PART 1070-COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM GRANTEE OPERATIONS § 1070.1

Access to public information and hearing requirements. (a) Definitions. As used in the regulations in this section:

(1) The term "community action agency" means a public or private agency designated as such under section 210 of the Economic Opportunity Act.

(2) The term "delegate agency" means a public or private agency to which the development, conduct, or administration of part or all of a project assisted under Title II or Title III-B of the Economic Opportunity Act has been delegated by a direct recipient of the assistance.

(3) The term "applicant agency" means an agency which has filed an application with the Office of Economic Opportunity for direct assistance under Title II or Title III-B of the Economic Opportunity Act, or an agency which has given notice of a public hearing in anticipation of the submission of an application under section 221 or section 222 of the Economic Opportunity Act pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.

(b) Access to public information—(1) Requirements for inspection and examination. (i) Every community action agency and every applicant agency which currently seeks recognition by the Office of Economic Opportunity as a community action agency, shall make available to any person for inspection and examination all of those documents described in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph.

(ii) Any recipient of direct assistance under Title II or Title III-B of the Economic Opportunity Act which is not a community action agency, and any delegate agency shall make available to any person for inspection and examination those documents described in subparagraphs (2) (i) to (viii) of this paragraph. In addition, any such agency shall make available the records described in subparagraph (2) (ix) relating to employees whose salaries are included in budgets which are assisted by the Office of Economic Opportunity.

(iii) Any applicant agency which does not seek recognition as a community action agency shall make available for inspection and examination those documents described in subparagraphs (2) (i) to (2) (iv) of this paragraph.

(2) Classes of public information. The following are the books and records and other classes of public information which an agency shall make available for public inspection and examination to the extent required by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph.

(i) Copies of any application submitted by the agency and currently pending with the Office of Economic Opportunity for assistance under the Economic Opportunity Act.

(ii) Copies of the minutes of all public hearings held pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, and copies of all written statements and affidavits filed with the agency pursuant to paragraph (c) (5) of this section.

(iii) Copies of any proposal received by the agency, and currently pending before it, for inclusion of a project in an application to be submitted to the Office of Economic Opportunity.

(iv) Copies of any proposal approved by the Agency for inclusion in an application for assistance under the Economic Opportunity Act, but not yet submitted to the Office of Economic Opportunity.

(v) Copies of all books of account maintained by the agency with respect to its development, conduct, or administration of any program or project assisted by the Office of Economic Opportunity.

(vi) Copies of all contracts made in connection with the administration of any program or project assisted by the Office of Economic Opportunity, including contracts for conduct and administration of program components, contracts for consultant services, and contracts for the purchase of goods and services, as well as copies of all purchase orders, invoices, and other documents evidencing the expenditure of project funds.

(vii) With respect to any assistance which has been received by the agency under Title II or Title III-B of the Economic Opportunity Act, copies of the application for such assistance, the statement of grant or similar document indicating approval of the application and extension of assistance by the Office of Economic Opportunity, and all documents accompanying such statement of grant or similar document or authorizing changes in the grant as originally approved.

(viii) Copies of all report forms submitted by the agency to the Office of Economic Opportunity with respect to the development, conduct, or administration of any program assisted by the Office of Economic Opportunity, except that this subparagraph shall not apply to reports of data about identifiable persons who are the beneficiaries of the programs.

(ix) Current lists of names of employees of the agency, including enrollees in programs under the Economic Opportunity Act, together with their job descriptions and their rates of compensation;

(x) Copies of articles of incorporation and bylaws of any private agency, or copies of any official acts governing the creation and operation of a public agency, and copies of any similar documents which provide the basic authority of the agency or the basic rules for its governance;

(xi) Copies of records of actions taken at all meetings of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, or other governing body which has the power to make decisions on behalf of the agency, and any Policy Advisory Committee of the agency;

(xii) Current lists of the names and addresses of all members of the agency, its Board of Directors, its Executive Committee, or any other governing body which has the power to make decisions on behalf of the agency, and any Policy Advisory Committee, and any Committees of any governing body;

(xiii) Copies of current and past budgets of the agency and reports of completed audits of the accounts of the agency by any certified public accountant or State or local official; and

(xiv) Copies of current and past State and Federal tax returns filed by the agency.

