[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67397-67399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27621]
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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Proposed Guidance on Appointment of Lobbyists to Federal Boards
and Commissions
AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget.
ACTION: Notice of proposed guidance.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is issuing proposed
guidance to Executive Departments and agencies concerning the
appointment of federally registered lobbyists to boards and
commissions. On June 18, 2010, President Obama issued ``Lobbyists on
Agency Boards and Commissions,'' a memorandum directing agencies and
departments in the Executive Branch not to appoint or re-appoint
Federally registered lobbyists to advisory committees and other boards
and commissions. The Presidential Memorandum further directed the
Director of OMB to ``issue proposed guidance to implement this policy
to the full extent permitted by law.'' Final guidance will be issued by
OMB after a thirty-day public comment period on the proposed guidance.
The Presidential Memorandum is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-lobbyists-agency-boards-and-commissions.
Comment Date: OMB invites comments from interested parties in both
the public and private sectors to be considered in the formulation of
the final guidance. Interested parties should submit comments in
writing to the address below on or before 30 days from the publication
of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected].
Facsimile: (202) 395-7289.
Mail: Office of General Counsel, Eisenhower Executive
Office Building, Room 289, 1650 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20500.
A. Proposed Guidance
On June 18, 2010, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum
directing agencies in the Executive Branch not to appoint or re-appoint
Federally registered lobbyists to advisory committees and other boards
and commissions. That memorandum directed the Office of Management and
Budget to propose implementing guidance, which follows in the form of
questions and answers:
Q1: Who is affected by the policy directed in the June 18, 2010
Presidential Memorandum (the ``Memorandum'')?
A1: This policy applies to Federally registered lobbyists and does
not apply to individuals who are registered as lobbyists only at the
State level. A lobbyist for purposes of the Memorandum is any
individual who is subject to the registration and reporting
requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure
[[Page 67398]]
Act of 1995 (LDA), as amended, 2 U.S.C. 1605, at the time of
appointment or reappointment to an advisory board or commission.
Databases maintained by the House of Representatives and the Senate may
be helpful in identifying Federally registered lobbyists.\1\
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\1\ Lobbying Disclosure, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of
Representatives: http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov; LDA Reports,
U.S. Senate: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/Public_Disclosure/LDA_reports.htm.
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Any individual who previously served as a Federally registered
lobbyist may be appointed or re-appointed only if he or she has either
filed a bona fide de-registration or has been de-listed by his or her
employer as an active lobbyist reflecting the actual cessation of
lobbying activities or if they have not appeared on a quarterly
lobbying report for three consecutive quarters as a result of their
actual cessation of lobbying activities.
Q2: Does the policy restrict the appointment of individuals who are
themselves not Federally registered lobbyists but are employed by
organizations that engage in lobbying activities?
A2: The policy established by the Memorandum applies to Federally
registered lobbyists and does not apply to non-lobbyists employed by
organizations that lobby.
Q3: What entities constitute ``boards and commissions'' under the
policy?
A3: The policy directed in the Memorandum applies to any committee,
board, commission, council, delegation, conference, panel, task force,
or other similar group (or subgroup) created by the President, the
Congress, or an Executive Branch department or agency to serve a
specific function to which formal appointment is required, regardless
of whether it is subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended (5 U.S.C. App.). Boards and commissions include Federal
advisory committees.
Q4: Does the policy apply to non-Federal members of delegations to
international bodies?
A4: Delegations organized to present the Unites States' position to
international bodies are considered to be boards or commissions for the
purposes of this policy. Therefore, agencies should not appoint
Federally registered lobbyists to these delegations.
Q5: Which ``members'' of those boards and commissions are covered
by the policy?
A5: The policy applies to all members of boards and commissions who
are not full-time Federal employees, including both those who have been
designated to serve in a representative capacity on behalf of an
interested group or constituency and those who have been designated to
serve as Special Government Employees, and who are appointed by the
President or an Executive Branch agency or official. Members of boards
and commissions do not include individuals who are invited to attend
meetings of boards or commissions on an ad hoc basis.
