03/05/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/05/2026 06:57
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 43 (Thursday, March 5, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10799-10800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04395]
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Intent To
Renew Collection 3038-0119: Qualification Information for Candidates to
Advisory Committees and Subcommittees
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or
``CFTC'') is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the
proposed collection of qualification information for advisory committee
and subcommittee candidates by the agency. Under the Paperwork
Reduction Act (``PRA''), Federal agencies are required to publish
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of
information, including each proposed extension of an existing
collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 4, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by subject matter ``OMB
Control No. 3038-0119 (Qualification Information for Candidates to
Advisory Committees and Subcommittees),'' and by any of the following
methods:
The Agency's website, at https://comments.cftc.gov/.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments through the website.
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.
Please submit your comments using only one method. All comments
must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an English
translation.
Comments will be posted as received to https://www.cftc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Ghim, Office of the General
Counsel Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre,
1151 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581; (202) 418-5667; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.,
Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (``OMB'') for each collection of information they conduct or
sponsor. ``Collection of Information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)
and 5 CFR 1320.3 and includes agency requests or requirements that
members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide
information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of
information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, the CFTC is publishing notice of the
proposed collection of information listed below. 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.\1\
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\1\ 44 U.S.C. 3512, 5 CFR 1320.5(b)(2)(i) and 1320.8 (b)(3)(vi).
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Title: Qualification Information for Candidates to Advisory
Committees and Subcommittees (OMB Control No. 3038-0119). This is a
request for extension of a currently approved 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
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), Public Law 92-463 codified as 5 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.. The
Agricultural Advisory Committee, Global Markets Advisory Committee,
Innovation Advisory Committee, and the Market Risk 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.
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
advisory 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
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ensure that committee members are properly designated as special
government employees or representatives.\3\ 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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\3\ 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 documents. 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.
With respect to the collection of information, the CFTC invites
comments on:
Whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the information will have a practical
use;
The accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden of collection of information
on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
You should submit 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.\4\
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\4\ 17 CFR 145.9.
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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 http://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 Information Collection Request 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.
Burden Statement: The respondent burden for this collection is
estimated to be as follows:
Estimated Number of Respondents: 400.
Estimated Average Burden Hours per Respondent: 1 hour.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 400 hours.
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: March 3, 2026.
Robert Sidman,
Deputy Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2026-04395 Filed 3-4-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P