In response to a staff discussion paper from February with reflections on the Council process and identifying potential ideas for change, the Council tasked staff with exploring several ideas related to the timing of the harvest specifications process, reducing the Council’s 5 meeting per year schedule down to 4, the nomination process for AP and SSC members, and an approach to agency B reports, as well as options for continuing remote testimony when meeting in communities with limited internet bandwidth.
The February 2022 staff paper contained a series of ideas related to potential changes to the Council meeting schedule and agenda timing, and advisory bodies. The inclusion of ideas in the paper was intended to start a public conversation and were not provided as staff recommendations. The Council chose to refer the paper to their Executive Committee and AP and SSC leadership, who met in March and provided recommendations to the Council to initially prioritize 5 ideas for further exploration. The Council concurred with the Committee recommendations, and also included the idea related to agency B reports. Additionally, the Council requested staff include a discussion previously referenced in other materials related to planning for return to in-person meetings. The issue raised by staff is that it may be difficult for the Council to continue the same level of remote accessibility, in terms of offering a meeting broadcast and opportunities for remote testimony, for the AP and SSC as well as the Council, when meeting in some of the coastal communities where the Council usually meets.
Based on the Council’s direction, staff will provide further discussion of each set of ideas, including any tradeoffs that should be considered. Staff will bring back a paper addressing all of the prioritized ideas in June, noting that some (especially the timing of the harvest specifications process) will not yet be fully fleshed out. Staff contact is Diana Evans.
