tices of proposed rule-making in the FEDERAL REGISTER; invite and consider comments and requests for extension of time; and keep public dockets. It will also publish its procedural rules, substantive rules, general policies, and general interpretations in the FEDERAL REGISTER. When a notice of proposed rule-making is issued, the specific applicable procedures will be described in the notice.

(b) The Association will publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER a notice of the receipt of each application for a loan under section 211 of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (45 U.S.C. 721) and of each request for discontinuance or abandonment authorization under section 304(f) of that Act (45 U.S.C. 744(f)).

§ 901.4 Public availability of information. (a) Subject to appeal to the President as provided in this section, the Vice President for Public and Governmental Affairs is responsible for administering this section.

(b) Docketed material, so designated in a public notice, is available for inspection and copying in the General Counsel's Office upon written request to the Docket Clerk in that office. Copies of docketed material may be ordered by submitting a written request to the Docket Clerk, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Railway Association, 2100 Second Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20595 and paying the required fee.

(c) Available informational material that the Association considers to be of wide public interest will be kept in the Public Reading Room where members of the public may inspect and copy it. All other available documents may be inspected and copied upon written request to the Information Assistant, Office of the Vice President for Public and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Railway Association, 2100 Second Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20595. Copies of those documents may be ordered by submitting a written request to the Information Assistant at that address and paying the required fee.

(d) No such request for inspection or a copy of a document shall be denied except upon the written decision of

the Vice President for Public and Governmental Affairs that:

(1) The request may properly be denied under the Freedom of Information Act; and

(2) Another law, private rights, or the public interest clearly requires the denial.

Each denial decision will set forth the reasons therefor and describes the appeal from that decision that is available to the requester.

(e) A decision denying access to a document may be appealed to the President by filing with his office a written notice of appeal, within 30 days after the date of the denial under paragraph (d) of this section, specifying the relevant facts and the basis for the appeal. If the President denies the appeal, the denial shall set forth the reasons therefor and describe the rights of judicial appeal available to the requester.

(f) Requested documents shall be made available, or a written decision denying the request furnished, within 10 working days after the date the request is received. An appeal to the President shall be decided within 20 working days after the date the notice of appeal is filed. The time may be extended in unusual cases but for not more than a total of 10 working days. Saturdays, Sundays and Federal Holidays are not considered to be working days.

(g) The fee for photocopies of documents ordered from the Association shall be $0.25 for the first page and $0.05 for each additional page for each document. The fee for copies of material requiring other methods of reproduction is the cost of reproduction and handiing. The fee for routine searches for documents is $2. The fee for searches requiring longer than 30 minutes and for other non-routine services is the actual cost. Fees are payable only in cash or by check or money order payable to the U.S. Railway Association. Fees may be waived or reduced at the discretion of the Vice President for Public and Governmental Affairs, if he considers it to be in the public interest because furnishing the information will benefit the general public.

public, except where the agency properly determines that such portion or portions of its meeting or the disclosure of such information is exempt under section 552b(c) of the Act.

(b) This part sets forth the Association's procedures for implementing the Act with respect to meetings of its Board of Directors, Executive Committee, or other committees of the Board of Directors, except the Finance Committee which, as authorized by section 201 of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, as amended (45 U.S.C. 711), issues separate regulations to permit public attendance at open meetings (see 49 CFR Part 905).

§ 903.2 Definitions.

Unless otherwise required by the context, the following definitions apply in this part:

"Act" means the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b). "Association" means the U.S. Railway Association.

the

"Board of Directors" means Board of Directors of the Association, established by section 201 of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, as amended, 45 U.S.C. 711, and includes the Executive Committee established thereunder, and any other Committee of the Board of Directors except the Finance Committee.

"Meeting" means the deliberation of at least the number of individual members of the Board of Directors whose deliberations determine or result in the joint conduct or disposition of official Association business, but does not include deliberations required or permitted by section 552b (d) or (e) of the Act.

§ 903.3 Open meeting policy.

It is the policy of the Association that meetings are presumptively open to public observation to the fullest extent consistent with the protection of individual rights and the Association's obligation to carry out its responsibilities and duties. A meeting, portion of a meeting, or series of meetings will not be closed to public observation unless the Board of Directors determines specifically, pursuant to § 903.7, both that the subject matter is

exempt from the open meeting requirements of the Act and that the public interest does not require opening. No information pertaining to the meeting shall be withheld unless the Board of Directors determines specifically pursuant to § 903.7, both that the information is exempt from disclosure and that the public interest does not require disclosure.

§ 903.4 Scheduling and public announcement of meetings.

(a) Except as provided in §§ 903.5 and 903.6 of this part, the Board of Directors will make a public announcement at least one week before a meeting it has scheduled. The announcement will include a statement of:

(1) The time, place, and subject matter of the meeting;

(2) Whether the meeting is open or closed to the public; and

(3) The name and telephone number of the Association official who will respond to requests for information about the meeting.

(b) If announcement of the subject matter of a closed meeting would reveal the information that the meeting itself was closed to protect, the subject matter of the meeting will not be announced.

§ 903.5 Public announcement of changes in meetings.

(a) After public announcement of a meeting, the time and place of the meeting will be changed only if the change is publicly announced at the earliest practicable time.

(b) After public announcement of a meeting, the subject matter of a meeting or the determination to open or close a meeting or portion of a meeting to the public will be changed only: (1) Upon the recorded vote of a majority of the membership of the Board of Directors that Association business required the change and that no earlier announcement was possible; and

(2) Upon a public announcement at the earliest practicable time of the change and of the vote of each member.

