88 FR 29100

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29100-29101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09630]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(``PRA''), this notice announces that the Information Collection 
Request (``ICR'') abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (``OIRA''), of the Office of 
Management and Budget (``OMB''), for review and comment. The ICR 
describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
costs and burden. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment 
period soliciting comments on the ICR was published on May 17, 2022.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted within 30 days of this 
notice's publication to OIRA, at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Please find this particular information collection by 
selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' 
or by using the website's search function. Comments can be entered 
electronically by clicking on the ``comment'' button next to the 
information collection on the ``OIRA Information Collections Under 
Review'' page, or the ``View ICR--Agency Submission'' page. A copy of 
the supporting statement for the collection of information discussed 
herein may be obtained by visiting https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
    In addition to the submission of comments to https://Reginfo.gov as 
indicated above, a copy of all comments submitted to OIRA may also be 
submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the 
``Commission'' or ``CFTC'') by clicking on the ``Submit Comment'' box 
next to the descriptive entry for ``Qualification Information for 
Candidates to Advisory Committees and Subcommittees,'' at https://comments.cftc.gov/FederalRegister/PublicInfo.aspx.
    Or by either of the following methods:
     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.
    All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied 
by an English translation. Comments submitted to the Commission should 
include 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.\1\ 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 https://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 ICR 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.
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    \1\ 17 CFR 145.9.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Ghim, Assistant General 
Counsel, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 202-418-5000. Three 
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581; email: 
_____________________________________-
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Qualification Information for Candidates to Advisory 
Committees and Subcommittees. This is a request for a new information 
collection.
    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

[[Page 29101]]

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), 5 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. 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; 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 does 
not specify the manner in which advisory committee members 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.
    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.\5\ On May 17, 2022, the Commission 
published in the Federal Register a notice of a proposed information 
collection and provided 60 days for public comment on the proposed 
extension, 87 FR 29855 (``60-Day Notice''). The Commission did not 
receive any relevant comments on the 60-Day Notice.
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    \5\ 44 U.S.C. 3512, 5 CFR 1320.5(b)(2)(i) and 1320.8 (b)(3)(vi).
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    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.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 91.
    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 2, 2023.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-09630 Filed 5-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P