§1445a. Advisory Councils

(a) Establishment

The Secretary may establish one or more advisory councils (in this section referred to as an "Advisory Council") to provide assistance to the Secretary regarding the designation and management of national marine sanctuaries. The Advisory Councils shall be exempt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

(b) Membership

Members of the Advisory Councils may be appointed from among-

(1) persons employed by Federal or State agencies with expertise in management of natural resources;

(2) members of relevant Regional Fishery Management Councils established under section 1852 of this title; and

(3) representatives of local user groups, conservation and other public interest organizations, scientific organizations, educational organizations, or others interested in the protection and multiple use management of sanctuary resources.

(c) Limits on membership

For sanctuaries designated after November 4, 1992, the membership of Advisory Councils shall be limited to no more than 15 members.

(d) Staffing and assistance

The Secretary may make available to an Advisory Council any staff, information, administrative services, or assistance the Secretary determines are reasonably required to enable the Advisory Council to carry out its functions.

(e) Public participation and procedural matters

The following guidelines apply with respect to the conduct of business meetings of an Advisory Council:

(1) Each meeting shall be open to the public, and interested persons shall be permitted to present oral or written statements on items on the agenda.

(2) Emergency meetings may be held at the call of the chairman or presiding officer.

(3) Timely notice of each meeting, including the time, place, and agenda of the meeting, shall be published locally and in the Federal Register, except that in the case of a meeting of an Advisory Council established to provide assistance regarding any individual national marine sanctuary the notice is not required to be published in the Federal Register.

(4) Minutes of each meeting shall be kept and contain a summary of the attendees and matters discussed.

(Pub. L. 92–532, title III, §315, as added Pub. L. 102–587, title II, §2112, Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 5046 ; amended Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, §101(a) [title II, §211(b)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009 , 3009-41; Pub. L. 104–283, §§5, 9(f), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3363 , 3368.)

References in Text

The Federal Advisory Committee Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 92–463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 770 , as amended, which is set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Amendments

1996-Pub. L. 104–283, §9(f), made technical amendment to directory language of Pub. L. 102–587, §2112, which added this section.

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 104–208 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 1852 of this title.

Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 104–283, §5, inserted before period at end ", except that in the case of a meeting of an Advisory Council established to provide assistance regarding any individual national marine sanctuary the notice is not required to be published in the Federal Register".

Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

Section 101(a) [title II, §211(b)] of div. A of Pub. L. 104–208 provided that the amendment made by that section is effective 15 days after Oct. 11, 1996.