201-A_Support Statement_2012

U.S. Office of Government Ethics
OMB 83-I Supporting Statement
OGE FORM 201-A REQUEST TO INSPECT OR RECEIVE ELECTRONIC COPIES OF
EXECUTIVE BRANCH PERSONNEL PUBLIC FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS,
INCLUDING PERIODIC TRANSACTION REPORTS,
FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2012
A. Justification
1.- 2. Section 105(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 as amended (EIGA),
5 U.S.C. app., § 105(b), provides for access by members of the public to OGE Form 278 (and
prior SF 278) public financial disclosure reports upon the proper submission of a written
application giving the name, occupation and address of the requester, the same information for
others (if any) on whose behalf the request is made and an indication that there is notice of the
prohibited uses of such OGE Form 278 (and prior SF 278) reports as specified under section
105(c) of EIGA, 5 U.S.C. app., § 105(c). The Office of Government Ethics (OGE), as the
supervising ethics office for the executive branch (see section 109(18)(D) of EIGA), has
provided for information on the OGE Form 201 application statement, the "Request to
Inspect or Receive Copies of OGE Form 278/SF 278 Executive Branch Personnel Public
Financial Disclosure Reports or Other Covered Records" that meets the statutory requirements for
permitting access to these reports as well as other covered records.
On April 4, 2012 President Obama signed into law the Stop Trading on Congressional
Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act), Public Law No. 112-105 (2012). The STOCK Act
establishes new requirements for executive branch ethics programs, ethics officials, and the
28,000 employees who currently file public financial disclosure reports pursuant to EIGA.
Section 6 of the STOCK Act adds a new subsection 103(l) to EIGA. Effective July 3, 2012,
subsection 103(l) requires that not later than 30 days after receiving notification of any
transaction required to be reported under subsection 102(a)(5)(B) of EIGA, but in no case later
than 45 days after such a transaction, a covered employee must file a report of the transaction.
OGE has created the OGE Form 278-T for Federal employees subject to this requirement to
complete periodic transaction reports. Section 11(a)(l) of the STOCK Act requires public
financial disclosure reports filed in 2012 and thereafter to be made available to the public on
agency Websites. Section 11(b) of the STOCK Act provides further that the mandatory
requirements of 5 U.S.C. app. §§ 105(b)(2), which has governed and will continue to govern
requests by mail, d o “not apply” to the forms made available online.
The STOCK Act did not change the penalties for misuse of information in public
financial disclosure reports found at 5 U.S.C. app. § 105(c)(l), or the authority of the OGE
Director under section 402(b)(1) of EIGA to establish procedures for the public’s access to
public financial disclosure reports filed by executive branch employees. Pursuant to the
Director’s authority to require executive branch agencies to collect information before public
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financial disclosure reports are made available to a requestor, OGE is proposing a new form 201A to be used solely for providing online access to reports posted pursuant to the STOCK Act.
The proposed OGE Form 201-A would collect information from, and provide certain
information to, persons seeking access to electronic copies of public financial disclosure reports ,
including periodic transaction reports, filed on or before January 1, 2012, and posted on line in
accordance with Section 11(a) of the STOCK Act. Persons seeking to obtain a covered report in
person or via mail, or a report filed prior to January 1, 2012, would still be required to complete
an OGE Form 201. The proposed OGE Form 201-A would require less information than
is currently required by the OGE Form 201. The proposed OGE Form 201-A would collect
the requester’s name, city, state, and country of residence, but would not require a physical or
email address, the occupation of the requester, or whether the request was being made on behalf
of another person. The proposed OGE Form 201-A will continue to require that the requester
acknowledge his or her awareness of the legal uses of the information contained in public
financial disclosure reports and the civil monetary penalties for persons who obtain or use a
public financial disclosure report for a prohibited purpose. Unlike the OGE Form 201, the
online proposed OGE Form 201-A will also alert requesters that intentional falsification of the
information required by the request form may result in prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
Once a requester submits a completed online OGE Form 201-A, immediate access to the
requested public financial disclosure report(s) is provided to the requester online. The
