[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4618-4621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2283]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 600
[Docket No. 970527125-8016-03; I.D. 122297D]
RIN: 0648-AJ95
Appointment of Members to the Regional Fishery Management
Councils
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend guidelines contained at 50 CFR
600.215 that affect the nomination of obligatory and at-large members
appointed by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to the eight
Regional Fishery Management Councils (RFMCs).
DATES: Comments must be received by March 2, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Dr. Gary C. Matlock, F/SF, NMFS,
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loretta E. Williams, F/SF5, NMFS, 301-
713-2337.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 302(b)(2)(C) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) establishes procedures for
the nomination and appointment of RFMC members. On October 11, 1996,
President Clinton signed into law the Sustainable Fisheries Act which,
in pertinent part, amended the Magnuson-Stevens Act by adding a new
seat on the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). The seat is
to be held by a representative from an Indian tribe with federally
recognized fishing rights from the States of California, Oregon,
Washington, or Idaho (section 302(b)(5)(A)). On September 10, 1997,
NMFS issued a final rule (62 FR 47584) to revise the regulations
contained at 50 CFR 600.215. The final rule introduced into
Sec. 600.215 new procedures applicable to the nomination and
appointment of a tribal Indian representative to the Council. This
proposed revision reorganizes text contained in the final rule into
more a logical order and makes editorial changes for readability. It
also reemphasizes the requirement for each RFMC constituent State
Governor, tribal Indian governments, and each RFMC nominee to comply
with the March 15 nomination deadline, by which time each completed
nomination package is to be received by the NMFS Assistant
Administrator.
Obligatory seats for which completed nomination packages are not
received by March 15 will remain unfilled until the nominators and
nominees have furnished all required information. If complete
nomination packages for at-large seats are not received by March 15,
they will be returned and will not be processed further; the
appointments will be made from among nominees
[[Page 4619]]
whose complete packages were received by the deadline.
Classification
The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of
the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted,
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities. This proposed rule would (1) reorganize procedures and
improve readability of procedures affecting the nomination and
appointment of RFMC members, and (2) clarify and emphasize guidelines
that relate to the compliance by RFMC constituent State Governors,
appropriate tribal Indian governments, and each RFMC nominee for the
submission of complete nomination packages by the March 15 deadline
identified in the section. Because this rule is procedural only, it
will not have an economic impact on the fishing industry or on small
entities operating in the fishery.
This rule restates collection-of-information requirements subject
to review and approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
They have been approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0314. The total
public reporting burden for nominations submitted by state Governors,
tribal Indian Governments, and nominees is estimated to be 120 hours,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information. Send comments on these or any
other aspects of the collection of information to the Office of
Sustainable Fisheries (see ADDRESSES) and to OMB at the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, D.C. 20503 (Attention: NOAA Desk Officer).
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA unless that collection of information displays
a currently valid OMB Control Number.
This rule has been determined to be not significant for the
purposes of E.O. 12866.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 600
Administrative practice and procedure, Confidential business
information, Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, Foreign relations,
Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Statistics.
Dated: January 26, 1998.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 50 CFR 600 is proposed
to be amended as follows:
PART 600-MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT PROVISIONS
1. The authority citation for part 600 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 561 and 16 U.S.C. 1801 et. seq.
2. Section 600.215 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 600.215 Council nomination and appointment procedures.
(a) General. (1) Each year, the 3-year terms for approximately one-
third of the appointed members of the Councils expire. New members will
be appointed, or seated members will be reappointed to another term, by
the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to fill the seats being vacated.
(2) There are two categories of seats to which voting members are
appointed: ``Obligatory'' and ``at-large.''
(i) Obligatory seats are state-specific. Each constituent state is
entitled to one seat on the Council on which it is a member, except
that the State of Alaska is entitled to five seats, and the State of
Washington is entitled to two seats on the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council. When the term of a state's obligatory member is
expiring or when that seat becomes vacant before the expiration of its
term, the Governor of that state must submit the names of at least
three qualified individuals to fill that Council seat.
