PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 10 4.4.3 Officer Resignation. Officer resignations must be in writing to the Board. If a Chair vacates the office before the completion of his/her term, the Vice-Chair shall assume the office and a Ballot shall be held as soon as possible to elect a new Vice-Chair, subject to approval by the Board. 4.4.4 Secretary Duties. The Secretary shall prepare and distribute agendas and Minutes of all meetings of the Committee to Members of the PTC Committee. He/she shall receive and maintain all documents relative to the PTC Committee and its subordinate groups, distribute and receive proposals for standards actions, record votes, correspond with interfacing organizations or individuals in the name of the PTC Committee, and perform other duties as requested by the Chair. 4.4.4.1 Actions in the Absence of Other Officers. In the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair at a meeting of the Committee, the Secretary shall take the chair for the purpose of nomination and selection of a Chair pro tem, who shall then preside at that meeting. 4.4.4.2 Specific Secretarial Duties. The Secretary shall maintain and distribute an up-to-date roster of Committee membership, including terms of appointment. He/she shall keep records of meeting attendance and membership activity. The Secretary shall notify the Chair of any changes in membership or balance. He/she shall also issue complete correspondence in connection with appointment or re-appointment of Members. 4.4.4.3 Processing. The Secretary shall process all inquiries, Ballots, and meeting Minutes expeditiously. 4.4.5 Removal of Officer(s). The Board may remove an ineffective Chair or Vice Chair and appoint a successor. The individual removed from office may appeal the action of the Board to the Council on Codes and Standards. 5 DUTIES OF THE PTC COMMITTEE 5.1 Standards. The PTC Committee shall: 5.1.1 Develop Standards. Develop standards within its charter. This includes the development of PTC Documents using the format and including the mandatory portions prescribed in PTC 1 on General Instructions and PTC 2 on Definitions and Values. 5.1.2 Maintain Standards. Maintain standards within its charter. PTC Documents shall be revised as necessary. Each PTC Document shall be reaffirmed, revised, or withdrawn within five years after its approval. 5.1.3 Achieve Consensus. Achieve a consensus (1) for the action proposed on a standard. 5.1.4 Minimize Duplication. Ensure that duplication of standards is minimized. 5.1.5 Conflicting Standards. Not promulgate conflicting standards. 1 Consensus [see ANSI Procedures for the Development and Coordination of American National Standards] means substantial agreement has been reached by directly and materially affected interest categories. This signifies the concurrence of more than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimity. Consensus requires that all views and objections be considered, and that an effort be made toward their resolution PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 11 5.1.6 PTC Interpretations. Develop and issue interpretations of PTC Documents within its charter as determined by the Board. 5.1.7 Report Status. Report status of standards within its charter at least annually to the Board. 5.1.8 Consideration of Comments. Provide for consideration of all comments and resolution of recommendations and objections arising from PTC Technical Committee and Board Ballots, and from the ANSI Public Review to the approval of the PTC Document. 5.1.9 Due Process. Provide for procedural due process. 5.1.10 Oversee the Assignment of Project Teams. At appropriate stages of the development process, the Project Team provides access to draft proposals for review and comment (preferably by electronic means) to all Members of the PTC Committee, technically cognizant subordinate groups, and other affected or appropriate committees, Board Members and members of the public who have expressed interest. Such review(s) may be done at the same time as the PTC Committee vote with the approval of the Chair. Reasons for doing so include: • the need for the implementation of the proposal is urgent • the proposal is very unlikely to have opposition, such as for editorial proposals, updating edition dates for referenced standards, and incorporation of widely accepted code cases If substantive comments are received from other than PTC Committee Members during a concurrent review committee vote, the comments shall be submitted to the full PTC Committee for consideration (see Article 6.2.2(g)). The Project Team develops responses to substantive comments, prepares a summary of comments and responses, and makes the summary available to the commenters. Comments that are withdrawn need not be included in the summary. If substantive changes are made to the proposal, the proposal is submitted for review and comment again. If additional substantive comments are received, the comments and Project Team responses are added to the summary. If the proposal has no changes or only non-substantive changes as a result of the comments, the proposal is submitted to the PTC Committee for vote. 5.2 Meetings. The PTC Committee shall: 5.2.1 Types of Meetings. Hold meetings or electronic conferences as determined by the PTC Committee or the Chair on behalf of the Committee. Teleconference meetings are encouraged to minimize travel and reduce the time required to complete actions. 5.2.2 Open Meetings. Provide for meetings open to the public. Members of the public may express their views on items being discussed but shall not have voting privileges. However, a portion of a meeting may be in executive session, when considering subjects such as personnel, accreditation, certification, registration, litigation and other administrative matters. PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 12 5.2.3 Quorum. A simple majority of the PTC Technical Committee membership shall constitute a quorum for all voting actions at the meetings. In the absence of a quorum, the Minutes of the meeting and any voted action shall be subject to approval by a recorded vote of the membership. 