Fishery conservation and management: Stevens Act provisions Regional fishery management councils; members nomination and appointment,
[Federal Register: January 29, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 19)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 4599-4602]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29ja99-20]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 970527125-8310-04; 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: Final rule.
SUMMARY: NMFS revises guidelines for requirements and procedures for the appointment of members to the Regional Fishery Management (RFMCs). The guidelines are revised to clarify compliance requirements, improve their readability, and emphasize the
March 15 deadline for information from the RFMC governors, appropriate chairpersons of tribal Indian governments and RFMC nominees. On January 30, 1998, NMFS published in the Federal Register a proposed rule requesting comments on revisions to regulations affecting the nomination and appointment of RFMC members. Comments on the revised guidelines contained in the proposed rule were requested by March 2, 1998. This rule implements the regulations contained in the proposed rule.
DATES: Effective January 29, 1999. ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the collection-of-information contained in this final rule should be sent to the Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, and to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Washington, DC 20503 (Attention: NOAA Desk Officer).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loretta E. Williams, F/SF5, NMFS, 301- 713-2337.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Additional background for this final rule may be found in the preamble to the proposed rule published at 63 FR 4618 (January 30, 1998), and in regulations contained at 50 CFR part 600.215. The primary purposes of this
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final rule are (1) to clarify guidelines that relate to compliance by RFMC state governors, appropriate Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) tribal Indian Governments, and RFMC nominees, (2) to emphasize the requirement for the submission of complete nominations packages by the required March 15 deadline, and (3) to reorganize and improve readability of procedures affecting the RFMC nomination and appointment process. This rule does not contains substantive changes to the existing guidelines.
Comments and Responses
Comment 1: Comments were received from one commenter.
The commenter suggests that, in cases where the terms of both an obligatory member and an at-large member expire concurrently, Sec. 600.215(b)(5) of the proposed rule should be amended to reduce the total minimum number of obligatory and at-large nominees submitted by a governor from six to four.
Response: NMFS finds that existing language in Sec. 600.215 (b)(5) meets the intent of this comment. However, NMFS has reinserted the following text to the end of paragraph (b)(5) that had been inadvertently omitted: ``provided that the resulting total number of nominees submitted by that governor for the expiring at-large seat is no fewer than three different nominees.''
Comment 2. The commenter stated that, because some constituent states of the RFMCs are heavily involved in the press of state legislative matters during the first quarter of the calendar year, more lead time should be allowed for the recruitment of nominees, preparation of nomination kits, and review of nominations by the governors' offices. The commenter requested that nomination kits be delivered to the governors no later than October 1 of the year preceding the March 15 deadline. Response: No change was made. NMFS believes it is unnecessary to establish by regulation a date for the distribution of forms and requests for information contained in the nomination packages. In addition, the expiration of members' terms and pending vacancies at the end of the RFMC year are well known; therefore, governors and chairpersons of tribal Indian Governments are encouraged to begin working with potential nominees as early as possible prior to the term expiration or vacancy. NMFS will endeavor to work with the states throughout the year to facilitate the appointment process.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
Section 600.215 (b)(5) has been revised to include existing language which was inadvertently omitted in the proposed rule and which clarifies requirements when the terms of obligatory and
at-large members from a state expire concurrently.
Classification
Because this is a non-substantive rule of agency procedure, it is not subject to the 30-day delay in effective date requirement of 5 U.S.C. 553(d).
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
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 rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Because the rule is a non-substantive rule of procedure, it will not have an economic impact on the fishing industry or on small entities operating in the fishery.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
This rule contains a collection-of-information requirement, subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The total public reporting burden for nominations submitted by RFMC governors, PFMC tribal Indian governments, and nominees is estimated to be 120 hours, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining data needed and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
The collection of this information has been approved by the OMB under control number 0648-0314. Send comments on these or any other aspects of the collection of information to the Office of Sustainable Fisheries and to OMB (see ADDRESSES).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 600
Administrative practice and procedure, Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Statistics.
Dated: January 25, 1999. Rolland A. Schmitten, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Services.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 50 CFR part 600 is amended as follows:
PART 600-MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT PROVISIONS
-
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.
-
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. The Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) will appoint or new members or will reappoint seated members to another term 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,
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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) 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, provided that the resulting total number of nominees submitted by that governor for the expiring at-large seat is no fewer than three different nominees. When obligatory and at- large seats do not expire concurrently, 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. (i) 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.
(ii) 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 by March 15.
(ii) Nomination packages that are incomplete after March 15 will be returned to the nominating Governor and will be processed no 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.
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(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 of 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.
(D) The limitation that no tribal Indian representative shall serve more than three consecutive terms in the Indian tribal seat.
[FR Doc. 99-2188Filed1-28-99; 8:45 am]
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