Many of the sector and cross-sector council structures take advantage of the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) legal framework.

Established in 2006 by the Secretary of Homeland Security to facilitate effective coordination between federal infrastructure protection programs with the infrastructure protection activities of the private sector and of state, local, territorial and tribal governments, CIPAC allows members of the SCCs and GCCs to engage in joint critical infrastructure security-related discussions and participate in a broad spectrum of activities.

While operating under the CIPAC framework, the public-private critical infrastructure partnership meetings are exempt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), allowing partners to engage in frank or sensitive dialogue.