PART 311—RULES GOVERNING PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS OF THE CORPORATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552b and 12 U.S.C. 1819. Source: 42 FR 14675, Mar. 16, 1977, unless otherwise noted. § 311.1 Purpose. This part implements the policy of the “Government in the Sunshine Act”, section 552b of title 5 U.S.C., which is to provide the public with as much information as possible regarding the decision making process of certain Federal agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, while preserving the rights of individuals and the ability of the agency to carry out its responsibilities. § 311.2 Definitions. For purposes of this part: (a) Board (b) Meeting (1) Deliberations to determine whether meetings will be open or closed or whether information pertaining to closed meetings will be withheld; (2) Informal background discussions among Board members and staff which clarify issues and expose varying views; (3) Decision-making by circulating written material to individual Board members; (4) Sessions with individuals from outside the Corporation where Board members listen to a presentation and may elicit additional information. (c) Member (d) Open to public observation open to the public (e) Public announcement publicly announce [42 FR 14675, Mar. 16, 1977, as amended at 42 FR 59494, Nov. 18, 1977; 54 FR 38965, Sept. 22, 1989; 61 FR 38357, July 24, 1996] § 311.3 Meetings. (a) Open meetings. (b) When meetings may be closed and announcements and disclosures withheld. (1) Disclose matters that are: (i) Specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or foreign policy and (ii) in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order; (2) Relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of the Corporation; (3) Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552): Provided, (4) Disclose trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential; (5) Involve accusing any person of a crime, or formally censuring any person; (6) Disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (7) Disclose investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, or information which if written would be contained in such records, but only to the extent that the production of such records or information would: (i) Interfere with enforcement proceedings, (ii) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (iii) constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (iv) disclose the identity of a confidential source, (v) disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel; (8) Disclose information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of the Corporation or any other agency responsible for the supervision of financial institutions; (9) Disclose information the premature disclosure of which would be likely to: (i)(A) Lead to significant financial speculation in currencies, securities, or commodities, or (B) Significantly endanger the stability of any financial institution; or (ii) Significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed Corporation action, except that this paragraph (b)(9)(ii) shall not apply in any instance where the Corporation has already disclosed to the public the content or nature of its proposed action, or where the Corporation is required by law to make such disclosure on its own initiative prior to taking final action on such proposal; or (10) Specifically concern the Corporation's issuance of a subpoena, or the Corporation's participation in a civil action or proceeding, an action in a foreign court or international tribunal, or an arbitration, or the initiation, conduct, or disposition by the Corporation of a particular case of formal agency adjudication pursuant to the procedures in 5 U.S.C. 554 or otherwise involving a determination on the record after opportunity for a hearing. § 311.4 Procedures for announcing meetings. (a) Scope. (b) Time and content of announcement. (c) Changing time or place of meeting. (d) Changing subject matter or nature of meeting. (1) A majority of the entire Board determines by recorded vote that agency business so requires and that no earlier announcement of the change was possible; and, (2) The Corporation publicly announces the change and the vote of each member upon such change at the earliest practicable time, which may be later than the commencement of the meeting. (e) Publication of announcements in Federal Register. Federal Register [42 FR 14675, Mar. 16, 1977, as amended at 67 FR 71071, Nov. 29, 2002] § 311.5 Regular procedure for closing meetings. (a) Scope. (b) Procedure. (2) Any individual whose interests may be directly affected may request that the Corporation close any portion of a meeting for any of the reasons referred to in paragraph (b)(5), (6), or (b)(7) of § 311.3. Requests should be directed to the Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429. After receiving notice that an individual desires a portion of a meeting to be closed, the Board, upon request of any one of its members, will vote by recorded vote whether to close the relevant portion of the meeting. This procedure will apply even if the individual's request is made subsequent to the announcement of a decision to hold an open meeting. (3) The Corporation's General Counsel will make the public certification required by § 311.7. (4) Within 1 day after any vote taken pursuant to paragraphs (b)(1) or (2) of this section, the Corporation will make publicly available a written copy of the vote, reflecting the vote of each Board member. Except to the extent that such information is exempt from disclosure, if a meeting or portion of a meeting is to be closed to the public, the Corporation will make publicly available within 1 day after the required vote a full written explanation of its action, together with a list of all persons expected to attend the meeting and their affiliation. (5) The Corporation will publicly announce the time, place, and subject matter of the meeting, with determinations as to open and closed portions, in the manner and within the time limits prescribed in § 311.4. [42 FR 14675, Mar. 16, 1977; 42 FR 16616, Mar. 29, 1977, as amended at 42 FR 59494, Nov. 18, 1977; 67 FR 71071, Nov. 29, 2002] § 311.6 Expedited procedure for announcing and closing certain meetings. (a) Scope. (b) Announcement. Federal Register (c) Procedure for closing. (2) At the beginning of a meeting or portion of a meeting to be closed under this section, a recorded vote of the Board will be taken. The Board will determine by its vote whether to proceed with the closing. If a majority of the entire Board votes to close, the meeting will be closed to public observation. Even though a meeting or portion thereof could properly be closed under this section, a majority of the entire Board may find that the public interest requires an open session and vote, reflecting the vote of each Board member, will be made available to the public. [42 FR 14675, Mar. 16, 1977; 42 FR 16616, Mar. 29, 1977, as amended at 54 FR 38965, Sept. 22, 1989] § 311.7 General Counsel certification. For every meeting or portion thereof closed under § 311.5 or § 311.6, the Corporation's General Counsel will publicly certify that, in the opinion of such General Counsel, the meeting may be closed to the public and will state each relevant exemptive provision. In the absence of the General Counsel, the next ranking official in the Legal Division may perform the certification. If the General Counsel and such next ranking official in the Legal Division are both absent, the official in the Legal Division who is then next in rank may provide the required certification. A copy of this certification, together with a statement from the presiding officer of the meeting setting forth the time and place of the meeting, and the persons present, will be retained in the Board's permanent files. [42 FR 14675, Mar. 16, 1977, as amended at 61 FR 38357, July 24, 1996] § 311.8 Transcripts and minutes of meetings. (a) When required. (b) Content of minutes. (c) Available material. (d) Procedures for inspecting or copying available material. (2) An individual may also submit a written request for transcripts or minutes, reasonably identifying the records sought, to the Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429. (e) Procedures for obtaining documents identified in minutes. [42 FR 14675, Mar. 16, 1977, as amended at 61 FR 38357, July 24, 1996; 67 FR 71071, Nov. 29, 2002]