[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14073-14074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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: [email protected] (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, 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: Jennifer Matis at the U.S. Office of 
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9216; TTY: 800-877-8339; Email: 
[email protected]. A copy of the form with proposed changes marked in red 
is available here: https://oge.box.com/s/vm33qroo5vbbvg542xr4mvqzacyz36fx.

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]
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