5.3 Members. The PTC Committee shall: 5.3.1 Recommendation of Potential Members. Recommend Members from the necessary areas of interest. 5.3.2 Approve Subordinate Group Membership. Approve membership of the subordinate groups reporting to it. 6 PTC COMMITTEE ACTIONS PTC committee actions are of three types: (a) Approval of standards actions (see Article 6.2). (b) Providing positions on documents e.g., drafts submitted under the canvass method (see Article 6.3). (c) Approval of personnel and administrative items or actions relating to policy or ASME position (see Article 6.4). 6.1 Voting Obligations. Each Member or Alternate shall exercise his/her voting priviledge within prescribed time limits. An Alternate’s vote shall be counted only if the Member’s vote is not recorded. When a Member and the Alternate fail repeatedly to vote when due, or consistently abstain from voting, the Member’s appointment shall be subject to termination by the Committee. The individual may appeal such action. Voting Members are encouraged to vote as soon as possible. 6.2 Approval of Standards Actions 6.2.1 Authorization of Recorded Votes. A recorded vote may be authorized by any of the following: (a) Project Team responsible for the standards action (b) PTC Committee officer (c) The Board (d) A majority vote of those Members present in a PTC Committee meeting (e) Petition of five Members of the PTC Committee 6.2.2 Voting Procedures (a) All Members of the PTC Committee shall have an opportunity to vote. (b) Votes for standards actions may be obtained by letter, fax, recorded votes at meetings, or electronic means. (c) The Secretary shall submit the proposal to the PTC Committee along with: 1. an explanation of why the action is being proposed, and 2. a summary of substantive comments made during the development phase and Project Team responses to the comments. PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 13 (d) Standards actions are normally submitted for public review (see Section 7) at the same time they are submitted for PTC Committee vote. (e) The vote form shall contain four forms of response: approved, disapproved, abstain, and not voting. (f) Voting periods shall be closed upon receipt of all responses but not later than four weeks after the date of issue unless the Committee or the Chair extends the voting period. (g) If substantive comments are received from other than PTC Committee Members during a concurrent review PTC Committee vote, the comments shall be submitted to the PTC Committee for a review period of at least two weeks, and PTC Committee Members shall be given the opportunity to change their vote after considering the comments. (h) Votes received by the Secretary after the voting period will not be considered unless an extension of the period has been established by the Chair. At the close of the voting period, the Secretary shall submit a complete voting tally to the PTC Committee and the Project Team. All disapproved votes and comments shall be carefully considered by the Project Team and their resolution attempted. Responses to substantive comments and “disapproved” votes shall be documented and made available to PTC Committee Members. (i) Technical changes made in a proposed standard as a result of a “disapproved” vote and other comments received shall be submitted to the PTC Committee and the Board with a two-week period given in which the Members shall have the opportunity to express opposition to the changes. If, after consideration, “disapproved” votes cannot be resolved, they shall be reported to the PTC Committee with copies of the reason for the “disapproved” votes and the responses. Each Member who wishes to change his/her original vote shall so indicate within a specified time frame. A reconsideration Ballot may be issued. The Members who submitted the unresolved “disapproved” votes shall be notified of their right to appeal PTC Committee actions. (j) Members’ votes shall not be changed unless the voter has provided the Secretary with written instructions to do so, or the member’s instructions are documented in the Minutes of the relevant PTC committee meeting. (k) Proposals require at least four fifths affirmative vote of the Committee membership. After a standards action has been approved by the PTC Committee, the Secretary will submit the standards action to the Secretary of the Board, along with: 1. a tally of the voting; 2. unresolved PTC Committee “disapproved” votes, and all Board comments and Project Team responses; and 3. after the completion of public review (see Section 7), all public review comments and Project Team responses. 6.2.3 Reaffirmation. The PTC Committee may recommend reaffirmation of a PTC Document to the Board. In the absence of an active Committee, the Board may reaffirm a PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 14 PTC Document. Reaffirmation should be used sparingly. Regular periodic updating of PTC Documents should be the norm. 6.2.4 Inquiries. Formal technical inquiries are requests for interpretation of the technical provisions and requirements of a PTC Document. Responses to inquiries shall be composed expeditiously by the responsible committee or its subordinate group. These procedures govern the committee’s response actions. The inquiry response Project Team should be formed within 10 working days of receipt, with the intention of responding to the inquiry within 45 calendar days. 6.3 Document Review and Approval. 6.3.1 Authorization of Recorded Votes. A recorded vote may be authorized by the Chair or by a majority vote of the Committee Members. 