§ 903.6 Public announcement of emergency meetings.

When an emergency or extraordinary Association business so requires, the Board of Directors may decide, upon a recorded vote of a majority of its members, to schedule a meeting for a date earlier than provided in paragraph (a) of § 903.4 and shall, at the earliest practicable time, make a public announcement pursuant to the procedures in § 903.4.

§ 903.7 Cases in which a meeting may be closed and information may be withheld.

(a) A meeting, portion or portions of a meeting, or series of meetings may be closed to public observation and information pertaining to such meeting or meetings may be withheld from the public when the Board of Directors determines that the meeting or disclosure of that information, is likely to:

(1) Disclose matters that are (i) specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or foreign policy and (ii) in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive Order;

(2) Relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of the Association;

(3) Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552 of title 5, U.S.C.), Provided That such statute (i) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (ii) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;

(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, or information which if written

would be contained in such records, but only to the extent that the production of such records or information would (i) interfere with enforcement proceedings, (ii) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (iii) constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (iv) 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, (v) disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel;

(8) Disclose information contained in or related to examination, operation, 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:

(i) In the case of an action by the Association involving regulation of currencies, securities, commodities, or financial institutions, be likely to (A) lead to significant financial speculation in currencies, securities, or commodities, or (B) significantly endanger the stability of any financial institution; or,

(ii) Be likely significantly to frustrate implementation of a proposed Association action, except that this paragraph (a)(9)(ii) shall not apply in any instance where the Association has already disclosed to the public the content or nature of its proposed action, or where the Association is required by law to make such disclosure on its own initiative prior to taking final Association action on such proposal; or,

(10) Specifically concern the Association's issuance of a subpoena, or its participation in a civil action or proceeding, an action in a foreign court or international tribunal, or an arbitration, or the initiation, conduct, or disposition by it of a particular case of formal adjudication pursuant to the procedures in section 554 of Title 5, U.S.C. or otherwise involving a deter

mination on the record after opportunity for a hearing.

(b) Where the Board of Directors has determined that a meeting, portion or portions thereof or a series of meetings may be closed or that any information related thereto may be withheld pursuant to § 903.7(a) of these regulations, the Board of Directors shall also determine whether the public interest nevertheless requires that the meeting be open or the information be disclosed to the public.

§ 903.8 Procedures for closing meetings and withholding information; public availability of recorded vote to close meetings and other information.

(a) The Board of Directors may decide to close a meeting, or a portion thereof, or to withhold information pertaining thereto, only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of its entire membership. A separate vote of the members will be taken with respect to each Association meeting, a portion or portions of which are proposed to be closed or with respect to any information which is proposed to be withheld under § 903.7.

(b) A single vote may be taken with respect to a series of meetings, all or portion of which are proposed to be closed to public observation, or with respect to any information concerning the series of meetings, if each meeting in the series involves the same matters and is scheduled to be held not more than 30 days after the first meeting in the series.

(c) Proxy votes are not allowed under this section.

(d) A written copy of any vote taken pursuant to § 903.7 to close a meeting, or portion thereof, reflecting the vote of each member in the Board of Directors on the question, shall be made publicly available within one day of such vote. The vote of each member of the Board of Directors to close a meeting, or portion thereof, must be made publicly available whether or not the vote results in closing the meeting.

(e) If a decision is made to close a meeting, portion of a meeting, or series of meetings, the Association will prepare a full written explanation of the closure action together with a list

of the names of persons expected to attend and stating the affiliation of each of those persons, and shall make such explanation publicly available within one day of that decision.

(f) If the disclosure of information required in § 903.8 (d) or (e) or in § 903.10(b) would reveal the information that the meeting was closed to protect, such information will not be disclosed.

§ 903.9 Certification by General Counsel.

(a) In each case that the Board of Directors has voted to close a meeting portion of a meeting, or series of meetings, the General Counsel of the Association shall, before the meeting or portion of meeting is closed, publicly certify that, in his opinion, the meeting may be closed to the public and the relevant provision of § 903.7(a) under which it may be closed.

(b) The Secretary of the association will retain a copy of each certification under this section, together with a statement of the presiding officer of the meeting setting forth the time and place of the meeting and listing the persons present.

§ 903.10 Requests by affected persons for closed meetings.

(a) Whenever a person whose interest may be directly affected by a meeting, portion of a meeting, or series of meetings requests closure for a reason stated in § 903.7(a) (5), (6), or (7), the Board of Directors shall upon the motion of any of its members, decide by recorded vote whether to grant that request.

(b) If a closure decision is made, the Association shall prepare a full written explanation of the action, a list of the persons expected to attend the meeting or meetings, and a statement of the affiliation of each of those persons and shall make such explanation and a copy of the recorded vote publicly available within one day of that decision.

§ 903.11 Providing information to the public.

(a) Information available to the public in accordance with this part will be posted in the Office of Public

§ 903.15

Records of closed meetings.

(a) The Secretary of the Association shall retain a record of each meeting or portion thereof that is closed pursuant to this part for two years or until one year after the conclusion of the proceeding with respect to which such meeting or portion thereof was held, whichever occurs later. The record may be a recording or a transcript, or in the case of a closure pursuant to § 903.7(a) (8), (9)(i)(A), or (10), minutes, a recording or transcript.