ARTICLE 1
CREATION
The Social Security Advisory Board (referred to collectively herein as the "Board") is established by section 703 of the Social Security Act.
ARTICLE 2
COMPOSITION
The Board is composed of 7 members appointed to 6-year terms, as follows: 3 appointed by the President (no more than 2 from the same political party), by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; 2 each (no more than 1 from the same political party) by the Speaker of the House (in consultation with the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Ways and Means) and by the President pro tempore of the Senate (in consultation with the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Finance).
Each member of the Board serves for a term of 6 years, except that (1) a member appointed to a term of office after the commencement of such term may serve under such appointment only for the remainder of such term; and (2) the terms of service of the members initially appointed began on October 1, 1994, and expire as follows: those appointed by the President expire as designated by the President at the time of nomination, 1 each at the end of 2 years, 4 years, and 6 years. The terms of service of members initially appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate expire as designated by the President pro tempore of the Senate at the time of nomination, 1 each at the end of 3 years and 6 years. The terms of service of members initially appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives expire as designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the time of nomination, 1 each at the end of 4 years and 5 years.
When carrying out the duties of the office, a member of the Board is performing work on behalf of the U. S. government and does not represent any private organization or institution with which the member may otherwise be affiliated.
ARTICLE 3
CHAIR
The President designates a member of the Board to serve as Chair for a term of 4 years, coincident with the term of the President, or until the designation of a successor. The Chair may designate another member of the Board to act as chair of a meeting of the Board in the absence of the Chair.
ARTICLE 4
WORKING GROUPS
The Chair of the Board may establish Working Groups to conduct studies on subjects that are of particular interest to the Board. Working Groups will be bipartisan and will be comprised of those members who choose to participate. They will not be voting bodies, but will serve in an advisory capacity to the full Board. Board members who are not in a Working Group may participate in such activities of that Working Group as they choose. The Chair of the Board will appoint the Chair of a Working Group. A Working Group will meet at the call of the Chair of the Working Group.
ARTICLE 5
MEETINGS
SECTION 1 - PLACE AND FREQUENCY
The Board shall meet at the call of the Chair (in consultation with the other members of the Board) not less than 4 times each year to consider a specific agenda of issues, as determined by the Chair in consultation with the other members of the Board. Meetings shall be held in the Board's conference room, unless otherwise determined by the Chair.
SECTION 2 - NOTICE OF MEETINGS
Members of the Board shall receive a written notice not less than 7 days before the date of a meeting. The notice shall contain a summary of the agenda and the place, date, and time of the meeting. Notice of public meetings shall also be posted on the Board's home page in order to inform the public of Board proceedings. In exceptional circumstances, the Board may give less than 7 days notice, provided that the reasons for doing so are included in the meeting notice.
Board meetings shall be open to the public. Meetings not subject to this requirement include meetings of the Board and the Commissioner of Social Security or one or more other Federal official(s) for the purpose of exchanging facts or information and hearing the views of individual attendees; meetings of the Advisory Board or of two or more members that are convened solely to gather information or conduct research on behalf of the Board, to analyze relevant issues and facts, or to draft proposed position papers or reports for consideration by the Board; and meetings of the Board for the purpose of attending to Board administrative arrangements.
Interested persons shall be permitted to appear before the Board. Individuals who wish to appear before the Board shall notify the Board in advance so that their appearance may be scheduled. The Board will also receive and give consideration to written communications from the Executive Branch, the Congress, and the public and respond appropriately.
SECTION 3 - QUORUM AND TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS
Four members of the Board (not more than 3 of whom may be of the same political party) shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business at any meeting. Each member shall have one vote. The votes of a majority of the Board present and voting shall be necessary for adoption by the Board of any action. Voting shall be by oral vote unless on any matter a member requests voting by written ballot.
The Board may, in accordance with this section, vote to take up items not on the proposed agenda.
SECTION 4 - ABSENCE FROM MEETINGS
A member of the Board who is absent from a meeting of the Board may vote at the meeting if the member provides a proxy to the Chair of the Board prior to or at the time of the meeting. A member who is absent from a meeting may give consent to, or register dissent from, any action adopted by the Board at the meeting if the member provides notice of consent or dissent with the Chair of the Board within five days of the meeting.
SECTION 5 - MINUTES OF MEETINGS
The Chair of the Board shall ensure that minutes of each Board meeting are kept. Minutes of open meetings shall include: time, date, and place; a list of the persons who were present, including Board members and staff, Executive Branch employees, and members of the public who presented oral or written statements; an estimated number of other members of the public present; a description of each matter discussed and the resolution, if any, made by the Board; and copies of each report or other document received or approved by the Board. The Chair shall certify to the accuracy of all minutes of meetings. The Board shall make available to any person, at actual cost of duplication, copies of Board minutes.
ARTICLE 6
ACTION BETWEEN MEETINGS
SECTION 1-ACTION PURSUANT TO DIRECTION AT A MEETING
The Chair may determine, by the vote of a majority of duly appointed members, to conduct a vote on a proposed action without a meeting. If the Chair so determines, the Chair shall transmit to the members information relating to the proposed action, and a call for a vote thereon. The proposed action shall be adopted by the votes of a majority of the duly appointed members of the Board, but shall not become effective until the earlier of the receipt of votes from all serving members or thirty days from the date of request for a vote.
SECTION 2-LIMITATION
The procedure described in this Article may not be used with respect to actions proposed under Article 11 of these By-Laws.
ARTICLE 7
DUTIES
SECTION 1 - DUTIES OF THE BOARD
The duties of the Board are specified in section 703 of the Social Security Act.
SECTION 2 - DUTIES OF THE CHAIR
In addition to the duties specified in Section 1 of Article 5, the Chair of the Board shall:
* preside at all meetings of the Board, except as otherwise provided in Article 3;
* conduct all meetings in accordance with these By-Laws;
* take the actions required in order for the Board to act between meetings; and
* take such other action as is necessary for the efficient functioning of the Board.
SECTION 3 - FIRST ASSISTANT
In the event that the Chair of the Board dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office (including such inability as a result of the expiration of the Chair’s term of office as a member of the Board), such functions and duties shall be temporarily exercised in an acting capacity by the first assistant to the Chair to the extent such action is not inconsistent with law. For purposes of this section, the first assistant to the Chair shall be that member of the Board who is of the same party as the then President of the United States and who has had the longest period of service on the Board.
ARTICLE 8
REPORTS
SECTION 1 - PREPARATION
The Board shall prepare and approve reports to the President, the Congress, and the Commissioner on subjects that are related to the functions of the Board as specified in section 703(b) of the Social Security Act. Reports may include minority or supplemental views. Reports will be made available to the public.
SECTION 2 - ADOPTION
The Reports shall be adopted by the vote of a majority of the duly appointed members of the Board.
SECTION 3 - MINORITY AND SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS
Any member of the Board may submit minority or supplemental views to the Chair of the Board within 7 days of the vote adopting the report. Timely submitted views shall be printed with the report.
ARTICLE 9
PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY
The Board shall prepare annual reports on its budget and on the activities of the Board which shall be made available to the public.
ARTICLE 10
STAFF DIRECTOR
The Board shall appoint a staff director who shall serve as the chief operating officer of the Board and who shall have the responsibility of carrying out the day-to-day operations of the Board.
ARTICLE 11
AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS
These By-Laws may be repealed, altered, or amended only by consent of all duly appointed members of the Board then serving. A copy of any proposed amendment shall be filed with the Chair and shall be sent to each member of the Board with the notice announcing the meeting at which the proposed amendment will be considered. Adoption of a proposed amendment shall be deemed to waive any notice required by this Article.