[Federal Register: February 28, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 39)]
[Notices]
[Page 9034-9035]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28fe07-97]
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NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
National Endowment for the Arts; Determination of the Chairperson
of the National Endowment for the Arts as to Certain Advisory
Committees: Public Disclosure of Information and Activities
The National Endowment for the Arts utilizes advice and
recommendations of advisory committees in carrying out many of its
functions and activities.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (Pub. L. 92-463),
governs the formation, use, conduct, management, and accessibility to
the public of committees formed to advise and assist the Federal
Government. Section 10 of the Act specifies that department and agency
heads shall make adequate provisions for participation by the public in
the activities of advisory committees, except to the extent a
determination is made in writing by the department or agency head that
a portion of an advisory committee meeting may be closed to the public
in accordance with subsection (c) of section 552b of Title 5, United
States Code (the Government in the Sunshine Act).
It is the policy of the National Endowment for the Arts to make the
fullest possible disclosure of records to the public, limited only by
obligations of confidentiality and administrative necessity. Consistent
with this policy, meetings of the following Endowment advisory
committees will be open to the public except for portions dealing with
the review, discussion, evaluation, and/or ranking of grant
applications: Arts Advisory Panel and the Federal Advisory Committee on
International Exhibitions.
The portions of the meetings involving the review, discussion,
evaluation and ranking of grant applications may be closed to the
public for the following reasons:
The Endowment Advisory Committees listed above review and discuss
applications for financial assistance. While the majority of
applications received by the agency are submitted by organizations, all
of the applications contain the names of and personal information
relating to individuals who will be working on the proposed project. In
reviewing the applications, committee members discuss the abilities of
the listed individuals in their fields, the reputations of the listed
individuals among their colleagues, the ability of the listed
individuals to carry through on projects they start, and their
background and performance. Consideration of these matters is essential
to the review of the artistic excellence and artistic merit of an
application.
Consequently, in the interest of meeting our obligation to consider
artistic excellence and artistic merit when reviewing applications for
financial assistance:
It is hereby determined in accordance with the provisions of
section 10(d) of the Act that the disclosure of information regarding
the review, discussion, and evaluation of applications for financial
assistance as outlined herein is likely to disclose information of a
personal nature the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
Therefore, in light of the above, I have determined that the above
referenced meetings or portions thereof, devoted to review, discussion,
evaluation, and/or ranking of applications for financial assistance may
be closed to the public in accordance with subsection (c)(6) of section
552b of Title 5, United States Code.
The staff of each committee shall prepare a summary of any meeting
or portion not open to the public within three (3) business days
following the conclusion of the meeting of the National Council on the
Arts considering applications recommended by such committees. The
summaries shall be consistent with the considerations that justified
the closing of the meetings.
All other portions of the meetings of these advisory committees
shall be open to the public unless the Chairperson of the National
Endowment for the Arts or a designee determines otherwise in accordance
with section 10(d) of the Act.
The Panel Coordinator shall be responsible for publication in the
Federal Register or, as appropriate, in local media, of a notice of all
advisory committee meetings. Such notice shall be published in advance
of the meetings and contain:
1. Name of the committee and its purposes;
2. Date and time of the meeting, and, if the meeting is open to the
public, its location and agenda; and
3. A statement that the meeting is open to the public, or, if the
meeting or any portion thereof is not to be open to the public, a
statement to that effect.
The Panel Coordinator is designated as the person from whom lists
of committee members may be obtained and from whom minutes of open
meetings or open portions thereof may be requested.
Guidelines
Any interested person may attend meetings of advisory committees
that are open to the public.
Members of the public attending a meeting will be permitted to
participate in the committee's discussion at the discretion of the
chairperson of the committee, if the chairperson is a full-time Federal
employee; if the chairperson is not a full-time Federal employee then
public participation will be permitted at the chairperson's discretion
with the approval of the full-time Federal employee in attendance at
the meeting in compliance with the order.
[[Page 9035]]
Dated: February 21, 2007.
Kathy Plowitz-Worden,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. E7-3412 Filed 2-27-07; 8:45 am]
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