Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, all proposed NEH guidance documents determined to be significant guidance documents within the meaning of §1173.8 will be subject to the following informal notice-and-comment procedures.

(a) NEH's OGC will:

(1) Publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that a draft of the proposed guidance document is publicly available;

(2) Post the draft guidance document on its website, at www.neh.gov/guidance;

(3) Invite public comment on the draft document for a minimum of thirty (30) days; and

(4) Prepare and post a public response to major concerns raised in the comments, as appropriate, on its guidance portal, either before or when the guidance document is finalized and issued.

(b) The requirements of paragraph (a) of this section will not apply to any significant guidance documents or categories of significant guidance documents for which NEH's OGC finds—in consultation with OIRA, the proposing NEH office/division, and the NEH Chairperson—good cause that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest (and incorporates the finding of good cause and a brief statement of reasons therefor in the issued guidance).

(c) Where appropriate, NEH's OGC may recommend to the NEH Chairperson that a particular guidance document that is otherwise of importance to the agency's interests should also be subject to the informal notice-and-comment procedures described in paragraph (a) of this section.