Notice2021-17330
Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection Renewal; Comment Request for OGE Form 278e Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 13, 2021
Issuing agencies
Government Ethics Office
Abstract
After publication of this second round notice, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) intends to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) renew its approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act for an existing information collection, entitled the OGE Form 278e Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44718-44719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17330]
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OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection
Renewal; Comment Request for OGE Form 278e Executive Branch Personnel
Public Financial Disclosure Report
AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: After publication of this second round notice, the Office of
Government Ethics (OGE) intends to
[[Page 44719]]
request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) renew its
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act for an existing information
collection, entitled the OGE Form 278e Executive Branch Personnel
Public Financial Disclosure Report.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Grant Anderson at the U.S. Office of
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9318; TTY: 800-877-8339; Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#480f3a29263c6609262c2d3a3b272608272f2d662f273e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7e0d5c6c9d389e6c9c3c2d5d4c8c9e7c8c0c289c0c8d1">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure
Report.
Agency Form Number: OGE Form 278e.
Abstract: The OGE Form 278 collects information from certain
officers and high-level employees in the executive branch for conflicts
of interest review and public disclosure. The form is also completed by
individuals who are nominated by the President for high-level executive
branch positions requiring Senate confirmation and individuals entering
into and departing from other public reporting positions in the
executive branch. The financial information collected relates to:
Assets and income; transactions; gifts, reimbursements and travel
expenses; liabilities; agreements or arrangements; outside positions;
and compensation over $5,000 paid by a source--all subject to various
reporting thresholds and exclusions. The information is collected in
accordance with section 102 of the Ethics in Government Act, 5 U.S.C.
app. sec. 102, as amended by the Representative Louise McIntosh
Slaughter Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (Pub. L. 112-105)
(STOCK Act) and OGE's implementing financial disclosure regulations at
5 CFR part 2634.
In 2013, OGE sought and received approval for the OGE Form 278e, an
electronic version of the Form 278, implemented pursuant to the e-
filing system mandated under section 11(b) of the STOCK Act. The OGE
Form 278e collects the same information as the OGE Form 278. In 2014,
OGE sought and received approval to incorporate the OGE Form 278e into
its Integrity e-filing application. Integrity has been in use since
January 1, 2015, and OGE now requires filers to use a version of the
OGE Form 278e rather than the old OGE Form 278. The version of the Form
278e that is produced by Integrity is a streamlined output report
format that presents only the filer's inputs in given categories and
does not report other categories not selected by the filer. OGE also
continues to maintain an Excel version of the form and a 508 compliant
PDF version on its website.
A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting
comments on this information collection was published on June 2, 2021
(86 FR 29583). OGE received four responses to that notice, two of which
contained several suggestions.
Several of the suggestions addressed the reporting requirements,
for example eliminating the requirement to report diversified mutual
funds. The financial disclosure requirements are dictated by the Ethics
in Government Act (EIGA), 5 U.S.C. app. sec. 102, as amended.
Therefore, these suggested changes could not be made without revisions
to the EIGA. Several of the suggestions proposed user experience
changes to the Integrity system. There is a pre-existing process to
collect, analyze, and prioritize proposed changes to the Integrity
system through the Integrity Advisory Council (IAC). Agency employees
should forward suggestions concerning Integrity to their agency's
Integrity administrator or an agency ethics official who can present
the suggestions for IAC consideration.
Two suggestions involved the clarity of the form's instructions.
One of these suggestions was considered, but it was determined that
making the change would actually decrease the overall clarity of the
instructions. The other suggestion made a valid point that a particular
instruction can be confusing to filers, but offered no specific
alternative. Without a specific alternative to consider, OGE is unable
to make this change as part of the Paperwork Reduction Act renewal
process. OGE intends to study the issue for a future revision.
Finally, several suggestions made by Citizens for Responsibility &
Ethics in Washington (CREW) focused on requiring additional personal
information from filers, which would increase the burden of the
information collection and may implicate privacy concerns. One CREW
proposal suggested requiring more information about filers' assets.
That idea was previously considered and OGE determined that the
resulting burden to the filer would be too high. Some of CREW's
suggestions are not directly related to the purpose of the form and/or
would require a legislative or regulatory change. To the extent that
the proposed changes may assist the government in identifying potential
conflicts of interest, they will be considered for a future iteration
of the form.
OMB Control Number: 3209-0001.
Type of Information Collection: Extension of a currently approved
collection.
Type of Review Request: Regular.
Affected Public: Private citizen Presidential nominees to executive
branch positions subject to Senate confirmation; other private citizens
who are potential (incoming) Federal employees whose positions are
designated for public disclosure filing; those who file termination
reports from such positions after their Government service ends; and
Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 3,196.
Estimated Time per Response: 10 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 31,960 hours.
Request for Comments: OGE is publishing this second round notice of
its intent to request paperwork clearance renewal for OGE Form 278e.
Public comment is invited specifically on the need for and practical
utility of this information collection, the accuracy of OGE's burden
estimate, the enhancement of quality, utility and clarity of the
information collected, and the minimization of burden (including the
use of information technology). The comments will become a matter of
public record.
Approved: August 10, 2021.
Emory Rounds,
Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2021-17330 Filed 8-12-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6345-03-P
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