ML22230A175
| ML22230A175 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 05/04/1978 |
| From: | NRC/OCM |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Tran-M780504 | |
| Download: ML22230A175 (1) | |
Text
RETURN TO SECRETARIAT RECORDS
- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF:
PUBLIC .MEETI NG DISCUSSION OF AMENDED WORDING ON SECTION 201 (a) (1) OF ERA LEGISLATION Place - Washington, D. C.
Date - Thursday , 4 Ma y 1978 Pages 1 _ 7 Tel ephone :
(202 ) 3.17-3700 ACE - FEDERAL REPORTERS, INC.
Official Reponers 4J.4 North Capitol Streer Washington , D.C. 20 001 NATlONWIDE COVERAGE* DAllY
DISCLAIM-ER This is an unofficial transcript of a meeting of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission held on May 4, 1978 in the Commission s offices at 1717 H Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. The 1
meeting was open to public attendance and observation. This transcript has not been reviewed, corrected, or edited, and it may contain inaccuracies.
The transcript is intended solely for general informational* purposes.
( As provided by 10 CFR 9.103, it is not part of the formal or informal record of decision of the matters discussed. Expressions of opinion in*
this transcript do not necessarily reflect-final determinations or beliefs. No pleading or other paper may be filed with the Commission fn any proceeding as the result of or addressed to any statement or argument contained herein, except as the Commission may authorize.
- 1 CR7341 UNITED STATES OF AM:ERICA HEER:mp mask 2 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 3
4 PUBLIC MEETING 5
6 DISCUSSION OF AMENDED WORDING ON 7 SECTION 20l(a) (1) OF ERA LEGISLATION 8
Room 1130 9 1717 H Street, N. W.
Washington, D. C.
10 Thursday, 4 May 1978 11 The Commission met, oursuant to notice, at 3:30 p.m.
12 BEFORE:
13 DR. JOSEPH M. HENDRIE, Chairman 14 PETER A. BRADFORD, Commissioner 15 RICHARDT. KENNEDY, Commissioner 16 PRESENT:
17 SAMUEL CHILK, Secretary 18 J. KELLEY, Acting Legal Counsel 19 L. GOSSICK 20 C. STOIBER 21 J. DEVINE 22 23 24 Ace-Federal Reporters, Inc.
25
P R O C E E D I N G S 2 CR7341 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: I have counted three genuine HEER: sp
- 3 2 Commissioners present in the room, and we will commence.
3 The next item on the agenda i s going to be even 4 speedier than I had thought. This would discuss amended word-5 ing of Section 201(a1 Cl) of the Energy Reorganization Act.
6 The intent was to slightly relieve the requirement now in the 7 law which makes it impossible for the Commission to take any 8 action without at least three members being eyeball to eyeball 9 and agreeing on things.
10 This would print a piece of language into the 11 Energy Reorganization Act in Section 201(a) (1) which would 12 allow the Commission to take an action on a notational quote 13 provided first that all of the Commissioners agreed with the 14 substance of the recommendation or voted one way, either for or 15 against it; and secondly, all the Commissioners agree that it 16 was okay to do the vote on that subject by the notational 17 method. If any single Commissioner thought there ought to be 18 a discussion, there would be a discussion.
19 Now, there was legislation that appeared --
20 COMMISSIONER KENNEDY: Can I ask a question?
21 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: Yes.
22 COMMISSIONER KENNEDY: Just a technical one.
23 You referred to all Commissioners having voted 24 either for or against. What of those cases in which Ace-Federal Reporters, Inc.
25 Commissioners from time to time have indicated they have noted
3 sp2 without objection, thus, in effect, have not voted? Must there 2 be an affirmative .,. __ -a direct negative or affirmed vote, or 3 will an abstention or something of that order affect it?
4 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: I'm going to read the law and see 5 if I can get the general counsel to read the law.
6 To say that a noted without objection says that that 7 Commissioner doesn't object to the action being taken, and if 8 he counts as a Commissioner who is willing to go along with it, 9 tt requires at least -- it requires a majority of the 10 Commissione~s to say positively that they want to do it, I 11 believe,. in this system to make it go~ But a noted without 12 objection would not shoot down the Commission action, in my 13 view.
14 ~r. Stoiber. Mr. Chairman, I think that is a fair 15 reading. And under the statute there is a clause which says 16 that the indication may be in such form and manner as may be 17 prescribed by the Commission; if the Commission were to adopt 18 an understanding -- that is the way it wished to interpret 19 that -- then that would be in compliance with the statute.
20 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: The chances are it would be, in 21 fact, helpful to write that down someplace and adopt it as a 22 Commission policy, assuming the legislation goes forward.
