[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)

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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

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    (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