Office of Government Ethics 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) proposes to revise one of its existing internal systems of records pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. This system of records currently contains personally identifiable information (PII) collected from Federal employees and/or members of the public who register to attend or otherwise participate in OGE meetings and events. The system is currently designated OGE/INTERNAL-6, Online Registration for OGE-Hosted Meetings and Events. OGE proposes to revise the system of records to contain additional records associated with OGE professional development offerings, including ongoing educational and certification programs, as well as the one-time events currently covered. OGE also proposes to change the name to reflect these changes.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is announcing Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of new information collection requirements contained in a final rule published in the Federal Register on May 25, 2023, ``Legal Expense Fund Regulation.''

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is updating its executive branch regulation on financial disclosure to reflect the retroactive statutory increase of the reporting thresholds for gifts and travel reimbursements. OGE is also updating the executive branchwide standards of ethical conduct regulation to raise the widely attended gatherings nonsponsor gifts exception dollar ceiling tied to these thresholds. This change is not retroactive.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is adding a new subpart to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (Standards). The new subpart contains the standards for an employee's acceptance of payments for legal expenses through a legal expense fund and an employee's acceptance of pro bono legal services for a matter arising in connection with the employee's official position, the employee's prior position on a campaign of a candidate for President or Vice President, or the employee's prior position on a Presidential Transition Team. OGE is also making related amendments to the portions of the Standards that govern the solicitation and acceptance of gifts from outside sources and the portions of the Executive Branch Financial Disclosure regulation that govern confidential financial disclosure reports.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) requests comments on proposed changes to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (Standards). The proposed amendments seek to update the Standards based on OGE's experience gained from application of the regulation since its inception. The proposed amendments also would incorporate past interpretive guidance, add and update regulatory examples, improve clarity, update citations, and make technical corrections.