[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 104 (Wednesday, June 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29583-29584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11551]


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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 this first round notice and public comment period, 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.

DATES: Written comments by the public and agencies on this proposed 
extension are invited and must be received by August 2, 2021.

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.)
    Mail, Hand Delivery/Courier: Office of Government Ethics, 1201 New 
York Avenue NW, Suite 500, Attention: Grant Anderson, Assistant 
Counsel, Washington, DC 20005-3917.
    Instructions: Comments may be posted on OGE's website, 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: Grant Anderson at the U.S. Office of 
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9318; TTY: 800-877-8339; Email: 
[email protected]. An electronic copy of the OGE Form 278e is available 
on OGE's website at https://www.oge.gov. A paper copy may also be 
obtained, without charge, by contacting Mr. Anderson.

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 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. 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.
    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.

[[Page 29584]]

    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 31,960 hours.
    Request for Comments: OGE is publishing this first 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). 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: May 27, 2021.
Emory Rounds,
Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2021-11551 Filed 6-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6345-03-P