6.3.2 Voting Procedure. (a) All Members of the PTC Committee shall have an opportunity to vote. (b) Votes may be obtained by letter, fax, recorded votes at meetings, or electronic means. (c) ASME policy does not permit approval of a document submitted to ASME for review, e.g., drafts submitted under the ANSI canvass method. Therefore, the no objection, objection, abstain, and not voting are used as a set. (d) Voting periods shall be closed upon receipt of all responses but not later than four weeks after the date of issue unless the committee or the Chair extends the voting period. Closing dates earlier than four weeks may be established by the Chair based on deadline dates. (e) Votes received by the Secretary after the voting period will not be considered unless an extension of the period has been established by the Chair. At the close of the voting period, the Secretary shall submit a complete voting tally to the PTC Committee. (f) Each Member who wishes to change his/her original vote after seeing the voting tally and comments provided by others on the PTC Committee shall so indicate within a specified time frame. (g) The Secretary will submit the voting tally to the Secretary of the Board as guidance in establishing the official ASME position on the proposed document. 6.4 Approval of Personnel and Administrative Items. Approval of personnel and administrative items or actions relating to policy or ASME position may be approved by majority recorded vote of the Committee or at Committee meetings provided a quorum is present. A quorum shall consist of at least 50% of the PTC Committee membership eligible to vote. Approval of motions during a meeting shall be by at least a majority vote of the Members voting; however, the Chair may rule that a motion has not passed even if a majority vote has been cast. The reason for such ruling shall be the closeness of the vote, the absence or abstention of some Members, or a combination of these reasons. 6.5 Confidentiality. The interim results of any Ballots shall not be released to anyone, other than the Committee officers, until the Ballot is closed. PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 15 7 PUBLIC REVIEW 7.1 Announcement. All proposed, revised, reaffirmed or withdrawn standards shall be announced in Mechanical Engineering and on the ASME Web site for public review. If the proposal is intended to be submitted to ANSI for approval, it shall also be announced in ANSI Standards Action. At the request of the Chair of the PTC Committee, this may be conducted concurrently with PTC Committee voting or following PTC Committee voting. 7.2 Distribution. The PTC Committee may supplement the public review by having a proposed standard sent to all Members of the Board and group(s) or individual(s) known to have an interest in the scope and purpose of the proposed standard. 7.3 Public Hearings. The PTC Committee may supplement the public review with public hearings addressing the scope and provisions of standards. 7.4 Resolution of Comments. The PTC Committee shall attempt to resolve all comments received through public review. Following consideration of each comment, the commenter shall be advised of the consideration of the comments, the action taken, or reasons why the comments could not be resolved and notification of their right to appeal the PTC committee’s actions. All unresolved public review objections shall be distributed to Members of the PTC Committee who will have the opportunity to respond, reaffirm, or change their vote on the proposal. 8 APPROVAL 8.1 Board Approval. Board on Performance Test Codes (the Board) shall conduct a Ballot to attest that these Procedures have been followed and that the requirements set forth in these Procedures have been met. 8.2 American National Standards Institute. Consistent with Article 1.2, PTC Documents should be submitted for ANSI approval in accordance with the following two Articles. 8.2.1 ANSI Criteria. When the Board has completed action per Article 8.1 regarding the proposed standard, revision, reaffirmation, or withdrawal, the proposal shall be submitted to the American National Standards Institute indicating that the ANSI criteria for approval have been met. Requests for ANSI approval shall be submitted within one year from the close of the ANSI public review comment period unless ANSI has been notified in writing of the rationale for the different submittal schedule. The ANSI criteria for approval are: (a) The standard was developed in accordance with the procedures upon which the developer was granted accreditation, with particular attention given to whether or not due process was followed, consensus was achieved, and an effort was made to resolve any objections to the standard; (b) Any appeal to the standards developer with respect to the standard was completed; (c) Notice of the development process for the standard was provided to ANSI in accordance with PINS or its equivalent; (d) Any identified significant conflict with another American National Standard was resolved; PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 16 (e) Other known national standards were examined with regard to harmonization and duplication of content; (f) The proposed American National Standard was provided to the administrator(s) of the appropriate USA TAG; (g) ANSI’s patent policy is met, if applicable; (h) ANSI’s policy on commercial terms and conditions is met, if applicable. 8.2.2 Information Submittal. The information to be submitted by the Secretary to the American National Standards Institute shall include: (a) Title and designation of the proposed American National Standard; (b) Indication of the type of action requested (that is, approval of a new American National Standard or reaffirmation, revision, or withdrawal of an existing American National Standard); (c) Two copies of the final proposed American National Standard; (d) Identification of the accredited method used and declaration that applicable procedures were followed; (e) A summary of the PTC Committee’s voting, including abstentions and not-returned votes in each interest category; (f) Identification of all unresolved negative views and objections, with names of the objector(s), and a report of attempts toward resolution; (g) A roster of the PTC Committee at the time of voting. 