PART 2701—GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE ACT REGULATIONS Authority: Sec. 113, Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, Pub. L. 95-165 (30 U.S.C. 823). Source: 44 FR 2575, Jan. 12, 1979, unless otherwise noted. § 2701.1 Purpose and scope. (a) Purpose. (b) Scope. § 2701.2 Open meetings policy; closure of meetings. (a) Policy. (b) Closure. § 2701.3 Announcement of meetings. (a) Generally. Federal Register (b) Shorter notice. (c) Changes in time, place, subject matter, and decision whether to open or close after public announcement of meeting. § 2701.4 Request to open or close meeting. Any person may request that the Commission open a meeting that it has earlier decided to close. Any person whose interest may be directly affected by the opening of a meeting may request that the meeting be closed. Two copies of a request shall be filed in writing with the Executive Director of the Commission at the earliest practicable time, and no later than one hour before the meeting. A request to close shall state the interest of the person that may be adversely affected. The Commission shall take a recorded vote on the request if one member desires that it do so. The Executive Director shall inform the requesting person of whether a vote was taken, and, if so, its outcome. Requests shall be addressed as follows: Sunshine Act Request, Office of the Executive Director, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 520N, Washington, DC 20004-1710. [44 FR 2575, Jan. 12, 1979, as amended at 67 FR 60862, Sept. 27, 2002; 77 FR 48430, Aug. 14, 2012] § 2701.5 Petition for review. Any person may petition the Commission to review any action he alleges to be in violation of this part or 5 U.S.C. 552b that was taken by any employee or member of the Commission. The petition shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Executive Director within 30 days of the alleged violation. The Commission shall consider and rule upon the petition with expedition. § 2701.6 Discussion during open meetings. Deliberations, discussions, comments, statements, or observations made during the course of an open meeting do not constitute actions of the Commission, nor do they necessarily represent the basis for any Commission action. Comments made by a Commissioner or an employee of the Commission may be advanced for purposes of discussion or argument, or as an aside, and may not reflect the views or ultimate position of that Commissioner or employee. Reasons for decisions stated by a Commissioner at an open meeting may be later changed by that Commissioner, as may a Commissioner's vote. For these reasons, persons who choose to act on the basis of discussions at open meetings do so entirely at their own risk and without any assurance that the Commission's final decisions will be reflective of the discussions or initial vote. § 2701.7 Expedited closing procedure. (a) Policy. (b) Procedure.