(3) Conditions of public inspection and examination. (i) In any case in which books and records or other documents are required by the regulations in this section to be made available for public inspection and examination, they must be made available at the principal office of the disclosing agency. They must be made available during regular business hours on each regular workday (Monday through Friday of each week, official local holidays excepted). In the case of documents being used for official purposes at the time request for inspec

tion and examination is made, the documents shall be made available not later than 5 business days after the receipt of such request. Facsimile copies will also be furnished to any person upon request. If the agency uses its own reproduction equipment, it may charge a fee of 10 cents or less for each page. If other equipment is used, the fee charged shall not exceed the actual cost of the service to the agency.

(ii) In any case in which an agency concludes that a document should not be made public, even though required under the regulations of this section to be disclosed, the agency shall immediately contact the appropriate Regional Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity in writing. The writing shall contain a description of the document and a full explanation of the justification for the agency's conclusion that the document is not of a public nature. The Regional Director will, in such cases, make a prompt determination as to whether the document should be made public.

Additional

(4) information. The above enumeration of books and records and other classes of public information should not be considered exhaustive. An agency which is assisted by the Office of Economic Opportunity, or which is seeking such assistance, should make documents relating to such assistance available to the public to the maximum extent possible. Except in cases where disclosure of documents would involve an invasion of privacy, would impose an undue administrative burden on the agency, or would interfere with the internal decision-making processes of the agency, the agency should permit examination and inspection of all such documents requested by any person.

(c) Requirement of public hearing(1) Hearing requested by any person or group. Any agency which has received a grant under section 221 or section 222 of the Economic Opportunity Act shall hold a public hearing in response to a written request for such a hearing by any person or group in the community served. The hearing shall be held within 30 days of the receipt of the request by the agency. A request for a hearing shall include a statement of the basic issue or issues which the requesting party particularly wishes aired at the hearing. A request may be denied only if the governing body of the agency, by a vote of

at least three-fourths of the members present at a lawful meeting, determines either that the request raises only frivolous issues or that the proposed hearing would merely be repetitive of previous hearings.

(2) Hearing prior to submission of application. In addition to any hearings held at the request of the public under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, every agency shall hold a public hearing prior to the submission of an application for assistance under section 221 or section 222 of the Economic Opportunity Act to OEO. The hearing shall take place after the agency staff recommends submission of an application and before the governing body of the agency makes its final determination of whether to submit the application to OEO. This requirement of a hearing prior to submission of an application shall not apply to:

(i) Any application received by OEO prior to April 15, 1966; or

(ii) Such categories of applications as the Director may from time to time exempt from the requirement.

(3) Notice of hearing. Any public hearing shall be held at a time and place convenient to the public. In appropriate cases hearings should be held at neighborhood locations. Public notice of each hearing shall state the time and place at which the hearing shall be held, and shall be given not less than 10 days before the day of the hearing. Notice of a hearing shall be given by:

(i) Submitting formal notice of the hearing to at least one newspaper of general circulation within the geographical area to be served by the agency for inclusion as a legal notice.

(ii) Posting a formal notice of the hearing in a prominent place at the principal office of the agency, at the county court house, at the city hall of any major city within the area, and at any other place where official notices are regularly posted.

(iii) Forwarding a formal notice of the hearing (a) to every newspaper with a daily or weekly circulation of more than 5,000 copies in the geographical area for which the agency has been recognized as a community action agency or in which the agency expends or seeks to expend funds granted by the Office of Economic Opportunity, (b) to every radio and television station which regularly broadcasts local news of, or announcements of meetings in, the geographical

area described above, (c) to any community newspaper or journal primarily serving a neighborhood or area in which the agency runs or is preparing to run a program under the Economic Opportunity Act, (d) to each agency in the community which has submitted a proposal, as a delegate or grantee agency, for assistance under section 221 or section 222 of the Economic Opportunity Act within 1 year prior to the scheduled date of the hearing, (e) to each person who has submitted a written request for copies of such notices, (f) to the technical assistance agency for the state in which the agency is located, and (g) to the appropriate regional office of the Office of Economic Opportunity: Provided, That an agency required by this section to hold a public hearing which serves an area larger than a single county shall consult with OEO concerning the place or places where hearings shall be held and what notice shall be required. Procedures approved by OEO shall, to the extent specified by OEO, substitute for the requirements of this paragraph.

