[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 95 (Tuesday, May 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29855-29856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10534]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Intent To 
Request a New Collection: Qualification Information for Candidates to 
Advisory Committees and Subcommittees

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or 
``CFTC'') is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the 
proposed collection of qualification information for advisory committee 
and subcommittee candidates by the agency. Under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (``PRA''), Federal agencies are required to publish 
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of 
information, and to allow 60 days for public comment.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by subject matter 
``Qualification Information for Candidates to Advisory Committees and 
Subcommittees,'' and by any of the following methods:
     The Agency's website, at http://comments.cftc.gov/. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments through the website.
     Mail: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the 
Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette 
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as Mail above.
    Please submit your comments using only one method. All comments 
must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English 
translation. Comments will be posted as received to https://www.cftc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Ghim, Legal Division, 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1151 21st 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20581; (202) 418-5667; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., 
Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (``OMB'') for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. ``Collection of Information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) 
and 5 CFR 1320.3 and includes agency requests or requirements that 
members of the public obtain or report information. Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), requires Federal 
agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning 
each proposed collection of information, before submitting the 
collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the 
CFTC is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information 
listed below. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.\1\
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    \1\ 44 U.S.C. 3512, 5 CFR 1320.5(b)(2)(i) and 1320.8 (b)(3)(vi).
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    Title: ``Qualification Information for Candidates to Advisory 
Committees and Subcommittees.'' This is a request for a new OMB control 
number.
    Abstract: The CFTC's advisory committees were created to provide 
input and make recommendations to the Commission on a variety of 
regulatory and market issues that affect the integrity and 
competitiveness of U.S. derivatives markets. The committees facilitate 
communication between the Commission and U.S. derivatives markets, 
trading firms, market participants, and end users. The CFTC currently 
has five advisory committees. The Energy and Environmental Markets 
Advisory Committee was established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 
and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, and subsequently 
codified in the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq., at 7 U.S.C. 
2(a)(15), and is not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(FACA), Public Law 92-463 codified as 5 U.S.C. App. 2. The Agricultural 
Advisory Committee, Global Markets Advisory Committee, Market Risk 
Advisory Committee, and the Technology Advisory Committee are 
discretionary committees under the FACA. The Commission also 
establishes subcommittees that report to advisory committees as needed. 
Advisory committee and subcommittee members are generally 
representatives, but depending on the issues to be addressed, the 
Commission will appoint special government employees and officials from 
other federal agencies from time to time. Representatives provide the 
viewpoints of entities or recognizable groups, and they are expected to 
represent a particular and known bias. On the other hand, special 
government employees are expected to provide their own independent 
judgment in committee deliberations and are expected to discuss and 
deliberate in a manner that is free from conflicts of interest.\2\ 
Advisory committee and subcommittee members generally serve 2, 3 or 4-
year terms, and appointments are made following the establishment of a 
new subcommittee or as committee or subcommittee vacancies arise.
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    \2\ 18 U.S.C. 202(a).
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    The CFTC identifies candidates for advisory committee and 
subcommittee membership through a variety of methods, including public 
requests for nominations; recommendations from existing advisory 
committee members;

[[Page 29856]]

consultations with knowledgeable persons outside the CFTC (industry, 
consumer groups, other state or federal government agencies, academia, 
etc.); requests to be represented received from individuals and 
organizations; and Commissioners' and CFTC staff's professional 
knowledge of those experienced in the derivatives and underlying 
commodities markets. Following the identification process, the CFTC 
develops a list of proposed members with the relevant points of view 
needed to ensure membership balance. The Commission then votes to 
appoint individuals, or specified organizations, to serve.\3\
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    \3\ Appendix A to Subpart C of 41 CFR 102-3, the Federal 
Advisory Committee Management Final Rule notes that the FACA (5 
U.S.C. App. 2) does not specify the manner in which advisory 
committee members and staff must be appointed.
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    The collection of information is necessary to support the CFTC 
Advisory Committee Program which includes committees, most of which are 
governed by the FACA, and subcommittees that report directly to the 
CFTC FACA committees, as noted above. Pursuant to the FACA, an agency 
must ensure that a committee is balanced with respect to the viewpoints 
represented and the functions to be performed by that committee. 
Consistent with this, in order to select individuals for potential 
membership on an advisory committee, the CFTC must determine that 
potential members are qualified to serve on an advisory committee and 
that the viewpoints are properly balanced on the committee. The CFTC is 
also required to ensure that committee members are properly designated 
as special government employees or representatives.\4\ While CFTC 
subcommittees are not subject to the FACA, the selection process for 
subcommittee members who are not already serving on the parent 
committee is similar to that of new committee members. Additionally, 
the agency follows similar member selection procedures for the agency's 
non-FACA committee.
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    \4\ See, OGE DO-04X9, DO-04-022, and DO-05-012.
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    CFTC staff would use the information collected to determine the 
experience and expertise of potential advisory committee and 
subcommittee members, ensure that the membership on a committee or 
subcommittee is balanced, and ensure that committee and subcommittee 
members are properly designated as representatives or special 
government employees.
    The CFTC seeks to collect the following information: Information 
that supports an individual's experience and expertise to serve on an 
advisory committee or subcommittee, including letters of interest, 
recommendation letters, nomination letters (including self-
nominations), resumes, curriculum vitae or other similar biographical 
information document. Additionally, information that ensures membership 
balance (e.g., represented viewpoint category) and appropriate 
designation of an individual as either a representative or special 
government employee.
    With respect to the collection of information, the CFTC invites 
comments on:
     Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Commission, including whether the information will have a practical 
use;
     The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
     Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of collection of information 
on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    You should submit only information that you wish to make available 
publicly. If you wish the Commission to consider information that you 
believe is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 
a petition for confidential treatment of the exempt information may be 
submitted according to the procedures established in Sec.  145.9 of the 
Commission's regulations.\5\
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    \5\ 17 CFR 145.9.
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    The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to 
review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse or remove any or all of your 
submission from http://www.cftc.gov that it may deem to be 
inappropriate for publication, such as obscene language. All 
submissions that have been redacted or removed that contain comments on 
the merits of the Information Collection Request will be retained in 
the public comment file and will be considered as required under the 
Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable laws, and may be 
accessible under the Freedom of Information Act.
    Burden Statement: The respondent burden for this collection is 
estimated to be as follows:
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 91.
    Estimated Average Burden Hours Per Respondent: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 91 hours.
    Frequency of Collection: As needed.
    There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs 
associated with this collection.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)

    Dated: May 12, 2022.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-10534 Filed 5-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P