(ii) The Magnuson-Stevens Act also provides for appointment, by the
Secretary, of one treaty Indian tribal representative to the Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council). To fill that seat, the
Secretary solicits written nominations from the heads of governments of
those Indian Tribes with federally recognized fishing rights from the
States of California, Oregon, Washington, or Idaho. The list of
nominees must contain a total of at least three individuals who are
knowledgeable and experienced regarding the fishery resources under the
authority of the Pacific Council. The Secretary will appoint one tribal
Indian representative from this list to the Pacific Council for a term
of 3 years and rotate the appointment among the tribes.
(iii) At-large seats are regional. When the term of an at-large
member is expiring or when that seat becomes vacant before the
expiration of a term, the Governors of all constituent states of that
Council must each submit the names of at least three qualified
individuals to fill the seat.
(b) Responsibilities of State Governors. (1) Council members are
selected by the Secretary from lists of nominees submitted by Governors
of the constituent states pursuant to section 302(b)(2)(C) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. For each applicable vacancy, a Governor must
submit the names of at least three nominees who meet the qualification
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. A Governor must provide a
statement explaining how each of his/her nominees meet the
qualification requirements, and must also provide appropriate
documentation to the Secretary that each nomination was made in
consultation with commercial and recreational fishing interests of that
state; and that each nominee is knowledgeable and experienced by reason
of his or her occupational or other experience, scientific expertise,
or training in one or more of the following ways related to the fishery
resources of the geographical area of concern to the Council:
(i) Commercial fishing or the processing or marketing of fish, fish
products, or fishing equipment;
(ii) Fishing for pleasure, relaxation, or consumption, or
experience in any business supporting fishing;
(iii) Leadership in a state, regional, or national organization
whose members participate in a fishery in the Council's area of
authority;
(iv) The management and conservation of natural resources,
including related interactions with industry, government bodies,
academic institutions, and public agencies. This includes experience
serving as a member of a Council, Advisory Panel, Scientific and
Statistical Committee, or Fishing Industry Advisory Committee;
(v) Representing consumers of fish or fish products through
participation in local, state, or national organizations, or performing
other activities specifically related to the education or protection of
consumers of marine resources; or
(vi) Teaching, journalism, writing, consulting, practicing law, or
researching matters related to fisheries, fishery management, and
marine resource conservation.
(2) To assist in identifying qualifications, each nominee must
furnish to the appropriate Governor's office a current resume, or
equivalent, describing career history--with particular attention to
experience related to the criteria in paragraph (b)(1)
[[Page 4620]]
of this section. Nominees may provide such information in any format
they wish.
(3) A constituent State Governor must determine the state of
residency of each of his/her nominees. A Governor may not nominate a
non-resident of that state for appointment to a Council seat obligated
to that state. A Governor may nominate residents of another constituent
state of a Council for appointment to an at-large seat on that Council.
(4) If, at any time during a term, a member changes residency to
another state that is not a constituent state of that Council, or a
member appointed to an obligatory seat changes residency to any other
state, the member may no longer vote and must resign from the Council.
For purposes of this paragraph, a state resident is an individual who
maintains his/her principal residence within that constituent state and
who, if applicable, pays income taxes to that state and/or to another
appropriate jurisdiction within that state.
(5) When the terms of both an obligatory member and an at-large
member expire concurrently, the Governor of the state holding the
expiring obligatory seat may indicate that the nominees who were not
selected for appointment to the obligatory seat may be considered for
appointment to an at-large seat. The Secretary may select from any of
the nominees for such obligatory seat and from the nominees for any at-
large seat submitted by the Governor of that state, provided that the
resulting total number of nominees submitted by that Governor for the
expiring seats is no fewer than six. If a total of fewer than six
nominees is submitted by the Governor, each of the six will be
considered for the expiring obligatory seat, but not for the expiring
at-large seat.
(c) Responsibilities of eligible tribal Indian governments. The
tribal Indian representative on the Pacific Council will be selected by
the Secretary from a list of no fewer than three individuals submitted
by the tribal Indian governments with federally recognized fishing
rights from California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, pursuant to
section 302(b)(5) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. To assist in assessing
the qualifications of each nominee, each head of an appropriate tribal
Indian government must furnish to the Assistant Administrator a current
resume, or equivalent, describing the nominee's qualifications, with
emphasis on knowledge and experience related to the fishery resources
affected by recommendations of the Pacific Council. Prior service on
the Pacific Council in a different capacity will not disqualify
nominees proposed by tribal Indian governments.
