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308.1 - Committee Management - Objectives and Responsibilities

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Date: 12/5/1988

OPR: Administration/Office of Facilities and Management Services

 

1. Purpose. This chapter defines the USGS Committee Management Program and assigns responsibilities for its operation. It also provides procedural guidelines for effective committee management and conformance to Departmental objectives (308 DM 1).

2. Definitions.

A. Committee. Any commission, council, board, conference, panel, task force, or other similar group, established or used for coordinating plans or programs, conducting studies or reviews, providing advice, or performing other related activities.

B. Advisory Committee subject to the Act means any committee, board, commission, council, conference, panel, task force, or other similar group, or any subcommittee or other subgroup thereof, which is established by statute, or established or utilized by the President or any agency official for the purpose of obtaining advice or recommendations on issues or policies which are within the scope of their responsibilities.

C. Interagency Committee. A committee made up of full-time officers or employees of two or more departments or agencies of the Federal Government.

D. Departmental (Intra-agency) Committee. A committee established by a Secretarial officer or other official authorized to create a Departmental committee, and composed wholly of employees from two or more bureaus or offices of the Department.

E. Intrabureau Committee. A committee established by the head of a bureau or office of the Department and composed entirely of employees of that bureau or office.

F. Intergovernmental Committee. A committee composed of representatives of Federal, State and/or local governments.

G. Act means the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C., Appendix.

3. Policy. It is the policy of the USGS to pursue a committee management program consistent with the provisions of Departmental regulations (308 DM 1-8) which:

A. Avoid the establishment of duplicative and un necessary committees and terminates those no longer serving a useful purpose.

B. Provide for systematic recording and availability of basic information concerning committees.

C. Ensure that committees will not be used to administer or conduct a function which is the assigned responsibility of an organizational entity of the USGS.

4. Responsibility.

A. The Director, USGS, has responsibility for establishing a committee management program which meets the requirements of 308 DM 1-8.

B. The USGS Committee Management Officer (CMO), Office of Facilities and Management Services, is responsible for the following:

(1) Providing staff leadership and support for the USGS Committee Management Program.

(2) Reviewing proposed committee management actions which require the Director's or Departmental approval.

(3) Coordinating actions which maintain the Bureau's compliance with advisory committee review and reporting requirements.

(4) Maintaining liaison where appropriate with the Department Committee Management Officer.

(5) Monitoring committee operations to determine compliance with 308 DM 1-8.

5. Procedure.

A. Advisory, Interagency, Departmental and Intergovernmental Committees. Whenever such a committee is planned, consult immediately with the Committee Management Officer, at Mail Stop 208, Room 1C112, extension 7312.

Proposals for the establishment of such committees, after concurrence by the Director, will be approved/disapproved by the Secretary or an appropriate Secretarial Officer.

B. USGS Committees.

(1) Establishment. Formal Survey committees will be established by Survey Manual chapters. On occasion, committees of an "ad hoc" type may be established by memorandum, either signed by the Director or with Director's approval. Offices proposing the establishment of intrabureau committees to provide advice, evaluate programs, develop project plans and operating procedures, conduct studies or reviews, coordinate program activities, make determinations or other such consultative services, will prepare a memorandum to the Director with a copy to the USGS Committee Management Officer describing the need for, and scope of, the proposed committee and alternatives considered in lieu of the committee. Additionally, the following will be addressed:

(a) Statement of purpose

(b) Proposed membership

(c) Tenure of members

(d) Schedule of meetings

(e) Required reports, recordkeeping

(f) Duration of committee

(2) Renewal. If there is a need to continue a committee beyond the date specified at establishment, a request for renewal must be submitted for Director's approval (copy to CMO).

(3) Termination. A committee will terminate on the date specified at establishment. Should the need for a committee cease before that date, a request to terminate (copy to CMO) will be submitted for Director's approval.

C. Membership and Expenses. The members of intrabureau committees will be employees of the bureau forming the committee. Selection of an individual as a committee member will be based on their ability to provide information relating to the business of the committee. Each Division's representative selected for service on any committee will reflect their Division's policy on all problems under consideration. They are responsible for keeping the interested divisional officials informed on actions taken by the committee. Service on intrabureau committees will be considered as part of an employee's regular duties, and no employee will receive any additional compensation for such committee service over and above their regular compensation as an employee.

D. Records and Reports. To provide a basis for reports that may be required from time to time by the Office of the Secretary, outside agencies, or by the Director, the Committee Management Officer will maintain the recordkeeping items listed below:

(1) A copy of the charter for each advisory committee for the USGS.

(2) A copy of the Statement of Purpose and current list of members including title and organization (as documented in the Survey Manual). NOTE: The above listed material is to be provided to the Committee Management Officer by the Chairperson of each committee.

E. Committee Chairpersons are responsible for:

(1) Maintaining copies of minutes of all meetings and committee papers and reports.

(2) Bureau costs associated with the committee including total annual manhours expended and total dollar cost (including manhour costs).

6. Participation in State and Local and Community Committees. Participation in State, local, and community government advisory and coordinating groups, when invited, is encouraged. When an invitation is extended to an employee as an individual in the capacity of private citizen such participation is considered as personal and no supervisory approval is necessary.

However, when an invitation to participate in such committees is extended to employees in their official capacity, supervisory approval must be obtained as indicated below:

A. For Community Local Government (Village, Town, City). Approval of the employee's supervising field official; or, if no field supervisor, the employee's supervisor at headquarters.

B. For Larger Area Local Government (County, District). The approval of the ranking bureau or office field official if higher in chain of command than employee's immediate supervisor; if no field supervisor, employee's supervisor at headquarters.

C. For State and Larger Area Government (State, Area, Region). Approval of the Director and the concurrence of the Secretary's Field Special Assistants within whose jurisdiction the governing body is located.

7. Committee Meetings in Foreign Countries. Departmental regulations require that attendance at a committee meeting in a foreign country, at which a USGS employee represents the bureau or the Department, be authorized in advance by the Director, USGS.