Notice2024-03813
Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection Renewal; Comment Request for OGE Form 450 Executive Branch Confidential 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
February 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Government Ethics Office
Abstract
After this first round notice and public comment period, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) plans to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) renew its approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act for a modified version of an existing information collection, entitled the OGE Form 450 Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure Report.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14073-14074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03813]
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OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection
Renewal; Comment Request for OGE Form 450 Executive Branch Confidential
Financial Disclosure Report
AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: After this first round notice and public comment period, the
Office of Government Ethics (OGE) plans to request that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) renew its approval under the Paperwork
Reduction Act for a modified version of an existing information
collection, entitled the OGE Form 450 Executive Branch Confidential
Financial Disclosure Report.
DATES: Written comments by the public and agencies on this proposed
modification and extension are invited and must be received by April
26, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to OGE by any of the following
methods:
Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7401071b1311341b13115a131b02"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="90e5e3fff7f5d0fff7f5bef7ffe6">[email protected]</span></a> (Include reference to ``OGE Form 450 paperwork
comment'' in the subject line of the message.)
Mail: Office of Government Ethics, Attention: Jennifer Matis,
Associate Counsel, 250 E Street SW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20024-
3249.
Instructions: Comments may be posted on OGE's website, <a href="http://www.oge.gov">www.oge.gov</a>.
Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or Social
Security numbers, should not be included. Comments generally will not
be edited to remove any identifying or contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Matis at the U.S. Office of
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9216; TTY: 800-877-8339; Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#791314180d100a39161e1c571e160f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="543e3935203d27143b33317a333b22">[email protected]</span></a>. A copy of the form with proposed changes marked in red
is available here: <a href="https://oge.box.com/s/vm33qroo5vbbvg542xr4mvqzacyz36fx">https://oge.box.com/s/vm33qroo5vbbvg542xr4mvqzacyz36fx</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure Report.
Agency Form Number: OGE Form 450.
Abstract: The OGE Form 450 collects information from covered
executive branch employees as required under OGE's executive branch
wide regulatory provisions in subpart I of 5 CFR part 2634. The basis
for the OGE reporting regulation is section 201(d) of Executive Order
12674 of April 12, 1989 (as modified by Executive Order 12731 of
October 17, 1990) and 5 U.S.C. 13109. The purpose of collecting this
information is to allow agencies to identify and address potential
financial conflicts of interest among covered employees. The
information collected relates to: assets and income; liabilities;
outside positions; agreements and arrangements; and gifts,
reimbursements and travel expenses--all subject to various reporting
thresholds and exclusions. OGE currently maintains the form in three
formats on its website: a PDF version, a 508 compliant PDF version
accessible to users who use screen readers to access and interact with
digital information, and an Excel version.
OGE seeks renewal of the OGE Form 450 with several modifications.
OGE sought and received input from a variety of stakeholders before
proposing these modifications. Comments submitted by the public in
response to the Federal Register notices published during the last
renewal in 2021 were reconsidered. In addition, OGE solicited and
received additional comments from OGE employees, agency ethics
officials (who are the individuals responsible for reviewing the
completed forms for potential conflicts of interest), interested
Congressional offices, and the public. On January 19, 2023, OGE held a
public meeting to discuss potential changes to the OGE Forms 450 and
278e and accepted written comments in lieu of appearing in-person. See
87 FR 73766 (Dec. 1, 2022).
OGE considered each comment submitted. The proposed modifications
discussed below incorporate the suggested changes that OGE believes
will provide added clarity and value to the financial disclosure
process. OGE is declining to make other suggested changes at this time
due to OGE's lack of regulatory authority to make such changes, lack of
interest by the affected agencies, and/or the associated costs to
agencies' electronic financial disclosure filing systems.
The proposed modifications are described below:
On the instruction page, OGE simplified the navigation to OGEs
website for filers who need instructions on completing the form and
added a hyperlink.
On the cover page, OGE proposes to delete the field for mailing
address and to add a question regarding whether the filer has a spouse
who has paid employment outside the federal government. The yes/no
question would be added to the current list of yes/no questions. Filers
are required by regulation to report their spouses' employment income.
In OGE's listening sessions with agency ethics officials, they felt
strongly that the addition of this yes/no question would permit agency
reviewers to better identify potential inadvertent omissions elsewhere
on the form. OGE believes that the minor impact to the filers of
answering this additional yes/no question is outweighed by the benefit
to the efficiency and effectiveness of the financial disclosure review
process. OGE also clarified the definition of ``special government
employee'' on the cover page based on feedback regarding the current
explanatory language.
In the main body of the form, OGE proposes to make a number of
changes to the instructions to increase their clarity. Guidance would
be added to make it clearer what is and is not reportable. A note would
be added indicating that the reporting thresholds for gifts are
applicable for calendar years 2023-2025 and that the amounts are
adjusted every three years. Additional examples would be added to the
Examples page and each section, further demonstrating how particular
information should be reported, and some definitions would be removed
to make room for additional examples and other clarifying changes. The
information that had been provided in the removed definitions is more
clearly addressed on other parts of the form.
These changes would not modify the confidential financial
disclosure reporting requirements in any way. They are intended to help
ensure that filers report all required information in the proper
manner, without overreporting unnecessary personally identifiable
information.
Finally, OGE plans to discontinue use of the PDF version of the
form that is not accessible to users who use screen readers (i.e. it is
not ``508 compliant''). This version has a feature that allows users to
add additional blank pages.
[[Page 14074]]
This feature is no longer technologically supported. OGE proposes to
discontinue use of the nonaccessible PDF version and instead add
additional blank lines to the 508 compliant PDF version. Going forward,
therefore, OGE seeks approval only for two versions of the form--the
508 compliant PDF version and the Excel version.
OMB Control Number: 3209-0006.
Type of Information Collection: Extension of a currently approved
collection.
Type of Review Request: Regular.
Affected public: Prospective Government employees, including
special Government employees, whose positions are designated for
confidential disclosure filing and whose agencies require that they
file new entrant confidential disclosure reports prior to assuming
Government responsibilities.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 31,654.
Estimated Time per Response: 3 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 94,962 hours.
Request for Comments: OGE is publishing this first round notice of
its intent to request paperwork clearance renewal for the OGE Form 450.
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). OGE specifically seeks comments on
whether the proposed changes will change the burden of completing the
form. Comments received in response to this notice will be summarized
for, and may be included with, the OGE request for extension of OMB
paperwork approval. The comments will also become a matter of public
record.
Approved: February 20, 2024.
Shelley K. Finlayson,
Acting Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2024-03813 Filed 2-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6345-03-P
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