46 CFR 503.54: Original classification.

(a) No Commission Member or employee has the authority to originally classify information.

(b) If a Commission Member or employee develops information that appears to require classification, or receives any foreign government information as defined in section 6.1(s) of Executive Order 13526, the Member or employee shall immediately notify the Senior Agency Official and appropriately protect the information.

(c) If the Senior Agency Official believes the information warrants classification, it shall be sent to the appropriate agency with original classification authority over the subject matter, or to the Information Security Oversight Office, for review and a classification determination.

(d) If there is reasonable doubt about the need to classify information, it shall be safeguarded as if it were classified pending a determination by an original classification authority. If there is reasonable doubt about the appropriate level of classification, it shall be safeguarded at the higher level of classification pending a determination by an original classification authority.