Summary of the Federal Advisory Committee Act
5 U.S.C. Appendix 2 (1972)
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) governs the operation of federal advisory committees and emphasizes public involvement through open meetings and reporting. Except in certain statutorily defined circumstances, all FACA committee meetings must be open to the public. Meetings must be announced in the Federal Register. Reports, transcripts, working papers, and other materials made available to or prepared for or by the committees must be made available to the public.
FACA calls upon federal agencies to carefully consider the necessity of a new committee before establishing it. Under FACA a discretionary committee is terminated after two years unless the agency renews the committee's charter prior to the two year expiration date. Further, FACA requires agencies to terminate a committee once it has completed its function.
More Information
The Office of Mission Support's Federal Advisory Committee Management Division provides efficient operation and oversight of the committees authorized under FACA.