Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; comment request,

[Federal Register: June 19, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 118)]

[Notices]

[Page 33668]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr19jn98-81]

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS

Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Proposed New Public Financial Disclosure Access Customer Service Survey

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: After this first round notice and public comment period, OGE plans to submit the information collection proposed in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and three-year approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

DATES: Comments by the public and agencies on this proposed information collection are invited and should be received by September 2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to William E. Gressman, Associate General Counsel, Office of Government Ethics, Suite 500, 1201 New York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20005-3917. Comments may also be sent electronically to OGE's Internet E-mail address at usoge@oge.gov (for E-mail messages, the subject line should include the following reference--``Proposed Public Financial Disclosure Access Customer Service Survey Paperwork Comment'').

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Gressman at the Office of Government Ethics; telephone: 202-208-8000, ext. 1110; TDD: 202-208- 8025; FAX: 202-208-8037. A copy of the proposed survey may be obtained, without charge, by contacting Mr. Gressman.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Government Ethics is planning to submit, after this notice and comment period, the following proposed customer service survey form for the collection of information to OMB for review under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) and three-year approval thereunder.

The Office of Government Ethics is planning to assess, through the proposed ``Public Financial Disclosure Access Customer Service Survey'' form, 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 the Office. Most of the SF 278 reports available at OGE are those filedby 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, Sec. 105, and 5 CFR 2634.603 of OGE's executive branchwide regulations thereunder, by completing an OGE Form 201, ``Request to Inspect or Receive Copies of SF 278 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report or Other Covered Record.'' The survey forms will be distributed to requesters along with their copies of requested SF 278 reports, with instructions asking them to complete and return the survey to OGE via the self-contained postage- paid postcards (the reverse side of the survey form, when folded, becomes a preaddressed postcard). The purpose of the survey will be to determine through customer responses how well OGE is responding to such requests and how the Agency can improve its customer service in this important area.

Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, OGE is not including in its public burden estimate for the new access customer service survey form the limited number of access requests filedby other Federal agencies or Federal employees. Nor is OGE including in that estimate the also 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 will only be sent to persons who request copies of SF 278 reports. As so defined and assuming a 100% return rate, the total number of access survey forms for copies of SF 278s estimated to be filedannually 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 186. This estimate is based on a calculation of the average number of underlying access requests for copies of SF 278 reports received at OGE over the past two calendar years--1996 (152 requests) and 1997 (220 requests). The estimated average amount of time to read the instructions on the new customer service survey form and complete the form is three minutes. Thus, the overall estimated annual public burden for the proposed OGE Public Financial Disclosure Access Customer Service Survey will be nine hours (186 forms X 3 minutes per form, with the number of hours rounded off from 9.3 to 9).

Public comment is invited on each aspect of OGE's proposed new access customer service survey form, as set forth in this notice, including specifically views on: the need for and practical utility of this new collection of information; 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).

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 for this new proposed information collection. At that time, after this notice and comment period, OGE will publish a second paperwork notice in the Federal Register to inform the public and Federal agencies.

Approved: June 15, 1998. F. Gary Davis, Deputy Director, Office of Government Ethics.

[FR Doc. 98-16285Filed6-18-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6345-01-U

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