TABLE 2.-PERCENT OF MEETINGS COMPLETELY OR PARTIALLY CLOSED BY AGENCY TABLE 3.-AGENCIES CITING EXEMPTIVE PROVISION (5 U.S.C. 552b(cX1) THROUGH (10) Provision TABLE 4.-TIMES EXEMPTIVE PROVISIONS CITED TO CLOSE MEETINGS Times cited Agency citing provision TABLE 5.-NUMBER OF LATE NOTICES, BY AGENCY (SEPT. 12, 1977 TO MAR. 31, 1978 Notice filed after meeting Notice appeared after Open Closed closed Total Open Closed closed Total Open Closed closed Total Totals Open/ Notice appeared on day 1 Notice appeared in the Federal Register published the same day as the meeting. 28 dealt with telephone conferences. 3 Interstate Commerce Commission. TABLE 6.—PERCENT OF LATE NOTICES, BY SELECTED AGENCY, SEPT. 12, 1977 TO MAR. 31, 1978 APPENDIX A AGENCIES INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY 1. Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) 2. Commission on Federal Paperwork (CFP) 3. Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC, USDA) 6. Copyright Royalty Tribunal (CRT). 7. Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 8. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 9. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 10. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 11. Federal Elections Commission (FEC) 12. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 13. Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) 14. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) 15. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) 16. Federal Power Commission (FPC) 17. Federal Reserve Board, Board of Governors (FRB) 18. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 19. Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation (HSTSF) 20. Indian Claims Commission (ICC) 21. Inter-American Foundation (IAF) 22. Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) 23. Mississippi River Commission (MRC) 24. National Commission on Electronic Fund Transfers (NCEFT) 25. National Commission on Libraries and Information Service (NCLIS) 26. National Council on Educational Research (NCER) 27. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) 28. National Mediation Board (NMB) 29. National Museum Services Board (NMSB) 30. National Railroad Passenger Corporation (NRPC) 31. National Science Board (NSB) 32. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 33. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 34. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) 35. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) 36. Postal Rate Commission (PRC) 37. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) 38. Renegotiation Board (RB) 39. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) 40. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) 41. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) 42. United States Civil Service Commission (USCSC) 43. United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) 44. United States Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (USFCSC) 45. United States International Trade Commission (USITC) 46. United States Parole Service (USPS) 47. United States Postal Service (USPS) 48. United States Railway Association (USRA) APPENDIX B PERTINENT SUNSHINE ACT PROVISIONS Under 5 USC 552b (c), unless the agencies find that the public interest requires otherwise, meetings may be closed if they relate to one of the following exempt categories: (1) national security matters that are specifically authorized and properly classified; (2) internal personnel rules and practices; (3) matters specifically exempted from disclosure by statute; (4) trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential; (5) formal censure and accusation of a crime; (6) clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy ; (7) law enforcement investigatory records or information; (8) information contained in or related to reports used by agencies responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; (9) information the premature disclosure of which would: (a) lead to financial speculation or significantly endanger the stability of any financial institution; or (b) significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action; or (10) issuance of a subpoena; participation in a civil action or proceeding; or the initiation, conduct, or disposition by the agency of a particular case of formal agency adjudication made on the record. Under 5 USC 552b (d) (4) an agency that is authorized to close a majority of its meetings under exemption (4), (8), (9A), or (10), can close a meeting at any time and need not submit a notice to the Federal Register. Under 5 USC 552b (e) (3), agencies are required to submit to the Federal Register for publication "notice of the time, place, and subject matter of a meeting, whether the meeting is open or closed, any change in one of the proceeding, and the name and phone number of the official designated by the agency to respond to requests for information about the meeting." (Subsection (d) (4) exempts some agencies from this provision.) ASSISTANT ATTORNEY CENTRAL CIVIL DIVISION Department of Justice 21 JUL 1977 Mr. James L. Kelley Regulatory Commission Dear Mr. Kelley: This responds to your July 1, 1977 letter requesting my view on a question of interpretation of the Government and Sunshine Act that you recently considered. ' Your inquiry asks whether a session of a quorum of the Commission, which otherwise meets the definition of a "meeting", under the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. § 552b(a) (2)), remains a meeting although it is convened at the request of a Senator and is held at the Senator's office. You previously read the statutory language to encompass such a meeting. I agree with your construction. In my opinion, your construction fits both the letter and spirit of the Sunshine Act. Moreover, a contrary construction would have the anomalous effect of avoiding application of the Sunshine Act's procedural and substantive provisions whenever a majority of the Commission is invited to a Senator's office and requested the Commissioners to conduct agency business at the office. This "loophole" would be large and unrestricted. I do not believe the Congress intended any such result. Very truly yours, Barbara Alla Babrock BARBARA ALLEN BABCOCK |