(4) Information to be made public. Beginning with the date on which notice of hearing is given, an agency proposing to submit an application to the Office of Economic Opportunity shall be treated as an "applicant" for the purposes of paragraph (b) (1) (i) and (iii) of this section, and is thus subject to the disclosure requirements contained therein.

(5) Conduct of the hearing. Each hearing shall be held before the governing body, or a committee thereof, of the agency required to hold the hearing. It shall be held at the time and place set forth in the notice of hearing. In the event the hearing cannot be completed on that date, it may be continued at the same time and place from day-to-day or adjourned to a later day or different place without notice other than the announcement thereof by the presiding officer. Each hearing shall be open to all members of the public. Every person desiring an opportunity to speak shall be heard, although the presiding officer may establish reasonable limits on the length of the statement of any one person. Should the presiding officer determine that the opportunity to be heard is being utilized for purposes of delay, he may exclude statements which are essentially repetitive of statements already heard. Although hearings may be conducted in an informal manner, minutes shall be

kept which fairly and accurately reflect the business of the hearing, and the basic sides of any disputed questions or issues which arise. Written statements and affidavits shall be accepted for the record of hearing and shall be made public at the office of the applicant in accordance with paragraph (b)(2) (ii) of this section. Copies of all such minutes, written statements, and affidavits shall be sent to the Office of Economic Opportunity together with the application if the hearing was held under subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, or promptly after the conclusion of the hearing if the hearing was held under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph.

(6) Notice to OEO. Each application for a grant which is submitted to OEO

shall include a statement to the effect that public hearings were held as required in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph and that notice of such hearings was given in conformity with the regulations in this section. The application shall also state the respect in which the application submitted to OEO differs from the application which was made available for public inspection prior to the public hearing. In the case of each such change the application shall also state whether or not the change was responsive to the material adduced at the hearing, and, if so, the nature of the material adduced.

(Sec. 202, 78 Stat. 516; 42 U.S.C. 2782) [31 F.R. 4454, Mar. 16, 1966. Redesignated and amended at 33 F.R. 19180, Dec. 24, 1968]

Part

availability of information.

1105 Standards of conduct of employees.

(a) The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities was established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 845; 20 U.S.C. 951). The Foundation is composed of a National Endowment for the Arts, a National Endowment for the Humanities and a Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Each Endowment is headed by a Chairman and has a National Council composed of 26 Presidential appointees, with the Chairman of the Endowment also serving as Chairman of the Council. The purpose of the Foundation is to develop and promote a broadly conceived national policy of support for the humanities and the arts in the United States.

99-197-69-47

(b) The Endowments accomplish their missions primarily by providing financial assistance for projects in the arts and the humanities, including the making of fellowship and other awards to individuals as well as awards to nonprofit organizations. By statute, awards made to organizations by the National Endowment for the Arts may not exceed onehalf the cost of the project, except that a percentage of the Arts Endowment's funds may be used for nonmatching grants to organizations which show that they have attempted unsuccessfully to secure funds equal to the amounts applied for.

(c) The organizational arrangement of the Foundation is as follows:

(1) National Endowment for the Arts-(i) Office of the Chairman. The Endowment is headed by the Chairman, who is also Chairman of the National Council on the Arts and a member of the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The Chairman, with the advice of the National Council on the Arts and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, is responsible for establishing Endowment policies and for developing and carrying out programs to provide support for projects and productions in the arts. The Chairman is assisted by a Deputy Chairman, who is appointed by him.

(ii) Program Activities of the Arts Endowment. The activities of the Endow