(d) Nomination deadlines. Nomination letters and completed kits
must be forwarded by express mail under a single mailing to the address
specified by the Assistant Administrator by March 15. For appointments
outside the normal cycle, a different deadline for receipt of
nominations will be announced.
(1) Obligatory seats. The Governor of the state for which the term
of an obligatory seat is expiring must submit the names of at least
three qualified individuals to fill that seat by the March 15 deadline.
The Secretary will appoint to the Pacific Council a representative of
an Indian tribe from a list of no fewer than three individuals
submitted by the tribal Indian governments. If the nominator fails to
provide a nomination letter and at least three complete nomination kits
by March 15, the obligatory seat will remain vacant until all required
information has been received and processed and the Secretary has made
the appointment.
(2) At-large seats. (i) If a Governor chooses to submit nominations
for an at-large seat, he/she must submit lists that contain at least
three different qualified nominees for each vacant seat. A nomination
letter and at least three complete nomination kits must be forwarded by
express mail under a single mailing to the address specified by the
Assistant Administrator.
(ii) Nomination packages that are incomplete as of March 15 will be
returned to the nominating Governor and will not be processed further.
At-large members will be appointed from among the nominations submitted
by the Governors who complied with the nomination requirements and the
March 15 deadline.
(e) Responsibilities of the Secretary. (1) The Secretary must, to
the extent practicable, ensure a fair and balanced apportionment, on a
rotating or other basis, of the active participants (or their
representatives) in the commercial and recreational fisheries in the
Council's area of authority. Further, the Secretary must take action to
ensure, to the extent practicable, that those persons dependent for
their livelihood upon the fisheries in the Council's area of authority
are fairly represented as voting members on the Councils.
(2) The Secretary will review each list submitted by a Governor or
the tribal Indian governments to ascertain whether the individuals on
the list are qualified for the vacancy. If the Secretary determines
that a nominee is not qualified, the Secretary will notify the
appropriate Governor or tribal Indian government of that determination.
The Governor or tribal Indian government shall then submit a revised
list of nominees or resubmit the original list with an additional
explanation of the qualifications of the nominee in question. The
Secretary reserves the right to determine whether nominees are
qualified.
(3) The Secretary will select the appointees from lists of
qualified nominees provided by the Governors of the constituent Council
states or the tribal Indian governments that are eligible to nominate
candidates for that vacancy.
(i) For Governor-nominated seats, the Secretary will select an
appointee for an obligatory seat from the list of qualified nominees
submitted by the Governor of the state. In filling expiring at-large
seats, the Secretary will select an appointee(s) for an at-large
seat(s) from the list of all qualified candidates submitted. The
Secretary will consider only complete slates of nominees submitted by
the Governors of the Council's constituent states. When an appointed
member vacates his/her seat prior to the expiration of his/her term,
the Secretary will fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term by
selecting from complete nomination letters and kits that are timely and
contain the required number of candidates.
(ii) For the tribal Indian seat, the Secretary will solicit
nominations of individuals for the list referred to in paragraph (c) of
this section only from those Indian tribes with federally recognized
fishing rights from California, Oregon, Washington, or Idaho. The
Secretary will consult with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of
the Interior, to determine which Indian tribes may submit nominations.
Any vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of any term shall be
filled in the same manner as described in paragraphs (d)(1) and (2) of
this section, except that the Secretary may use the list referred to in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section from which the vacating member was
chosen. The Secretary shall rotate the appointment among the tribes,
taking into consideration:
(A) The qualifications of the individuals on the list referred to
in paragraph (c) of this section;
(B) The various rights of the Indian tribes involved, and judicial
cases that set out the manner in which these rights are to be
exercised;
(C) The geographic area in which the tribe of the representative is
located; and
[[Page 4621]]
(D) The limitation that no tribal Indian representative shall serve
more than three consecutive terms in the Indian tribal seat.
[FR Doc. 98-2283 Filed 1-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F