50 CFR § 453.04 - Committee information gathering.

§ 453.04 Committee information gathering.

(a) Written submissions. When the Chairman or four Committee members decide that written submissions are necessary to enable the Committee to make its final determinations, the Chairman shall publish a notice in the Federal Register inviting written submissions from interested persons. The notice shall include: (1) The address to which such submissions are to be sent; (2) the deadline for such submissions; and (3) a statement of the type of information needed.

(b) Public hearing.

(1) When the Chairman or four Committee members decide that oral presentations are necessary to enable the Committee to make its final determinations, a public hearing shall be held.

(2) The public hearing shall be conducted by (i) the Committee or (ii) a member of the Committee or other person, designated by the Chairman or by four members of the Committee.

(3) Notice. The Chairman shall publish in the Federal Register a general notice of a public hearing, stating the time, place and nature of the public hearing.

(4) Procedure. The public hearing shall be open to the public and conducted in an informal manner. All information relevant to the Committee's final determinations shall be admissible, subject to the imposition of reasonable time limitations on oral testimony.

(5) Transcript. Public hearings will be recorded verbatim and a transcript thereof will be available for public inspection.