#aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #afjh ,,an ,,act ,to amend the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act to increase the transparency of ,federal advisory committees1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act ,amendments of #bjai4 7b7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents for this ,act is as follows3 ,sec4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents4 ,sec4 #b4 ,ensuring independent advice and expertise4 ,sec4 #c4 ,preventing efforts to circumvent the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act and public disclosure4 ,sec4 #d4 ,increasing transparency of advisory committees4 ,sec4 #e4 ,managing ,federal advisory committees4 ,sec4 #f4 ,comptroller ,general review and reports4 ,sec4 #g4 ,application of ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act to trade advisory committees4 ,sec4 #h4 ,definitions4 ,sec4 #i4 ,technical and conforming amendments4 ,sec4 #aj4 ,effective date4 ,sec4 #aa4 ,no additional funds authorized4 #b4 ,ensuring independent advice and expertise 7a7 ,bar on political litmus tests ,section #i of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app47 is amended-- 7#a7 in the section heading1 by inserting ,,membership2 after ,,advisory ,,committees22 7#b7 by redesignating subsections 7b7 and 7c7 as subsections 7e7 and 7f71 respectively2 and 7#c7 by inserting after subsection 7a7 the following3 7b7 ,appointments made without regard to political affiliation or activity ,all appointments to advisory committees shall be made without regard to political affiliation or political campaign activity1 unless required by ,federal statute4 4 7b7 ,minimizing conflicts of interest ,section #i of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app471 as amended by subsection 7a7 of this section1 is further amended by inserting after subsection 7b7 7as added by such subsection 7a77 the following3 7c7 ,public nominations of committee members 7#a7 ,before making an appointment to an advisory committee1 the head of an agency shall-- 7,a7 solicit nominations for potential committee members2 7,b7 if the head of the agency is required to publish a notice under subsection 7a77#b71 include in the notice a solicitation for nominations of potential committee members2 and 7,c7 provide in the notice under subparagraph 7,b7 a mechanism for interested persons to comment through a publicly available website of the agency4 7#b7 ,the head of an agency shall consider any comments submitted in accordance with paragraph 7#a77;,c7 in appointing the members of an advisory committee4 7#c7 ,the head of an agency shall solicit nominations under paragraph 7#a7 not less frequently than once every #b years4 7#d7 ,notwithstanding paragraph 7#a71 if a vacancy in an advisory committee occurs before the next scheduled solicitation for nominations under this subsection1 an agency may appoint a member from among individuals that were previously nominated to be a member of the advisory committee4 7d7 ,designation of committee members 7#a7 ,an individual appointed to an advisory committee who is not a full-time or permanent part-time officer or employee of the ,federal ,government shall be designated as-- 7,a7 a special ,government employee1 if the individual is providing advice based on the individual's expertise or experience2 or 7,b7 a representative1 if the individual is representing the views of an entity or entities outside of the ,federal ,government4 7#b7 ,an agency may not designate committee members as representatives to avoid subjecting them to ,federal ethics rules and requirements4 7#c7 ,the designated agency ethics official for each agency shall review the members of each advisory committee that reports to the agency to determine whether each member's designation is appropriate1 and to redesignate members if appropriate4 ,the designated agency ethics official shall certify to the head of the agency that such review has been made-- 7,a7 following the initial appointment of members2 and 7,b7 at the time a committee's charter is renewed1 or1 in the case of a committee with an indefinite charter1 every #b years4 7#d7 ,the head of each agency shall inform each individual who is not a full-time or permanent part-time officer or employee of the ,federal ,government appointed to an advisory committee that reports to the agency whether the individual is appointed as a special ,government employee or as a representative4 ,the agency head shall provide each committee member with an explanation of the differences between special ,government employees and representatives and a summary of applicable ethics requirements4 ,the agency head1 acting through the designated agency ethics official1 shall obtain signed and dated written confirmation from each committee member that the member received and reviewed the information required by this paragraph4 7#e7 ,the ,director of the ,office of ,government ,ethics shall provide guidance to agencies on what to include in the summary of ethics requirements required by paragraph 7#d74 7#f7 ,the head of each agency shall1 to the extent practicable1 develop and implement strategies to minimize the need for written