submitted OGE Form 201-A request is then retained as a Federal record by the filer’s
employing agency and by OGE if the individual is PAS or an employee of OGE. The
submitted OGE Form 201-A is itself subject to public access under the Freedom of Information
Act.
The proposed OGE Form 201-A will be one of two information collection instruments
controlled under OMB No. 3209-0002. The OGE Form 201 is currently covered by the same
OMB control number.
The proposed OGE Form 201-A will include notice of a civil monetary penalty (CMP) of
up to $11,000 for obtaining or using a public financial disclosure report for a prohibited purpose.
The CMP amount is current at this time, although OGE anticipates that this amount will be
increased in the near future. OGE requests permission from OMB to automatically update the
amount on the OGE Form 201-A if, and when, the amount is changed during the period covered
by this submission.
OGE is requesting a temporary 180-day, emergency clearance from OMB for the
proposed OGE Form 201-A to comply with the STOCK Act deadline for posting covered
financial disclosure reports on agency Websites. OGE believes that the following conditions
meet the criteria for an emergency clearance, ensuring that the proposed form can be
implemented beginning November 9, 2012:
(a) OGE has taken “all practicable steps to consult with interested agencies and members
of the public in order to minimize the burden of the collection of information.”
5 C.F.R. § 1320.13(c). Since the STOCK Act was signed into law April 4, 2012, OGE has
consulted, almost daily, with interested agencies across the executive branch on all aspects of
implementing the Act. OGE has met with members of several non-government organizations
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and other members of the public to inform them of the STOCK Act requirements and OGE’s
plan to implement the Act. The new information collection instrument would require less
information and be less burdensome than agencies and members of the public experience under
the current access process utilizing the OGE Form 201.
(b) The PRA permits an agency to submit a request for emergency clearance when the
collection of information “is needed prior to the expiration of time periods established under the
PRA; is essential to the mission of the agency; and the agency cannot reasonably comply with
the normal clearance procedures under this part because, among other reasons, the use of normal
clearance procedures is reasonably likely to prevent or disrupt the collection of information or is
reasonably likely to cause a statutory or court ordered deadline to be missed.”
5 C.F.R. § 1320.13(a). OGE has determined that the proposed OGE Form 201-A meets this
standard. The STOCK Act deadline for agencies to post public financial disclosure reports is
clearly shorter than the time required for regular processing under the PRA. Given OGE’s role
as an oversight agency setting policy for the executive branch ethics program, it is essential to
OGE’s mission to ensure that agencies not only comply with the new provisions of the STOCK
Act, but also ensure that requesters who s eek online access t o public financi al
disclosu re rep orts p osted pu rsuant to the STOCK Act are aware of the prohibitions
on the misuse of the form, as detailed in 5 U.S.C. app. § 105(c). The use of emergency
clearance procedures is necessary here to prevent a statutory deadline to be missed. 44 U.S.C. §
3507(j); 5 C.F.R. § 1320.13(a)(2)(iii). Furthermore, if this form were required to go through
the normal clearance process, it would disrupt the orderly collection of information from
requesting persons, which is important to the financial disclosure program. 5 C.F.R. §§
1320.13(a)(1)(ii) and 1320.13(a)(2)(iii).
OGE has followed guidelines for the emergency
clearance process at section 1320.13 including a notice to be published in the Federal Register
required by 5 C.F.R. 1320.5(a)(l)(iv). This notice was published November 1, 2012 (77 FR
66075.
3.
The proposed OGE Form 201-A will be available only in an electronic format in
an automated Web-based application on the OGE Internet Website at http://www.oge.gov. The
electronic form will be filled out and can only be submitted online via OGE’s Website. The
basis for the information collected is to provide immediate access to the documents requested in
compliance with the STOCK Act and to minimize burden to the public.
4.
Not applicable. The proposed OGE Form 201-A access form will be the sole
source of the information needed to process access requests under provisions of the cited laws
and OGE’s regulations.
5.
Not applicable. This collection of information does not impact small businesses
or other small entities.
6.
Not applicable. This form is submitted by persons wanting to obtain access, from
time to time, to certain financial disclosure reports and other covered records described in items
1.-2. above.
7.

