GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE ACT are free to submit more elaborate notices by conventional means but would lose the advantage of expedited service, which may be very significant where notice is submitted. seven days or less before the meeting. The publication of the additional information cited in subsections (d)(3) and (f)(1) does, of course, provide the public with a fuller explanation and more complete notice of closed agency meetings. Where an agency opts not to submit a notice in the standardized format, it would be practical and efficient to issue a single document complying with subsections (d)(3) and (e)(3), and referring as well to the General Counsel's certification required in subsection (f)(1). Agencies submitting standardized notices to the Federal Register, pursuant to subsection (e) (3), should issue and make available the (d)(3) information-members' votes, explanations of closings, and lists of expected attendees-using bulletin boards, press releases, or whatever additional means of notification or public announcement they have adopted. While the certification of the General Counsel need not be published in the Federal Register, it too should be issued or made available by the agency. See, e.g., regulation of the Civil Aeronautics Board, 14 C.F.R. §310b.4, 42 F.R. 14681. The legislative history is clear that the Federal Register need not actually publish the notice prior to the meeting which it announces. Indeed, in some cases publication in advance of the meeting will be impossible. Submission for publication is required by subsection (e)(3) nevertheless. For, as the Senate Report notes, "In any event, the information must be printed in the Federal Register as soon as possible following the first public announcement. Even if this does not occur until after the meeting, such notice will provide a record of all agency meetings in a single publication widely available to members of the public." S. Rept., 31. Use of "Reasonable Means" to Circulate Public Announcements. Publication of the notice in the Federal Register is only part of the agencies' responsibility to notify the public of forthcoming meetings. The Act itself does not define "make publicly available" ((d)(3)), "public announcement" ((d)(4), (e)(1)-(e)(3)), or "publicly announce" ((e)(2)). However, Congress was well aware that publication in the Register would often fail to provide timely and effective notice, and the Conference Report states clearly that "reasonable means" besides publication in the Federal Register must be "used to assure that the public is fully informed of public announcements" under the Act. Conf. Rept., 19. These additional methods of publicity include posting notices on agency bulletin boards, making notices available in a Public Affairs or Secretary's Office, publishing and distributing to a general or specialized mailing list a weekly or monthly calen GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE ACT dar of agency meetings, issuing press releases, and using recorded telephone announcements. Conf. Rept., 19; S. Rept., 30-31; H. Rept. I, 14. A number of agency regulations specify the "reasonable means" by which public announcements will be issued and by which the public can obtain agency notices. For example, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission provides that its public announcement of a meeting shall include the posting of a copy of the announcement in the NRC's Public Document Room, and, to the extent appropriate, mailing a copy to persons on a mailing list, submitting a copy to at least two Washington newspapers of general circulation, and "any other means which the Secretary believes will serve to further inform any persons who might be interested."19 In addition to other means of effecting public notice, both the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Interstate Commerce Commission are mailing notices to all parties of record in any proceeding which is the subject of the meeting.20 Another means of circulating public notice of agency meetings, recorded telephone announcements, was suggested in the Senate Report, S. Rept., 30, but adopted in few agency regulations, presumably because of the technical problems and the potential expense.21 If the expense of a toll-free telephone service is not prohibitive, agencies should give serious consideration to providing this means of notice. It would be helpful in improving the effectiveness of notice, especially for interested persons outside the Washington, D.C. area. It would also be particularly valuable in dealing with the problems caused by last-minute changes in the agenda or other information about a meeting. 1910 C.F.R. §9.107(d), 42 F.R. 12879. See also regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 17 C.F.R. §147.4(d), 42 F.R. 13705; Securities and Exchange Commission, 17 C.F.R. §200.401(e), 42 F.R. 14694; and the United States International Trade Commission, 19 C.F.R. §201.35(e), 42 F.R. 11244. 2014 C.F.R. §310b.4(e), 42 F.R. 14681; 49 C.F.R. §1012.3(a), 42 F.R. 13799. 21See statements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 42 F.R. 12876; and the Federal Power Commission, 42 F.R. 14698. The FPC noted that the suggestion of recorded telephone announcements was "a good one and we intend to pursue its implementation whenever it appears technically feasible to do so." Both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Federal Trade Commission do provide a recorded telephone announcement, although not toll-free, 29 C.F.R. §1612.7, 42 F.R. 13832 (EEOC); 16 C.F.R. §4.15(a)(5), 42 F.R. 13541 (FTC). GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE ACT Whatever methods of dissemination of notice are adopted, agencies should keep in mind that the Sunshine Act encourages the widest possible circulation of meeting information. In the words of the Interstate Commerce Commission, "The provision for comprehensive public notice of agency meetings is the keystone to fulfillment of the Congressional policy expressed in the Act." 42 F.R. 13796-97. Meetings will be effectively open only to those interested persons who have notice of them. General Counsel Certification; “(f) (1) For every meeting closed pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (10) of subsection (c), the General Counsel or chief legal officer of the agency shall publicly certify that, in his or her opinion, the meeting may be closed to the public and shall state each relevant exemptive provision. A copy of such certification, together with a statement from the presiding officer of the meeting setting forth the time and place of the meeting, and the persons present, shall be retained by the agency. The agency shall maintain a complete transcript or electronic recording adequate to record fully the proceedings of each meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed to the public, except that in the case of a meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed to the public pursuant to paragraph (8), (9)(A), or (10) of subsection (c), the agency shall maintain either such a transcript or recording, or a set of minutes. Such minutes shall fully and clearly describe all matters discussed and shall provide a full and accurate summary of any actions taken, and the reasons therefor, including a description of each of the views expressed on any item and the record of any rollcall vote (reflecting the vote of each member on the question). All documents considered in connection with any action shall be identified in such minutes." General Counsel Certification Subsection (f) (1) first requires that "for every meeting closed" pursuant to the exemptions of subsection (c), whether the agency closes under subsection (d)(1) or (d)(4), "the General Counsel or chief legal officer of the agency shall publicly certify that, in his or her opinion, the meeting may be closed to the public and shall state each relevant exemptive provision." This provision concerning the role of the General Counsel has raised several questions of interpretation. Delegation. Can the responsibility be delegated, and if so, to whom? The answer is not apparent from the Act or the legislative history. However, since the certification is presumably intended as an assurance by the chief legal ad |