[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 200 (Monday, October 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71503-71504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25053]


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OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request for a Modified OGE Form 278e Executive Branch Personnel 
Public Financial Disclosure Report

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).

ACTION: Notice of request for agency and public comments.

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SUMMARY: After this first round notice and public comment period, the 
Office of Government Ethics (OGE) intends to submit a modified OGE Form 
278e Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval of a 
three-year extension under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments by the public and the agencies on this proposed 
extension are invited and must be received on or before December 16, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to OGE, by any of the following 
methods:
    Email: [email protected] (Include reference to ``OGE Form 278e 
paperwork comment'' in the subject line of the message.)
    Fax: 202-482-9237, Attn: Brandon Steele.
    Mail, Hand Delivery/Courier: Office of Government Ethics, 1201 New 
York Avenue NW., Suite 500, Attention: Brandon Steele, Assistant 
Counsel, Washington, DC 20005-3917.
    Instructions: Comments may be posted on OGE's Web site, 
www.oge.gov. 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: Brandon Steele at the U.S. Office of 
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9209; TTY: 800-877-8339; Fax: 
202-482-9237; Email: [email protected]. An electronic copy of the OGE 
Form 278e is available in the Forms Library section of OGE's Web site 
at http://www.oge.gov. A paper copy may also be obtained, without 
charge, by contacting Mr. Steele.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure 
Report.
    Form Number: OGE Form 278e.
    OMB Control Number: 3209-0001.
    Type of Information Collection: Extension with modifications of a 
currently approved collection.
    Type of Review Request: Regular.
    Respondents: 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: 4,884.
    Estimated Time per Response: 3 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 14,652 hours.
    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 new entrants to 
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. section 102, as amended by the Stop 
Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (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. It 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. In 2014, OGE sought and received approval to incorporate 
the OGE Form 278e into its new 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.
    OGE is proposing to make minor modifications to the OGE Form 278e 
to update the Privacy Act statement, improve the instructions, and make 
the form more user-friendly. Specifically, OGE proposes to change the 
titles to Part 2 and Part 5 on all versions of the form. With respect 
to the Integrity version of the form, OGE proposes to remove the 
``Owner'' column from Part 5 and Part 8. Finally, with respect to the 
Excel/PDF version of the form, OGE proposes clarifying the reporting 
requirements in the instructions to Part 4 and correcting several minor 
typographical errors.
    Request for Comments: Agency and 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). 
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.


[[Page 71504]]


    Approved: October 12, 2016.
Walter M. Shaub, Jr.,
Director, Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2016-25053 Filed 10-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6345-03-P