No special circumstances exist as outlined in the instructions for this item.
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8.
OGE has the authority under 5 U.S.C. app. § 402(b)(1) of the EIGA to require
executive branch agencies to collect such information before requested public financial reports
are made available to the requester. OGE published a Federal Register notice November 1, 2012
(77 FR 66075) indicating its intention to request from OMB emergency clearance for a
temporary 180-day approval for the proposed OGE From 201-A. Due to the time constraints of
implementing this proposed new form, a five-day period for comments from the public and
agencies was provided. OGE remains open to any suggestions for improvement that may be
received in the course of public comment. Comments will be taken into consideration when
OGE submits a subsequent request to OMB for a three-year authorization.
OGE continually seeks comments from persons outside the agency concerning the impact
of its information collection instruments upon filers and agency ethics programs. OGE provides
opportunities for comment at ethics conferences and symposia. OGE routinely alerts
professionals in the ethics community to recently published OGE Federal Register paperwork
notices via the Ethics News and Information Listserv and Advisory memoranda sent to
Designated Agency Ethics Officials. Visitors to the OGE Internet Website are provided the
opportunity to contact OGE with comments or suggestions. Any ongoing comments received as
a result of that availability or otherwise will be considered by OGE in its regular PRA
submission for a 3-year authorization.
9.

Not applicable. No payments or gifts have been provided to respondents.

10.
There is no assurance of confidentiality as to the proposed OGE Form 201-A.
Rather, the form itself is publicly available for a period of six years in accordance with the
provisions of the FOIA.
11.
All of the information required to be provided on the proposed OGE Form 201-A
is deemed necessary by OGE for online access by requestors to OGE Form 278 and OGE
Form 278-T public financial reports filed on or after January 1, 2012.
12.
No statistics of previous usage for the proposed OGE Form 201-A are available
upon which to base an estimated annual number of respondents because this information
collection is a new form. However, OGE estimates that an average of 1,246 OGE Form 201-As
will be submitted via OGE’s Internet Website automated application annually by members of the
public (primarily by news media, public interest groups and private citizens). OGE’s annual
estimate is based upon the number of requests OGE has received for access to public financial
disclosure reports of presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate through OGE’s Website via
the new automated OGE Form 201 access request form. OGE received 408 requests during the
six-month period from the initial launch of the new automated OGE Form 201 in March through
August 2012.
OGE then added the total number of access requests received by all other
executive branch agencies, for a similar length of time, during the most recent period (calendar
year 2011) for which executive branch wide statistics are available, which was 215 such requests.
The total number of access request forms received by all executive branch agencies, including
OGE, in a 6 month period totaled 623. This number was multiplied by two to provide the
estimate of 1,246 annual respondents. The estimated average amount of time to complete the
form, including review of the instructions, is five minutes. Thus, the estimated annual public
burden for the OGE Form 201-A is 104 hours (1,246 forms X 5 minutes per form).
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13.
The private sector capital and other economic cost burden to respondents for the
proposed OGE Form 201-A is estimated to be "zero." Nearly the entire annual cost burden is
borne by the Federal Government.
14.
The annual cost estimate to the Federal Government to implement the proposed
OGE 201-A is not available at this time. An annual cost estimate will be provided in the
subsequent submission for three-year approval under the PRA.
15.

Not applicable.

16.

Not applicable.

17.

Not applicable.

18.

Certification items (c), (f) and (i) are not applicable to this information collection.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
Not applicable. This collection of information does not employ statistical methods.

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