Office of Government Ethics 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

After publication of this second round notice, OGE intends to submit a modified OGE Form 450 Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure Report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval of a three-year extension under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics is issuing a final rule revising the portions of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Executive Branch Employees that govern the solicitation and acceptance of gifts from outside sources. The final rule modifies the existing regulations to more effectively advance public confidence in the integrity of Federal officials. The final rule also incorporates past interpretive guidance, adds and updates regulatory examples, improves clarity, updates citations, and makes technical corrections.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is issuing a proposed rule to revise the component designations of two agencies for purposes of the one-year post-employment conflict of interest restriction for senior employees. Specifically, OGE is proposing to revoke two existing component designations and add five new component designations, based on the recommendations of the agencies concerned.

After this first round notice and public comment period, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) plans to submit a modified OGE Form 450 Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure Report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval of a three-year extension under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act) was enacted on April 4, 2012. The Act imposed additional financial disclosure requirements on individuals required to file public financial disclosure statements pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act. Pursuant to section 402(b) of the Ethics in Government Act, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is revising the regulations governing financial disclosure to incorporate the new reporting requirements imposed by the STOCK Act. As a part of the revision, OGE also is modernizing language, making changes to the confidential filing requirements, adding and updating examples, and conforming the language of the regulation more closely to that of the Ethics in Government Act. In addition, OGE is proposing an updated definition of ``widely diversified'' for Excepted Investment Fund purposes that brings the definition in line with the definition of ``diversified'' found in the exemptions to the conflicts of interest law governing personal financial interests.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics is issuing a final rule amending portions of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch regarding seeking other employment. The final rule incorporates past interpretive advice, updates examples, improves clarity, and makes technical corrections. In addition, the final rule implements the statutory notification requirements that apply to individuals required to file public financial disclosure reports under section 101 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 when they negotiate for or have an agreement of future employment or compensation.

The Office of Government Ethics is proposing to amend the regulation that sets forth the elements and procedures of the executive branch ethics program. This comprehensive revision of 5 CFR part 2638 is informed by the experience gained over the last several decades administering the program, and was developed in consultation with agency ethics officials, the inspector general community, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Justice. The proposed regulation defines and describes the executive branch ethics program, delineates the responsibilities of various stakeholders, and enumerates key executive branch ethics procedures.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is publishing this first round notice and seeking comment on the twelve executive branch OGE model certificates and model documents for qualified trusts. OGE intends to submit these forms to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval of a three-year extension under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). OGE is proposing no changes to these forms at this time.