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(12) "agency proceedings" means an agency process as defined by paragraphs (5), (7), and (9) of this section; [and]

(13) "agency action" includes the whole or a part of an agency rule, order, license, sanction, relief, or the equivalent or denial thereof, or failure to act[]; and

(14) "ex parte communication" means an oral or written communication not on the public record with respect to which reasonable prior notice to all parties is not given.

§ 552. Public information; agency rules, opinions, orders, records, and proceedings

(b) This section does not apply to matters that are—

(1)

*

[(3) specifically exempted from disclosure by statute;]

(3) required to be withheld from the public by any statute establishing particular criteria or referring to particular types of information;

§ 552b. Open Meetings

(a) For purposes of this section

(1) the term "agency" means the Federal Election Commission and any agency, as defined in section 552(e) of this title, headed by a collegial body composed of two or more individual members, a majority of whom are appointed to such position by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and includes any subdivision thereof authorized to act on behalf of the agency;

(2) the term "meeting" means the deliberations of at least the number of individual agency members required to take action on behalf of the agency where such deliberations concern the joint conduct or disposition of agency business; and

(3) the term "member" means an individual who belongs to a collegial body heading an agency.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), every portion of every meeting of an agency shall be open to public observation.

(c) Except in a case where the agency finds that the public interest requires otherwise, subsection (b) shall not apply to any portion of an agency meeting and the requirements of subsections (d) and (e) shall not apply to any information pertaining to such meeting otherwise required by this section to be disclosed to the public, where the agency properly determines that such portion or portions of its meeting or the disclosure of such information is likely to

(1) disclose matters (A) specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or foreign policy and (B) in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;

(2) relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency;

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(3) disclose information required to be withheld from the public by any statute establishing particular criteria or referring to particular types of information;

(4) disclose trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;

(5) involve accusing any person of a crime, or formally censuring any person;

(6) disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(7) disclose investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such records would (A) interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) disclose the identity of a confidential source and, in the case of a record compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, confidential information furnished only by the confidential source, (E) disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or (F) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel;

(8) disclose information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions;

(9) disclose information the premature disclosure of which

would

(A) in the case of an agency which regulates currencies, securities, commodities, or financial institutions, be likely to (i) lead to significant financial speculation, or (ii) significantly endanger the stability of any financial institution; or

(B) in the case of any agency, be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed agency action, except that this subparagraph shall not apply in any instance where the content or nature of the proposed agency action already has been disclosed to the public by the agency, or where the agency is required by law to make such disclosure prior to taking final agency action on such proposal; or

(10) specifically concern the agency's issuance of a subpena, or the agency's participation in a civil action, an action in a foreign court or international tribunal, or an arbitration, or the initiation, conduct, or disposition by the agency of a particular case of formal agency adjudication pursuant to the procedures in section 554 of this title or otherwise involving a determination on the record after opportunity for a hearing.

(d) (1) Action under subsection (c) to close a portion or portions of an agency meeting shall be taken only when a majority of the entire membership of the agency votes to take such action. A separate vote of the agency members shall be taken with respect to each agency meeting a portion or portions of which are proposed to be closed to the public pursuant to subsection (c), or with respect to any information. which is proposed to be withheld under subsection (c). A single vote

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may be taken with respect to a series of portions of meetings which are proposed to be closed to the public, or with respect to any information concerning such series, so long as each portion of a meeting in such series involves the same particular matters, and is scheduled to be held no more than thity days after the initial portion of a meeting in such series. The vote of each agency member participating in such vote shall be recorded and no proxies shall be allowed.

(2) Whenever any person whose interests may be directly affected by a portion of a meeting requests that the agency close such portion to the public for any of the reasons referred to in paragraph (5), (6), or (7) of subsection (c), the agency, upon request of any one of its members, shall vote by recorded vote whether to close such meeting.

(3) Within one day of any vote taken pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), the agency shall make publicly available a written copy of such vote reflecting the vote of each member on the question. If a portion of a meeting is to be closed to the public, the agency shall, within one day of the vote taken pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection, make publicly available a full written explanation of its action closing the portion together with a list of all persons expected to attend the meeting and their affiliation.

(4) Any agency, a majority of the portions of whose meetings may properly be closed to the public pursuant to paragraph (4), (8), (9) (A), or (10) of subsection (c), or any combination thereof, may provide by regulation for the closing of such portions in the event that a majority of the members of the agency votes by recorded vote at the beginning of such meeting, or portion thereof, to close the exempt portion or portions of the meeting, and a copy of such vote, reflecting the vote of each member on the question, is made available to the public. The provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection and subsection (e) shall not apply to any portion of a meeting to which such regulations apply: Provided, That the agency shall, except to the extent that such information is exempt from disclosure under the provisions of subsection (c), provide the public with public announcement of the date, place, and subject matter of the meeting and each portion thereof at the earliest practicable time and in no case later than the commencement of the meeting or portion in question.

