[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 215 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60093-60094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29333]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS


Notice of Planned Termination of the Ethics Bulletin Board System

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of Government Ethics is planning to terminate The 
Ethics Bulletin Board System (TEBBS), its electronic bulletin board 
service for executive branch Government ethics information, effective 
January 1, 1998. In its place, OGE will continue to enhance its 
Internet World Wide Web

[[Page 60094]]

site, established last year, which contains most of the same electronic 
materials as well as additional informational resources and links to 
other pertinent Internet sites.

DATES: Comments by the agencies and the public are invited and should 
be submitted to OGE by December 8, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Government Ethics, Suite 500, 
1201 New York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20005-3917, Attention: James 
V. Parle.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James V. Parle, Chief, Office of 
Information Resources Management, Office of Government Ethics; 
telephone: 202-208-8000; TDD: 202-208-8025; FAX: 202-208-8037; Internet 
E-mail address: [email protected] (for E-mail messages, the subject line 
should include the following reference--Comment on planned TEBBS 
termination).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that, effective 
January 1, 1998, the Office of Government Ethics is planning to 
terminate the operation of its ``The Ethics Bulletin Board System'' 
(TEBBS). This notice is also being posted on TEBBS and OGE's Web site. 
In light of the creation last year of OGE's new Web site on the 
Internet, OGE has initially determined that TEBBS is no longer needed 
for electronic dissemination of OGE Government ethics information to 
the agencies and the public. Nonetheless, OGE invites comments from the 
agencies and the public on this planned termination of TEBBS, to be 
received by December 8, 1997, and will carefully consider any comments 
received before reaching a final decision. If OGE does decide to delay 
or reverse the planned termination of TEBBS, OGE will publish a further 
notice to this effect in the Federal Register, as well as posting it on 
both TEBBS and the OGE Web site.
    The Office of Government Ethics introduced TEBBS to the executive 
branch ethics community at the September 1992 Government Ethics 
Conference. Since then, TEBBS has been used to disseminate electronic 
copies of OGE's executive branchwide ethics regulations, along with its 
advisory memoranda and letters. The TEBBS bulletin board also 
electronically provides access to various ethics program administration 
aids, such as ethics reporting forms, training materials, and OGE 
publications.
    When OGE introduced the TEBBS service in 1992, electronic bulletin 
boards were the principal means for the Government to disseminate 
information electronically. However, since that time, information 
technology has changed significantly. Today, the World Wide Web on the 
Internet has become the primary electronic means of disseminating 
information. The Office of Government Ethics introduced its own Web 
site at the September 1996 Government Ethics Conference.
    The current uniform resource locator (URL) address for OGE's 
Internet World Wide Web site is http://www.usoge.gov. The OGE Web site 
contains, either on-site or via links to other Web sites, most of the 
same electronic information that is available on TEBBS as noted above, 
as well as that on OGE's ethics CD-ROM, which OGE will continue to 
publish twice a year. The Web site also provides access to additional 
informational resources, such as electronic copies of pertinent 
Government ethics laws and Executive orders. Further, the Web site 
includes all the current OGE forms and publications in Adobe Acrobat 
portable document format (PDF) files that can be downloaded and used as 
needed by agencies and their employees. The Office of Government Ethics 
continually updates its Web site as new material becomes available for 
electronic dissemination.
    Response to OGE's Web site has been better than expected. Since OGE 
put its Web site into service a year ago, the number of ``hits'' 
(visits to a page or downloading of a document) has grown steadily. The 
volume now averages some 34,000 ``hits'' a month. The Office of 
Government Ethics expects this number to continue to grow as it adds 
additional functionality and information to the site. Not surprisingly, 
there has been a corresponding decrease in the use of TEBBS. With OGE's 
limited resources, the largely redundant and less flexible capabilities 
offered by TEBBS has become too expensive to operate and maintain. The 
additional resources and capabilities of OGE's Web site should more 
than compensate for the termination of the TEBBS electronic bulletin 
board service.

    Approved: October 31, 1997.
Stephen D. Potts,
Director, Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 97-29333 Filed 11-5-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6345-01-P