Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection Renewal; Comment Request for OGE Form 450 Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, 55269-55270 [2024-14599]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 128 / Wednesday, July 3, 2024 / Notices
Street and Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20551–0001, not later
than August 2, 2024.
A. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
(Prabal Chakrabarti, Senior Vice
President) 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston,
Massachusetts 02210–2204. Comments
can also be sent electronically to
BOS.SRC.Applications.Comments@
bos.frb.org:
1. Ion Financial, MHC, Naugatuck,
Connecticut; to become a bank holding
company by merging with NVE
Bancorp, MHC, and NVE Bancorp, Inc.,
and thereby indirectly acquiring NVE
Bank, all of Englewood, New Jersey.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board.
acquisition process including
acquisition policy considerations
around Artificial Intelligence.
Additionally, this will include not only
technological advancements but also
extend to a broad spectrum of
interdisciplinary areas. In accordance
with FACA, the renewed charter for the
Committee will be filed with the
appropriate entities.
Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive and Acting
Chief Acquisition Officer, Office of
Government-wide Policy, General Services
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024–14636 Filed 7–2–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820–61–P
OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
[FR Doc. 2024–14654 Filed 7–2–24; 8:45 am]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Information Collection
Renewal; Comment Request for OGE
Form 450 Executive Branch
Confidential Financial Disclosure
Report
BILLING CODE P
GENERAL SERVICES
ADMINISTRATION
[Notice-MRB–2024–03; Docket No. 2024–
0002; Sequence No. 31]
Office of Government Ethics
(OGE).
Notice of Charter Renewal a Federal
Advisory Committee
ACTION:
Office of Government-wide
Policy (OGP), General Services
Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY:
Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
GSA is announcing the
renewal of the charter for the GSA
Acquisition Policy Federal Advisory
Committee (hereinafter ‘‘the
Committee’’ or ‘‘the GAP FAC’’), a
discretionary advisory committee, in
accordance with the provisions of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA), as amended.
DATES: Applicable: July 3, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephanie Hardison, Designated Federal
Officer, OGP, 202–258–6823, or David
Cochennic, OGP, 904–403–0829, or
email: gapfac@gsa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
notice is published in accordance with
the provisions of the FACA, as amended
(Pub. L. 92–463), and announces the
renewal of the GAP FAC. The
Administrator of GSA has determined
that the renewal of the Committee is
necessary and in the public interest.
The focus of the renewed GAP FAC
shall be on providing GSA advice on
regulatory, policy, and procedural
reforms. These reforms will facilitate
policy development and strategies for
implementing emerging technological
considerations in the Federal
SUMMARY:
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AGENCY:
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19:36 Jul 02, 2024
Jkt 262001
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:
jmatis@oge.gov. 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
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Sfmt 4703
55269
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
E:\FR\FM\03JYN1.SGM
03JYN1
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55270
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 128 / Wednesday, July 3, 2024 / Notices
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 60day comment period soliciting
comments on this information
collection was published on February
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:36 Jul 02, 2024
Jkt 262001
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]
BILLING CODE 6345–03–P
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).
Notice and request for
comments.
ACTION:
After this second round
notice, the Office of Government Ethics
(OGE) plans to request that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) renew
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00055
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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:
jmatis@oge.gov. 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
E:\FR\FM\03JYN1.SGM
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Agencies
[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]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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]
BILLING CODE 6345-03-P