Blocked Sunshine Limits CPSC's View of ANSI/CSA Project

CPSC staff had to back out of an August 3 ANSI/CSA working group session because of an anti-transparency decision affecting U.S. standards. This means the agency's ability to give feedback might not exist until after the task on carbon monoxide (CO) sensors in gas appliances is complete and publically available. That is unless CPSC somehow could participate in a way that would not violate its sunshine policies technically if not in spirit. At the least, staffers' reactions will be delayed and their understanding filtered through secondhand reporting.

The choice to forgo CPSC participation stemmed from barring PSL from the teleconference. The reason was insistence that participants "demonstrate technical expertise on the subject matter and explain how they will contribute to the WG assignment." PSL did not seek to contribute, but to listen.

The move is an expansion of previous CSA decisions to bar the press, which were limited to the organization's Canada-only standards. The new incident involved work for its ANSI-accredited Z21 standards used in the U.S. In 2012 (PSL, 10/1/12), a CSA representative told PSL that the group's meetings on gas standards follow ANSI's stronger transparency policies. PSL has regularly covered that work and will seek to in the future, including an upcoming session August 17 on smart-enabled gas grills.

ANSI's openness policies state, "Participation shall be open to all persons who are directly and materially affected by the activity in question." Additionally, in practice, sessions involving ANSI-accredited standards within CPSC's jurisdiction typically are open to anyone to avoid obstructing regulators from participating.

CPSC's transparency rules at 16 CFR 1012 require meetings to be open to the general public, including the press, if they involve substantial-interest matters – discussions "that pertain in whole or in part to any issue that is likely to be the subject of a regulatory or policy decision by the Commission." There are exceptions, such as discussion of surveillance or proprietary matters, but even in those cases, meetings typically are closed only for affected parts.

CPSC rules, moreover, give special deference to the press. For example, if an outside group invites CPSC to a meeting, agency staff may attend even if public access is limited for physical space considerations, but the press nonetheless cannot be barred. The rules, of course, do not govern how private organizations like CSA conduct their meetings, but they do bar CPSC participation, leveraging openness.