Q6: How does the policy apply if a statute or presidential
directive provides for appointments to be made by State Governors or by
members of Congress?
A6: While the discretion of appointing authorities outside of the
Executive Branch will be respected, those appointing authorities should
be encouraged to appoint individuals who are not Federally registered
lobbyists whenever possible.
Q7: How does the policy apply when a statute or presidential
directive requires the appointment of a specific representative from an
organization and that representative is a Federally registered
lobbyist?
A7: The policy does not supersede board or commission membership
requirements established by statute or presidential directive.
Committee charters in effect at the time of the new policy that require
a lobbyist to be appointed as a member of the committee should,
wherever possible and at the earliest possible time, be amended to
remove that requirement, consistent with statutes and presidential
directives.
Q8: How will the guidance affect lobbyists who were serving on
boards and commissions at the time the policy was established?
A8: The prohibition on the appointment of Federally registered
lobbyists to boards and commissions established by the Memorandum
applies to appointments and re-appointments made after June 18, 2010.
In order to ensure that there is no disruption of ongoing work of
boards and commissions, Federally registered lobbyists who already were
serving on boards and commissions on that date may serve out the
remainder of their terms, but may not be reappointed so long as they
remain registered lobbyists.
Q9: Does this policy also restrict the participation of lobbyists
as members of a subcommittee or other work group that performs
preparatory work for its parent board or commission?
A9: Yes, the policy does not permit the appointment of Federally
registered lobbyists to a subcommittee or any other subgroup that
performs preparatory work for a parent board or commission, whether or
not its members are appointed in the same manner as are members to the
parent committee. The goal of the Memorandum is to restrict the undue
influence of lobbyists on Federal government through their membership
on boards and commissions, which would include subcommittees and other
bodies that require formal appointment.
Q10: Does this policy also restrict the participation of lobbyists
as witnesses or experts who appear before boards and commissions or
submit advice or materials to them?
A10: Lobbyists may still appear before or otherwise communicate
with a board or commission to provide testimony, information, or input
in the same manner as non-lobbyists who are not members of or
appointees to the board, commission, or any of its subgroups, to the
extent permitted by law and regulation. The purpose of the policy is to
prevent lobbyists from being in privileged positions in government. It
is not designed to prevent lobbyists or others from petitioning their
government. When lobbyists do testify, boards and commissions should
make reasonable efforts to ensure that they hear a balance of
perspectives and are not gathering information or advice exclusively
from registered lobbyists.
Q11: What should an agency do if it appoints to a board or
commission an individual who is not a Federally registered lobbyist at
the time of appointment, but who, after appointment, becomes a
Federally registered lobbyist?
A11: Agencies should make clear to all board and commission
members, whether appointed as representatives or Special Government
Employees, that their conduct of activities that would require them to
be Federally registered lobbyists after appointment would necessitate
their resignation or removal from membership on boards or commissions.
The appointing officers or their delegates shall ensure, at least
annually, that board or commission members are not Federally registered
lobbyists and, upon reappointment of the members, either shall require
each member to certify that he or she is not a Federally registered
lobbyist or shall check the Federal lobbyist databases to confirm that
each member has not registered as a lobbyist since appointment. If an
agency finds that, following appointment to a board or commission, a
member subsequently has become a Federally registered lobbyist or has
engaged in activities that would require registration, the agency shall
request the resignation of the member.
Q12: Will there be any waivers available for circumstances in which
a
[[Page 67399]]
Federally registered lobbyist possesses unique or exceptional value to
a board or commission?
A12: The policy makes no provisions for waivers, and waivers will
not be permitted under this policy.
Preeta D. Bansal,
OMB General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Management and
Budget.
[FR Doc. 2010-27621 Filed 11-1-10; 8:45 am]
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