[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55270-55271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14597]


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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 second round notice, 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 278e Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure 
Report.
    Comments: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

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/jrca898wqy81iwy1gklc8ydoyuyp963b.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure 
Report.
    Agency Form Number: OGE Form 278e.
    Abstract: The OGE Form 278e collects information from certain 
officers and high-level employees in the executive branch for conflicts 
of interest review and public disclosure. The form also collects 
information from 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 information is collected in 
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 13104 and OGE's implementing financial 
disclosure regulations at 5 CFR part 2634. The 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.
    OGE has approval for five versions of the Form 278e: a PDF version, 
an Excel version, an electronic version called Integrity, a Chinese 
language version, and a Spanish language version. The translated 
versions are intended to be informational only, to allow more members 
of the public to understand the content of filers' public reports. 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. It is this output report that is made available to the

[[Page 55271]]

public in PDF form. Most public disclosure filers now use Integrity to 
file the OGE Form 278e. However, OGE also continues to maintain an 
Excel version of the form and a 508 compliant PDF version accessible to 
users who use screen readers to access and interact with digital 
information.
    OGE seeks renewal of the OGE Form 278e 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 
Integrity.
    The proposed modifications are described below. These changes apply 
to the English language versions of the form only; OGE will update its 
Spanish and Chinese instructional versions at a later date.

Changes to All English Versions (Excel, PDF, and Integrity)

    OGE proposes to add a question for all filers regarding their type 
of appointment. The options offered are ``PAS,'' ``Non-Career,'' and 
``Career.'' The information may be provided by the filer or by their 
agency. This information will appear on the cover page. This change was 
requested by a good government group in order to help the public 
understand the filer's potential conflicts. One of the primary purposes 
of the public financial disclosure report is to allow the public to 
understand any potential conflicts of interest the filer might have. 
Knowing the filer's type of appointment is important to this 
understanding because different types of officials have different 
ethics requirements.
    OGE also proposes to identify the date of appointment on the cover 
page of reports for all filers other than nominees (who have not yet 
been appointed at the time they complete the form). Integrity currently 
identifies the date of appointment on the cover page of a new entrant 
report only. The Excel and PDF versions currently have one field for 
both date of appointment and date of termination, which OGE proposes 
separating into two fields. The purpose is to benefit the public's 
understanding of the time period during which the individual was in a 
public filing position.
    Lastly, OGE proposes to add a link to its online Public Financial 
Disclosure Guide, the most widely used resource for completing and 
reviewing public financial disclosure reports.

Changes to the Excel and PDF Versions Only

    OGE proposes instructional changes to the Excel and PDF versions to 
provide better guidance to those filers who do not use the Integrity 
application. OGE does not propose any changes to the information 
collected on the Excel and PDF versions of the form, beyond the 
addition of ``appointment type'' discussed above.
    OGE proposes two changes to the initial instructions page to 
improve clarity: (1) changing the topic headings to plain language 
questions (e.g. changing ``Late Filing'' to ``What Happens if I File 
Late?''); and (2) consolidating the guidance on which parts to complete 
into a new section headed ``What Parts Must I Complete?''
    In the rest of the instructions, OGE proposes to add clarifying 
guidance on reporting requirements, exceptions to reporting 
requirements, and definitions. OGE also proposes to add specific 
instructions to avoid reporting unnecessary personal information. 
Finally, OGE proposes to add a note indicating that the reporting 
thresholds for gifts are applicable for calendar years 2023-2025 and 
that the amounts are adjusted every three years.
    A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
comments on this information collection was published on February 26, 
2024 (89 FR 14071). OGE received one response to that notice. The 
commenter sought an edit to the instructions for reporting liabilities 
as they apply to Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed (PAS) 
uniformed service members reporting mortgages. As a result of this 
comment, OGE is making clarifying edits to the instructions and summary 
instructions for reporting liabilities. First, a paragraph formerly 
entitled ``Additional Exception for Certain Mortgages'' will be 
retitled ``Mortgage Reporting.'' Its language will be simplified and 
reorganized to clarify exactly who is required to report a mortgage on 
a personal residence, the exceptions to that requirement, and who is 
not required to report a mortgage. Second, minor language changes will 
be made to the Summary Instructions for the liabilities section to make 
it clear that certain PAS are required to report all mortgages.
    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: 4,257.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 42,570 hours.
    Request for Comments: OGE is publishing this second 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). 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: June 10, 2024.
Shelley K. Finlayson,
Acting Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2024-14597 Filed 7-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6345-03-P