FR1401_20160524_omb

Supporting Statement for the
Application for Membership for the Community Advisory Council
(FR 1401; OMB No. to be obtained)
Summary
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, under delegated authority from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), proposes to implement the Application for
Membership for the Community Advisory Council (CAC) (FR 1401; OMB no. to be obtained).
The CAC was established to provide information, advice, and recommendations to the Federal
Reserve on policy matters and issues affecting consumers and communities. The Application
would be used to obtain information about the experience and qualification of persons seeking to
be considered for CAC membership.
The Application for Membership would collect a candidate’s contact information, current
employment, areas of expertise, a resume, which typically includes information about
employment history, education, and training, and a statement explaining why they are interested
in serving on the CAC and what they believe are their primary qualifications. Candidates could
voluntarily elect to provide additional information to support their application, such as copies of
publications or letters of recommendation. The total annual reporting burden would depend on
the number of applications submitted in a particular year and is currently estimated to be 1,100
hours. The estimated number of respondents is based on the number of candidates that submitted
a Statement of Interest to be considered for CAC membership in response to a Federal Register
notice published in 2015.1 A copy of the draft Application is attached.
Background and Justification
In January 2015, the Board created the CAC as an advisory committee to the Board on
issues affecting consumers and communities. The CAC comprises a diverse group of experts
and representatives of consumer and community development organizations and interests,
including from such fields as affordable housing, community and economic development, small
business, and asset and wealth building. CAC members meet semiannually with the members of
the Board in Washington, DC to provide a range of perspectives on the economic circumstances
and financial services needs of consumers and communities, with a particular focus on the
concerns of low- and moderate-income consumers and communities.
The CAC complements the Board’s other advisory councils – the Community Depository
Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) and the Federal Advisory Council (FAC) – whose
members represent depository institutions. The CAC serves as a mechanism to gather feedback
and perspectives on a wide range of policy matters and emerging issues of interest to the Board
of Governors and aligns with the Federal Reserve’s mission and current responsibilities. These
responsibilities include, but are not limited to, banking supervision and regulatory compliance
(including the enforcement of consumer protection laws), systemic risk oversight and monetary
policy decision-making, and, in conjunction with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

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Federal Register notice published on April 13, 2015, available at https://federalregister.gov/a/2015-08354.

(OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), responsibility for implementation of
the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
The Federal Reserve considered CAC candidates during 2015 by soliciting Statements of
Interest that allowed individuals to submit whatever information that they determined, in their
sole discretion, was appropriate. The type and amount of information submitted by applicants
varied significantly. The proposed Application for Membership would provide a structure for
candidates’ submissions, standardize the process, and allow the Board to evaluate candidates
more efficiently.
Description of Information Collection
The Application comprises four sections – Background, Expertise, Current Employment,
and Additional Information. The Background section collects name, postal address, telephone
number, and e-mail address. The Expertise section collects the subject areas in which the
candidate considers himself or herself to have expertise. The Current Employment section
requests applicants’ to identify their employer, state their current position or title, and identify
the sector in which they work. The Additional Information section requires candidates to submit
a resume and a statement explaining why they are interested in serving on the CAC and what
they believe are their primary qualifications. This section also indicates that applicants may, at
their option, submit any other information they choose, such as copies of their publications or
letters of recommendation.
Time Schedule for Information Collection
The Application is event generated and would be completed and submitted to the Federal
Reserve by all applicants who seek to be considered for CAC membership. The Federal Reserve
would issue a Press Release and publish a Federal Register notice to announce when it is
accepting applications for membership. The Federal Register notice would specify the deadline
for submitting applications, which typically would be 60 days after publication in the Federal
Register.
Legal Status
The Board’s Legal Division has determined that the Application is authorized pursuant to
the Board’s general authority to establish the CAC, which is derived from sections 2A and 10 of
the Federal Reserve Act (FRA). Section 2A of the FRA requires the Federal Reserve Board and
the Federal Open Market Committee to maintain long run growth of the monetary and credit
aggregates commensurate with the economy’s long run potential to increase production, so as to
promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term
interest rates (12 U.S.C. § 225a) and section 10 of the FRA authorizes the Board to “determine
and prescribe the manner in which its obligations shall be incurred and its disbursements and
expenses allowed and paid” (12 U.S.C. § 244). The obligation to respond is required to obtain
the benefit of consideration for CAC membership.
Information provided on the Application for Membership will be kept confidential under

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exemption (b)(6) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the extent that the disclosure of
information “would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy” (5 USC §
552(b)(6)). For example, the release of information such as an applicant’s address, phone
number, and e-mail address would likely constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy, and would be kept confidential. However, the release of information such as the
educational and professional qualifications of successful applicants would not likely constitute a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and would not be kept confidential.
Consultation Outside the Agency
On November 25, 2015, the Federal Reserve published a notice in the Federal Register
(80 FR 73765) requesting public comment for 60 days on the implementation of the Application
for Membership for the CAC. The comment period for this notice expired on January 25, 2016.
The Federal Reserve did not receive any comments. The Application will be implemented as
proposed. On March 4, 2016, the Federal Reserve published a final notice in the Federal
Register (81 FR 11564).
Estimate of Respondent Burden
As shown in the following table, the annual burden is estimated to be 1,100 hours. The
estimated number of respondents is based on the number of candidates that submitted a
Statement of Interest to be considered for CAC membership in response to a Federal Register
Notice published in April 2015. These reporting requirements represent less than 1 percent of
total Federal Reserve System annual paperwork burden.

FR 1401

Number of
respondents

Annual
frequency

Estimated
average hours
per response

Estimated
annual burden
hours

1,100

1

1

1,100

The total cost to the public is estimated to be $26,400 for the FR 1401.2
Sensitive Questions
This collection of information contains no questions of a sensitive nature, as defined by
OMB guidelines.
Estimate of Cost to the Federal Reserve System
The total annual cost to the Federal Reserve System for processing the Application is
negligible.

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The average consumer cost of $24 is estimated using data from the BLS Economic News Release (USDL-160462) www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.nr0.htm.

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