OGE Form 450 Justification Oct 2017

U. S. OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
JUSTIFICATION FOR A NONMATERIAL/NONSUBSTANTIVE CHANGE
OGE FORM 450 EXECUTIVE BRANCH CONFIDENTIAL
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORT
OCTOBER 2017

In March, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget reviewed and approved a
three-year extension under the Paperwork Reduction Act of the OGE Form 450
Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure Report. In May, 2017, the Office of
Government Ethics (OGE) issued final rule amendments that revise the executive branch
financial disclosure regulation at 5 C.F.R. §§ 2634.304 and 2634.907(g) to reflect the
retroactive increase, applicable as of January 1, 2017, of the threshold for reporting of
gifts, reimbursements and travel expenses for both the public and confidential report
systems. See 82 Fed. Reg. 22,735 (May 18, 2017). The Ethics in Government Act and
OGE regulations tie these increases to the increase in January, 2017 by the General
Services Administration of “minimal value” for purposes of the Foreign Gifts and
Decorations Act to $390 for the three-year period 2017-2019. See Gen. Servs. Admin.,
FMR B-41, Foreign Gift and Decoration Minimal Value (2017). The new aggregation
threshold for the reporting of gifts and reimbursements received from any one source on
financial disclosure reports is “more than $390”; items worth “$156 or less” do not need
to be counted towards that overall threshold.
These reporting threshold values are indicated in several places on the OGE Form
450 in the instructions and examples to Part V: Gifts and Travel Reimbursements. OGE
proposes to update these threshold values from “$150” and “$375” to “$156” and “$390,”
respectively. These changes to the OGE Form 450 have no material effect on the burden
to filers; rather, the changes simply update the form to provide the correct information to
filers regarding the currently-applicable aggregation threshold for reporting gifts and
travel reimbursements.