23 So counsel can take note of that.
24 At any rate, there was some language proposed for Ace-Federal Reporters, Inc.
25 this purpose down on the House side in the oversight committee
4 sp3 in the authorizing legislation, and an earlier version of it, 2 while well-intentioned, seemed not to do what i t was intended to do. So after conferring with counsel, we gathered some 3
4 minor repairs so that we could propose to them language which 5 would do the job that everybody thought i t would.
6 Now, what I have lately discovered is that the 7 House beat us to it and have now, in fact, adopted language 8 which is not word for word what we've got, but i t does the 9 job perfectly adequately. And let me read it to you then.
10 And if you have copies of that 20l(a) (1) paper, you 11 can compare to this recommendation and see how close, in fact, 12 i t is.
- 13 14 15 The language that the House has put into the authoriz~tion bill, the report on that bill reads: "The present requirement for quorum purposes and for taking action 16 shall be waived in the case of any action of the Commission if 17 all members of the Commission (whether or not present) have 18 indicated in writing in .such form and manner as may be pre-19 scribed by the Commission that they-agree to such waiver with 20 respect to such action and are unanimous with respect to the 21 approval or disapproval, as the case may be, of the proposed
- 22 23 24 Ace-Federal Reporters, Inc.
action."
So I think that is just fine.
COMMISSIONER KENNEDY: It is the question, 25 Mr. Chairman, unanimous with respect to the approval or
5 sp4 disapproval, that raises the question.*,- Unanimous with respect 2 to approval or disapproval would not seem to countenance a 3 no-objection vote, would it?
4 MR. KELLEY: I think that is not the right inter-5 pretation.
6 COMMISSIONER KENNEDY: I always thought unanimous 7 meant everybody voting had to vote the same way.
8 MR. KELLEY: It seems to me, noting without objec-9 tion-= you're not asking for a meeting -- would allow this to 10 operate as I think it is intended.
11 We might enshrine that in a memo.
12 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: Well, if the law goes, then we
- 13 14 ought to have a policy.
MR. KELLEY: It will be formalized if and when the 15 law is approved.
16 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: Now, I see then no reason for us 17 to take much of any action, except that I ought, or somebody 18 on my behalf ought.--
19 COMMISSIONER KENNEDY: May I just add a comment?
20 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: Yes*;- sir.
21 COMMISSIONER KENNEDY: That the similarity which you
- 22 23 24 call attention to is striking and suggests that communication by what, some sort of osmotic process, is striking*, as *well.
CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: It is inevitable that sooner or Ace-Federal Reporters, Inc.
25 later there would be some happy outcome through the otherwise
6 spS random process.
2 I think that what we might do is -- one thing I have 3 to do, and I don't see the Office of Congressional -- oh, yes, 4 I do.
5 Ed, we talked to the Senate side staff yesterday or 6 the day before yesterday about this, so they should -- just let
.7 them know that we finally caught up with things here and 8 everything is just fine.
9 The Commission, however, never has gone on record, 10 I don't believe, as to this language, and I know the Senate 11 §f.c1e §taff $aid they really thought it would be helpful if we 12 coplc:1 go on the record, 13 What would you think of a note that just says, we 14 think the language proposed on the House side suits our 15 pµrpose'?
16 CO~ISSIONER KENNEDY: It wouldn't suit my purpose.
17 J woµld consider it adequate. That is different.
18 CHAIRMAN HENDRIE: How about, "supports the language 19 for the purpose for which it is intended"? How about something 20 like that?
21 CO11MISSIONER BRADFORD: Fine.
I
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COMMISSIONER KENNEDY:
CHAIRMAN HENDRIE:
Fine.
Just so that there can be some record that this legislation proposed little addition here to 25 the Energy Reorganization Act, is, in fact, in consonance with
7 sp6 the Commission's goals.
2 COMMISSIONER KENNEDY: Though it doesn't accomplish 3 very much, it is not harmful.
4 CHAIR1'1AN HENDRIE: Well, there are a range of views 5 on its flexibility. I think this is sort of over on the short 6 end, actually.
7 Okay. Now, if somebody will put together a letter 8 like that~ it..would be useful to just do that rather promptly 9 and run it up, 10 And with your permission, then, I will declare the 11 201 Ca)_ ll)_ i tern to be satisfactorily resolved.
12 COMMISSIONER KENNEDY: I don't think we need to 13 vote, as long as both of you are agreeable to it. It will be 14 a ve~y simple sort of a statement,. and we will have draft
_15 language around pronto.
16 (:*'Thereupon, at 3: 4 0 p. m. , the meeting was adjourned.)
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Ace-Federal Reporters, Inc.
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