(e) In the case of each meeting, the agency shall make public_announcement, at least one week before the meeting, of the date, place, and subject matter of the meeting, whether it is to be open or closed to the public, and the name and phone number of the official designated by the agency to respond to requests for information about the meeting. Such announcement shall be made unless a majority of the members of the agency determines by a recorded vote that agency business requires that such meeting be called at an earlier date, in which case the agency shall make public announcement of the date, place, and subject matter of such meeting, and whether open or closed to the public, at the ear liest practicable time and in no case later than the commencement of the meeting or portion in question. The time, place, or subject matter of a meeting, or the determination of the agency to open or close a meeting, or portion of a meeting, to the public, may be changed following the public announcement required by this paragraph only if (1) a majority of the entire membership of the agency determines by a recorded vote that agency business so requires and that no earlier an

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nouncement of the change was possible, and (2) the agency publicly announces such change and the vote of each member upon such change at the earliest practicable time and in no case later than the commencement of the meeting or portion in question.

(f) (1) A complete transcript or electronic recording adequate to record fully the proceedings shall be made of each meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed to the public, except for a meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed to the public pursuant to paragraph (10) of subsection (c). The agency shall make promptly available to the public, in a location easily accessible to the public, the complete transcript or electronic recording of the discussion at such meeting of any item on the agenda, or of the testimony of any witness received at such meeting, except for such portion or portions of such discussion or testimony as the agency, by recorded vote taken subsequent to the meeting and promptly made available to the public, determines to contain information specified in paragraphs (1) through (10) of subsection (c). In place of each portion deleted from such a transcript or transcription the agency shall supply a written explanation of the reason for the deletion, and the portion of subsection (c) and any other statute said to permit the deletion. Copies of such transcript, or a transcription of such electronic recording disclosing the identity of each speaker, shall be furnished to any person at no greater than the actual cost of duplication or transcription or, if in the public interest, at no cost. The agency shall maintain a complete verbatim copy of the transcript, or a complete electronic recording of each meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed to the public, for a period of at least two years after such meeting, or until one year after the conclusion of any agency proceeding with respect to which the meeting, or a portion thereof, was held, whichever occurs later.

(2) Written minutes shall be made of any agency meeting, or portion thereof, which is open to the public. The agency shall make such minutes promptly available to the public in a location easily accessible to the public, and shall maintain such minutes for a period of at least two years after such meeting. Copies of such minutes shall be furnished to any person at no greater than the actual cost of duplication thereof or, if in the public interest, at no cost.

(g) Each agency subject to the requirements of this section shall. within 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, following consultation with the Office of the Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States and published notice in the Federal Register of at least thirty days and opportunity for written_comment by any persons, promulgate regulations to implement the requirements of subsections (b) through (f) of this section. Any person may bring a proceeding in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to require an agency to promulgate such regulations if such agency has not promulgated such regulations within the time period specified herein. Subject to any limitations of time therefor provided by law, any person may bring a proceeding in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to set aside agency regulations issued pursuant to this subsection that are not in accord with the requirements of subsections (b) through (f) of this section, and to require the promulgation of regulations that are in accord with such subsections.

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(h) The district courts of the United States have jurisdiction to enforce the requirements of subsections (b) through (f) of this section. Such actions may be brought by any person against an agency or its members prior to, or within sixty days after, the meeting out of which the violation of this section arises, except that if public announcement of such meeting is not initially provided by the agency in accordance with the requirements of this section, such action may be instituted pursuant to this section at any time prior to sixty days after any public announcement of such meeting. Such actions may be brought in the district wherein the plaintiff resides, or has his principal place of business, or where the agency in question has its headquarters. In such actions a defendant shall serve his answer within twenty days after the service of the complaint, but such time may be extended by the court for up to twenty additional days upon a showing of good cause therefor. The burden is on the defendant to sustain his action. In deciding such cases the court may examine in camera any portion of a transcript or electronic recording of a meeting closed to the public, and may take such additional evidence as it deems necessary. The court, having due regard for orderly administration and the public interest, as well as the interests of the party, may grant such equitable relief as it deems appropriate, including granting an injunction against future violations of this section, or ordering the agency to make available to the public such portion of the transcript or electronic recording of a meeting as is not authorized to be withheld under subsection (c) of this section. Except to the extent provided in subsection (i) of this section, nothing in this section confers jurisdiction on any district court acting solely under this subsection to set aside, enjoin or invalidate any agency action taken or discussed at an agency meeting out of which the violation of this section arose.

(i) Any Federal court otherwise authorized by law to review agency action may, at the application of any person properly participating in the judicial review proceeding, inquire into violations by the agency of the requirements of this section and afford any such relief as it deems appropriate.

(j) The court may assess against any party reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred by any other party who substantially prevails in any action brought in accordance with the provisions of subsection (g), (h), or (i) of this section, except that costs may be assessed against an individual member of an agency only in the case where the court finds such agency member has intentionally and repeatedly violated this section and against the plaintiff only where the court finds that the suit was initiated by the plaintiff primarily for frivolous or dilatory purposes. In the case of assessment of costs against an agency, the costs may be assessed by the court against the United States.

(k) Each agency subject to the requirements of this section shall annually report to Congress regarding its compliance with such requirements, including a tabulation of the total number of agency meetings open to the public, the total number of meetings closed to the public. the reasons for closing such meetings, and a description of any litigation brought against the agency under this section, including any costs assessed against the agency in such litigation (whether or not paid by the agency).