determinations under section #bjh7;b77#c7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,strategies may include such efforts as improving outreach efforts to potential committee members and seeking public input on potential committee members4 7#g7 ,nothing in this subsection shall be construed to supersede the inapplicability of this ,act with respect to peer review groups appointed under paragraph 7#af7 of section #djb7;b7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act1 as described in the flush text following paragraph 7#be77;,b7 of such section4 4 7c7 ,regulations implementing ,,faca ,section #g7;c7 of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app47 is amended by inserting promulgate regulations and after ,the ,administrator shall4 7d7 ,ensuring independent advice and recommendations ,the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app47 is amended-- 7#a7 in section #h-- 7,a7 in the section heading1 by inserting ,,independent ,,advice ,,and ,,recommendations2 after ,,responsibilities ,,of ,,agency ,,heads22 7,b7 by redesignating subsection 7b7 as subsection 7c72 and 7,c7 by inserting after subsection 7a7 the following3 7b7 ,the head of each agency shall ensure that the agency does not interfere with the free and independent participation1 expression of views1 and deliberation by committee members4 ,each advisory committee shall include a statement describing the process used by the advisory committee in formulating the advice and recommendations when they are transmitted to the agency4 2 and 7#b7 in section #aj-- 7,a7 in the section heading1 by inserting 2 ,,chair after ,,attendance2 and 7,b7 by inserting after subsection 7f7 the following new subsection3 7g7 ,the chair shall not be an employee of the agency to which the advisory committee reports1 unless-- 7#a7 a statute specifically authorizes selection of such an employee as the chair2 or 7#b7 the head of the agency directs an employee to serve as the chair4 4 #c4 ,preventing efforts to circumvent the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act and public disclosure 7a7 ,subcommittees ,section #d of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app47 is amended by striking subsection 7a7 and inserting the following3 7a7 ,application ,the provisions of this ,act or of any rule1 order1 or regulation promulgated under this ,act shall apply to each advisory committee1 including any subcommittee or subgroup thereof1 except to the extent that any ,act of ,congress establishing any such advisory committee specifically provides otherwise4 ,any subcommittee or subgroup that reports to a parent committee established under section #i7;a7 is not required to comply with section #i7;f74 4 7b7 ,committees created under contract ,section #c7b7 of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app47 is amended in the matter following subparagraph 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 ,an advisory committee is considered to be established by an agency1 agencies1 or the ,president if it is formed1 created1 or organized under contract1 other transactional authority1 cooperative agreement1 grant1 or otherwise at the request or direction of an agency1 agencies1 or the ,president44 7c7 ,advisory committees containing special government employees ,section #d of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app471 as amended by subsections 7a7 and 7b7 of this section1 is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7d7 ,special government employees ,committee members appointed as special ,government employees shall not be considered full-time or permanent part-time officers or employees of the ,federal ,government for purposes of determining the applicability of this ,act under section #c7b74 4 #d4 ,increasing transparency of advisory committees 7a7 ,information requirement ,section #aa of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app47 is amended to read as follows3 #aa4 ,disclosure of information 7a7 ,in general ,with respect to each advisory committee1 the head of the agency to which the advisory committee reports shall make publicly available in accordance with subsection 7b7 the following information3 7#a7 ,the charter of the advisory committee4 7#b7 ,a description of the process used to establish and appoint the members of the advisory committee1 including the following3 7,a7 ,the process for identifying prospective members4 7,b7 ,the process of selecting members for balance of viewpoints or expertise4 7,c7 ,the reason each member was appointed to the committee4 7,d7 ,a justification of the need for representative members1 if any4 7#c7 ,a list of all current members1 including1 for each member1 the following3 7,a7 ,the name of any person or entity that nominated the member4 7,b7 ,whether the member is-- 7i7 designated as a special ,government employee2 7ii7 a representative2 or 7iii7 a full-time or permanent part-time officer or employee of the ,federal ,government4 7,c7 ,in the case of a representative1 the individuals or entity whose viewpoint the member represents4 7#d7 ,a list of all members designated as special ,government employees for whom written certifications were made under section #bjh7;b7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 a copy of each such certification1 a summary description of the conflict necessitating the certification1 and the reason for granting the certification4 7#e7 ,any recusal agreement made by a member or any recusal known to the agency that occurs during the course of a meeting or other work of the committee4 7#f7 ,a summary of the process used by the advisory committee for making decisions4 7#g7 ,detailed minutes of all meetings of the committee and a description of committee efforts to make meetings accessible to the public using online technologies 7such as video recordings7 or other techniques 7such as audio recordings74 7#h7 ,any written determination by the ,president or the head of the agency to which the advisory committee reports1 pursuant to section #aj7;d71 to close a meeting or any portion of a meeting and the reasons for such determination4 7#i7 ,notices of future meetings of the committee4 7#aj7 ,any additional information considered relevant by the head of the agency to which the advisory committee reports4 7b7 ,manner of disclosure 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the head of an agency shall make the information required to be disclosed under subsection 7a7 available electronically on a publicly available website of the agency and to the ,administrator at least #ae calendar days before each meeting of an advisory committee4 ,if the head of the agency determines that such timing is not practicable for any required information1 such head shall make the information available as soon as practicable but no later than #dh hours before the next meeting of the committee4 ,an agency may withhold from disclosure any information that would be exempt from disclosure under section #eeb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,website availability ,the head of an agency shall make available electronically1 on a publicly available website of the agency1 detailed minutes and1 to the extent available1 a transcript or audio or video recording of each advisory committee meeting not later than #de calendar days after such meeting4 7#c7 ,grant reviews ,in the case of grant reviews1 disclosure of information required by subsection 7a77#c7 may be provided in the aggregate rather than by individual grant4 7c7 ,provision of information by administrator of general services ,the ,administrator of ,general ,services shall provide1 on a publicly available website of the ,general ,services ,administration1 electronic access to the information made available by each agency under this section4 7d7 ,availability of meeting materials 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b7 and where prohibited by contractual agreements entered into prior to the effective date of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act ,amendments of #bjai1 agencies and advisory committees shall make available to any person1 at actual cost of duplication1 copies of advisory committee meeting materials4 7#b7 ,applicability ,nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require the disclosure of information that is protected from mandatory disclosure by statute4 4 7b7 ,charter filing ,subsection 7f7 of section #i of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app471 as redesignated by section #b7;a7 of this ,act1 is amended to read as follows3 7f7 ,no advisory committee shall meet or take any action until an advisory committee charter has been filed with the ,administrator1 the head of the agency to whom any advisory committee reports1 and the standing committees of the ,senate and of the ,house of ,representatives having legislative jurisdiction of such agency4 ,such charter shall contain the following information in the following order3 7#a7 ,the committee's official designation4 7#b7 ,the authority under which the committee is established4 7#c7 ,the committee's objectives and the scope of its activity4 7#d7 ,a description of the duties for which the committee is responsible1 and1 if such duties are not solely advisory1 a specification of the authority for such functions4 7#e7 ,the agency or official to whom the committee reports4 7#f7 ,the agency responsible for providing the necessary support for the committee4 7#g7 ,the responsibilities of the officer or employee of the ,federal ,government designated under section #aj7;e74 7#h7 ,the estimated number and frequency of committee meetings4 7#i7 ,the period of time necessary for the committee to carry out its purposes4 7#aj7 ,the committee's termination date1 if less than #b years from the date of the committee's establishment4 7#aa7 ,the estimated number of members and a description of the expertise needed to carry out the objectives of the committee4 7#ab7 ,a description of whether the committee will be composed of full- or part-time ,government employees1 special ,government employees1 representatives1 or a combination of categories4 7#ac7 ,whether the agency intends to create subcommittees and if so1 the agency official authorized to exercise such authority4 7#ad7 ,the estimated annual operating costs in dollars and full-time equivalent positions for such committee4 7#ae7 ,the recordkeeping requirements