[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55269-55270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14599]


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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 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 450 Executive Branch Confidential 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/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

[[Page 55270]]

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. 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.
    A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
comments on this information collection was published on February 26, 
2024 (89 FR 14073). OGE received no responses to that notice.
    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 second 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: June 10, 2024.
Shelley K. Finlayson,
Acting Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2024-14599 Filed 7-2-24; 8:45 am]
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