[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 242 (Friday, December 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75547-75548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27644]
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OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Unmodified Public
Financial Disclosure Access Customer Service Survey
AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: After this first round notice and public comment period, OGE
plans to submit the Public Financial Disclosure Access Customer Service
Survey form to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for three-year
extension of approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act. OGE is
proposing no changes to the survey form.
DATES: Comments by the public and agencies on this proposed information
collection extension are invited and should be received by March 2,
2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Mary T. Donovan, Office of
Administration and Information
[[Page 75548]]
Management, U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Suite 500, 1201 New York
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20005-3917. Comments may also be sent
electronically to OGE's e-mail address at [email protected] (for e-mail
messages, the subject line should include the following reference--
``Public Financial Disclosure Access Customer Service Survey'').
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donovan at the U.S. Office of
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9232; TDD: 202-482-9293; FAX:
202-482-9237. A copy of the Public Financial Disclosure Access Customer
Service Survey form may be obtained, without charge, by contacting Ms.
Donovan.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Government Ethics uses the
Public Financial Disclosure Access Customer Service Survey form (OMB
control number 3209-0009) to assess requester satisfaction with the
service provided by OGE in responding to requests by members of the
public for access to copies of Standard Form (SF) 278 Executive Branch
Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Reports on file with OGE. Most of
the SF 278 reports available at OGE are those filed by executive branch
Presidential appointees subject to Senate confirmation. Requests for
access to SF 278 reports are made pursuant to the special public access
provision of section 105 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (the
Ethics Act), as codified at 5 U.S.C. appendix section 105, and
procedures in 5 CFR 2634.603 of OGE's executive branchwide regulations.
Requesters ask for copies of SF 278 reports by completing an OGE Form
201, ``Request to Inspect or Receive Copies of SF 278 Executive Branch
Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Reports or Other Covered
Records.''
OGE distributes the survey forms to requesters along with copies of
requested SF 278 reports. OGE notes that the survey form is only
authorized for its own use, not by other agencies throughout the
executive branch. The instructions on the survey form ask the requester
to complete and return the survey form to OGE via the self-contained
postage-paid postcards (the reverse side of the survey form, when
folded, becomes a pre-addressed postcard). The purpose of the survey
form is to determine through customer responses how well OGE is
responding to such requests and how OGE can maintain its current high-
level of customer satisfaction in this area.
OGE is issuing this first round Federal Register notice to announce
its forthcoming request to OMB for paperwork renewal of the survey form
with no modifications. If OGE's current stock of survey forms is
depleted within the next three years, OGE plans to reprint the form
with two minor modifications (with notice to OMB at that time) without
further paperwork clearance. These modifications are: updating the OGE
address from ``Attn: FDD'' to ``Attn: PSD'' and, in the public burden
statement, change ``Associate Director for Administration'' to ``Deputy
Director for Administration and Information Management.''
The current paperwork approval is scheduled to expire at the end of
March 2005. Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter
35), OGE is not including in its public burden estimate for the survey
form the limited number of access requests filed by other Federal
agencies or Federal employees. Nor is OGE including in that estimate,
the limited number of requests for copies of other records covered
under the special Ethics Act public access provision (such as
certificates of divestiture) since the survey form is only sent to
persons who request copies of SF 278 reports.
As so defined, OGE's estimate for the total number of survey forms
to be filed annually at OGE over the next three years by members of the
public (primarily by news media representatives, public interest group
members and private citizens) is 30. This estimate is based on a
calculation of the number of survey forms received at OGE between
January 2001 and October 2004 (112 survey forms). This estimate is 20
less than that for the prior three-year period. The estimated average
amount of time to read the instructions and complete the survey form,
remains the same at three minutes. Thus, the new overall estimated
annual public burden for the OGE Public Financial Disclosure Access
Customer Service Survey form will be two hours (rounded up from one and
a half hours (30 forms x 3 minutes per form)).
Public comment is invited on all aspects of the survey form as
proposed for renewal including specifically views on: the accuracy of
OGE's public burden estimate; the potential for enhancement of quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and the
minimization of burden (including the possibility of use of information
technology).
After this notice and comment period, OGE will submit the survey
form to OMB for review and three-year extension of approval under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act. At that time, OGE will also
publish a second paperwork notice in the Federal Register to inform the
public and Federal agencies. Comments received in response to this
notice will be summarized for, and may be included with, the
forthcoming OGE request for OMB three-year paperwork approval. They
will also be explained in the second round notice. The comments will
also become a matter of public record.
Approved: December 9, 2004.
Marilyn L. Glynn,
Acting Director, Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 04-27644 Filed 12-16-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6345-02-P