. Review proposals, Secretarial abstracts, and all formal paperwork dealing with committees for which the Department is responsible, including the paperwork on such committee management matters as only the Secretary or the Assistant Secretary for Administration can decide;

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c. Assist the Assistant Secretary for Administration in the conduct of his/her duties as the Department's designated Advisory Committee Management Officer (Section 8.b. of the FACA);

d. Prepare or direct the preparation of Department reports, and furnish information on Commerce committees in response to statutory requirements, central agency requirement, the Congress, the White House, and the Secretary;

e. Maintain a Departmental Control File on each of the committees of the Department, which shall include the original of the committee's charter and the original of any other statutorily required document (excepting reports submitted by offices and operating units directly to the Library of Congress pursuant to Section 13 of the FACA); and

f. Provide guidance to Committee Liaison Officers and serve as the focal point for all committee management matters within the Department and between the Department, General Services Administration (GSA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Library of Congress, and the Office of the Federal Register. Legal matters, including those requiring Justice Department opinion, will be referred by COMS to the Office of General Counsel (OGC).

.05 The General Services Administration maintains the Committee Management Secretariat which is responsible for all matters relating to Federal Advisory Committees.

.06 The Office of the Federal Register is responsible for publishing notices of certain advisory committee activities. These include notices of establishments, renewals, and meetings. The Federal Register is normally published five times a week.

.07 The Library of Congress serves as a depository for Federal advisory committee documents for public inspection and use.