9 APPEALS 9.1 Activities Subject to Appeal. Any action or inaction of a PTC Committee relating to a code or standard promulgated by the PTC Committee may be appealed by any individual, company, or organization. 9.2 Sequence. Appeals shall be considered according to the following: 9.2.1 Committee. Appeals shall first be directed to the PTC Committee. 9.2.2 Board. Appeals which cannot be resolved at the level of the PTC Committee which originated the subject in dispute, may be referred to the Board. 9.2.3 Council. If the Board’s decision remains objectionable to any party concerned with the action, a request for an appeal, based upon matters relating to procedural due process, may be submitted to the Council on Codes and Standards’ Board on Hearings and Appeals, which may decide at its discretion whether or not to consider a further appeal. 9.3 Procedure. Procedures for appeal to the PTC Committee shall be as follows: 9.3.1 Notification Requirements. Written notice (certified mail preferred) of intent to appeal may be filed with the Secretary of the PTC Committee after the final voting results have been reported to the PTC Committee. If the notice of intent to appeal is filed within PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 17 20 working days after reporting of the final voting results followed within 10 additional working days by the detailed objection or appeal statement, the item in question will not proceed to the announcement described in Article 7.1 pending a hearing on the appeal. 9.3.2 Objection Following Public Review Announcement. If a written objection is received within 30 days after the announcement described in Article 7.1 of the text or a reference to a proposed action, the item will be withheld until there has been a hearing on the objection. 9.3.3 Arranging a Hearing. The PTC Committee, after determining that a hearing is in order, shall arrange to hear the appeal at its earliest practicable scheduled meeting after the date of request for appeal, or at the discretion of the PTC Committee Chair, at a meeting of a hearing panel, consisting of Members of the PTC Committee appointed by the Chair, on a date mutually agreeable to all parties. 9.3.4 Notification of a Hearing. The appellant, the PTC Committee and others concerned shall be notified of the hearing at least fifteen working days in advance of the date set for hearing the appeal. 9.3.5 Actions. The PTC Committee shall take action with respect to the appeal in accordance with the voting requirements stated in Article 6.2.2(j). The Secretary of the PTC Committee shall notify the appellant, the Chair of the PTC Committee and others concerned, of the Committee decision within seven days of the date of the hearing. 9.4 Subsequent Appeals Action (PTC Board). For any subsequent appeal to the Board, written notice by certified mail or equivalent communication of intent to appeal must be filed with the Secretary of the Board within 10 working days after the date of mailing of the originating PTC Committee’s response to the appeal. Thereafter, the procedures of the Board shall apply. 9.5 Subsequent Appeals Action (Board on Hearings & Appeals). To request a further appeal following conclusion of the Board appeal, written notice of intent to appeal must be filed by certified mail or equivalent communication with the Secretary of the Board on Hearings and Appeals within 10 working days after receipt of the notification of the results of the Board appeal. Thereafter, the procedures of the Board on Hearings and Appeals shall apply. 9.6 Appealing Directly to a Board. In addition, any individual, company, or organization aggrieved by any action or inaction of a Board may request reconsideration and an appeal hearing before that Board. If the Board’s decision remains objectionable to any party concerned with the action, or if the subject of a potential appeal originated with an action or inaction of the Council on Codes and Standards, a request for an appeal, based solely upon matters relating to procedural due process, may be submitted to the Board on Hearings and Appeals, which may decide at its discretion whether or not to consider the appeal. The Board on Hearings and Appeals is the final level of appeal relating to Codes and Standards matters within ASME. 9.7 Availability of Procedures. The appeals procedures of the Board and the procedures of the Board on Hearings and Appeals are available from ASME upon request. 10 ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER, REVISED On questions of parliamentary procedure not covered in these operating rules, “Robert’s Rules of Order, revised” shall be used. PTC Committee Procedures May 2001 18 11 RECORDS Records shall be retained in accordance with Codes and Standards Policy CSP 38, Document Retention. 12 AMENDMENTS Amendments to these Procedures require the approval of the Board. Any amendments to these Procedures will be submitted to ANSI for acceptance in accordance with their criteria for acceptance of revisions to the accredited procedures. . on Performance Test Codes (the Board) shall conduct a Ballot to attest that these Procedures have been followed and that the requirements set forth in these Procedures have been met. 8 .2. to Codes and Standards matters within ASME. 9.7 Availability of Procedures. The appeals procedures of the Board and the procedures of the Board on Hearings and Appeals are available from ASME. administrative matters. PTC Committee Procedures May 20 01 12 5 .2. 3 Quorum. A simple majority of the PTC Technical Committee membership shall constitute a quorum for all voting actions at the