of the committee4 7#af7 ,the date the charter is filed4 ,a copy of any such charter shall also be furnished to the ,library of ,congress4 4 #e4 ,managing ,federal advisory committees 7a7 ,committee management officers ,subsection 7c7 of section #h of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app471 as redesignated by section #b7;d7 of this ,act1 is amended to read as follows3 7c7 ,the head of each agency that has an advisory committee shall designate an ,advisory ,committee ,management ,officer who shall-- 7#a7 be a senior official who is-- 7,a7 an expert in implementing the requirements of this ,act and regulations promulgated pursuant to this ,act2 and 7,b7 the primary point of contact for the ,general ,services ,administration2 7#b7 ensure the establishment1 management1 and supervision of the advisory committees of the agency1 including establishing procedures1 performance measures1 and outcomes for such committees2 7#c7 ensure the assembly and maintenance of the reports1 records1 and other papers 7including advisory committee meeting materials7 of any such committee during its existence2 7#d7 ensure any such committee and corresponding agency staff adhere to the provisions of this ,act and any regulations promulgated pursuant to this ,act2 7#e7 ensure the maintenance of records on each employee of any such committee and completion of training required for any such employee2 7#f7 be responsible for providing the information required in section #g7;b7 of this ,act to the ,administrator2 and 7#g7 carry out1 on behalf of that agency1 the provisions of section #eeb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 with respect to the reports1 records1 and other papers described in paragraph 7#c74 4 #f4 ,comptroller ,general review and reports 7a7 ,review ,the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall review compliance by agencies with the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act1 as amended by this ,act1 including whether agencies are appropriately appointing advisory committee members who are not full-time or permanent part-time officers or employees of the ,federal ,government as either special ,government employees or representatives4 7b7 ,report ,the ,comptroller ,general shall submit to the committees described in subsection 7c7 two reports on the results of the review1 as follows3 7#a7 ,the first report shall be submitted not later than #a year after the date of promulgation of regulations under section #g7;c7 of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app471 as amended by section #b7;c74 7#b7 ,the second report shall be submitted not later than #e years after such date of promulgation of regulations4 7c7 ,committees ,the committees described in this subsection are the ,committee on ,oversight and ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate4 #g4 ,application of ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act to trade advisory committees ,section #ace7;f77#b77;,a7 of the ,trade ,act of #aigd 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #baee7;f77#b77;,a77 is amended by striking subsections 7a7 and 7b7 of sections #aj and #aa of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act and inserting subsections 7a7 and 7b7 of section #aj and subsections 7a77#g71 7a77#h71 7a77#i71 7b77#b71 and 7d7 of section #aa of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act4 #h4 ,definitions ,section #c of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app47 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#e7 ,the term special ,government employee has the meaning given that term in section #bjb7;a7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4 4 #i4 ,technical and conforming amendments ,section #g7;d77#a7 of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app47 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking the rate specified for ,,gs-#ah of the ,general ,schedule under section #eccb and inserting the rate for level ,,iv of the ,executive ,schedule under section #ecae2 and 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,c77i71 by striking handicapped individuals 7within the meaning of section #eja of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #gid77 and inserting individuals with disabilities 7as defined in section #g7bj7 of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc74 #aj4 ,effective date ,this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act shall take effect #cj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #aa4 ,no additional funds authorized ,no additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act4 ,such requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized4 #ab4 ,determination of budgetary effects ,the budgetary effects of this ,act1 for the purpose of complying with the ,statutory ,pay-,as-,you-,go ,act of #bjaj1 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ,budgetary ,effects of ,,paygo ,legislation for this ,act1 submitted for printing in the ,congressional ,record by the ,chairman of the ,house ,budget ,committee1 provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage4 ,passed the ,house of ,representatives ,march #ab1 #bjai4;,clerk4