46 U.S.C. § 15109 Administration

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-34 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/26/2023), except for [P. L. 118-31]
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 46 U.S.C. § 15109

(a) MEETINGS.-

(1) IN GENERAL.-Except as provided in paragraph (2), each committee established under this chapter or to which this chapter applies shall, at least once each year, meet at the call of the Secretary or a majority of the members of the committee.

(2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.-The committee established under section 15102,¹ shall-

(A) meet in-person, not less frequently than twice each year, at the call of the Secretary of a majority of the members of the committee;

(B) hold additional meetings as necessary;

(C) post the minutes of each meeting of the committee on a publicly available website not later than 2 weeks after the date on which a meeting concludes; and

(D) provide reasonable public notice of any meeting of the committee, and publish such notice in the Federal Register and on a publicly available website.

(b) EMPLOYEE STATUS.-A member of a committee established under this chapter or to which this chapter applies shall not be considered an employee of the Federal Government by reason of service on such committee, except for the purposes of the following:

(1) Chapter 81 of title 5.

(2) Chapter 171 of title 28 and any other Federal law relating to tort liability.

(c) COMPENSATION.-Notwithstanding subsection (b), a member of a committee established under this chapter or to which this chapter applies, when actually engaged in the performance of the duties of such committee, may-

(1) receive compensation at a rate established by the Secretary, not to exceed the maximum daily rate payable under section 5376 of title 5; or

(2) if not compensated in accordance with paragraph (1)-

(A) be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of such duties; or

(B) be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5.

(d) ACCEPTANCE OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES.-A member of a committee established under this chapter or to which this chapter applies may serve on such committee on a voluntary basis without pay without regard to section 1342 of title 31 or any other law.

(e) STATUS OF MEMBERS.-

(1) IN GENERAL.-Except as provided in paragraph (2), with respect to a member of a committee established under this chapter or to which this chapter applies whom the Secretary appoints to represent an entity or group-

(A) the member is authorized to represent the interests of the applicable entity or group; and

(B) requirements under Federal law that would interfere with such representation and that apply to a special Government employee (as defined in section 202(a) of title 18), including requirements relating to employee conduct, political activities, ethics, conflicts of interest, and corruption, do not apply to the member.