5 U.S.C. § 1008 — Establishment and purpose of advisory committees

(a) Establishment. An advisory committee^* may be created only if its creation is—(1) specifically authorized by a statute or by the President; or (2) formally found, by the head of the agency involved after consulting the Administrator^* and after timely notice in the Federal Register, to serve the public interest in carrying out the agency’s legally assigned duties.
(b) Purpose of Advisory Committees. Unless a statute or Presidential directive specifically says otherwise, advisory committees may be used only to give advice. Only the President or a Federal Government officer may decide what action to take or what policy to state about matters on which a committee reports or makes recommendations.
(c) Advisory Committee Charters. (1) General requirement. An advisory committee may not meet or take action until a charter has been filed—(A) with the Administrator, for a Presidential advisory committee; or (B) with both—(i) the head of the agency to which the committee reports; and (ii) the permanent Senate and House committees that have legislative jurisdiction over that agency. (2) Contents of charter. The charter must state—(A) the committee’s official name; (B) its objectives and the scope of its work; (C) how long it needs to carry out its purposes; (D) the agency or official to which it reports; (E) the agency responsible for giving it needed support; (F) its duties and, if any duties are not solely advisory, the authority for those duties; (G) its estimated yearly operating costs in dollars and person-years; (H) the estimated number and frequency of meetings; (I) its termination date, if that date is less than 2 years after creation; and (J) the date the charter was filed. (3) Copy of charter to Library of Congress. A copy of the charter must be given to the Library of Congress.