[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 21 (Wednesday, January 31, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6139-6140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01859]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT


Submission for Review: Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions 
(SF 85P) and Supplemental Questionnaire for Selected Positions (SF 85P-
S)

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Suitability 
Executive Agent Programs, is notifying the general public and other 
Federal agencies that OPM proposes to request the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) revise and renew the Questionnaire for Public Trust 
Positions (SF 85P) and Supplemental Questionnaire for Selected 
Positions (SF 85P-S).

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until March 1, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this information collection, 
with applicable supporting documentation,

[[Page 6140]]

may be obtained by contacting Office of Personnel Management, 
Suitability Executive Agent Programs, P.O. Box 699, Slippery Rock, PA 
16057, or by electronic mail at [email protected]. Please contact 
Alexys Stanley at 202-936-2501, if you have questions.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, OPM is soliciting comments for this collection (OMB No. 3206-
0258). This information collection was previously published in the 
Federal Register on November 1, 2023, at 88 FR 75078, allowing for a 
60-day public comment period. No comments were received for this 
collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 
days for public comments. OPM is particularly interested in comments 
that:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.
    Background: The Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions, SF 85P, 
and Supplemental Questionnaire for Selected Positions, SF 85P-S, are 
information collections completed by applicants for, or incumbents of, 
Federal Government civilian positions, or positions in private entities 
performing work for the Federal Government under contract (SF 85P 
only). The collections are used as the basis of information for 
background investigations to establish that such persons are:
    Suitable for employment or retention in Federal employment in a 
public trust position or fit for employment or retention in Federal 
employment in the excepted service when the duties to be performed are 
equivalent in degree of trust reposed in the incumbent to a public 
trust position;
    Fit to perform work on behalf of the Federal Government pursuant to 
the Government contract, when the duties to be performed are equivalent 
in degree of trust reposed in the individual to a public trust 
position; and
    Eligible for physical and logical access to federally controlled 
facilities or information systems, when the duties to be performed by 
the individual are equivalent to the duties performed by an employee in 
a public trust position.
    For applicants, the SF 85P and SF 85P-S are to be used only after a 
conditional offer of employment has been made. The SF 85P-S is 
supplemental to the SF 85P and is used only as approved by OPM, for 
certain positions such as those requiring carrying of a firearm. eApp 
(Electronic Application) is a web-based application that houses the SF 
85P and SF 85P-S. A variable in assessing burden hours is the nature of 
the electronic application. The electronic application includes 
branching questions and instructions which provide for a tailored 
collection from the respondent based on varying factors in the 
respondent's personal history. The burden on the respondent is reduced 
when the respondent's personal history is not relevant to a particular 
question. The question branches, or expands for additional details, 
only for those persons who have pertinent information to provide 
regarding that line of questioning. Accordingly, the burden on the 
respondent will vary depending on whether the respondent's personal 
history relates to the information collection.
    OPM recommends renewal of the form. Since posting the 60 Day 
Notice, OPM is making a minor change to the Instructions and Fair 
Credit Reporting Disclosure and Authorization that accompanies the form 
by removing instructions related to security freezes on consumer or 
credit files. With the passage of the Economic Growth, Regulatory 
Relief, and Consumer Protection Act which was signed into law on May 
24, 2018, security freezes do not apply to the making of a credit 
report for use in connection with employment or background screening 
purposes. Therefore, it is no longer necessary for individuals 
undergoing a background investigation to request the freeze be lifted.
    Analysis:
    Agency: Suitability Executive Agent Programs, Office of Personnel 
Management.
    Title: Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions (SF 85P) and 
Supplemental Questionnaire for Selected Positions (SF 85P-S).
    OMB Number: 3206-0258.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Number of Respondents: 152,700 (SF 85P); 16,700 (SF 85P-S).
    Estimated Time per Respondent: 155 minutes (SF 85P); 10 minutes (SF 
85P-S).
    Total Burden Hours: 394,475 (SF 85P); 2,783 (SF 85P-S).

    Office of Personnel Management.
Kayyonne Marston,
Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2024-01859 Filed 1-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-66-P