July 17, 2000
DO-00-026
MEMORANDUM
TO: Designated Agency Ethics Officials
FROM: Stephen D. Potts
Director
SUBJECT: New Edition of the SF 278 Report Form
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) recently received its
final three-year paperwork clearance from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) and standard form clearance from the General
Services Administration (GSA) for a moderately revised version of
the SF 278 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure
Report form. As noted in OGE DAEOgrams of March 18, 1999, July 19,
1999, and December 21, 1999 (#s DO-99-011, DO-99-030, and DO-99-
048), this new March 2000 edition of the SF 278 report form:
(1) incorporates higher-category reporting, as required by
amendments to the Ethics in Government Act, for any assets, income,
liabilities and (for the first time) transactions, which are over
$1,000,000 in value; (2) reflects the new slightly higher reporting
thresholds for gifts and reimbursements (over $260 overall, with a
$104 or less "de minimis" threshold); (3) adds a continuation page
for transactions (Schedule B, Part I); and (4) includes a check-off
box in the comments section of the front page of the form for
indicating any filing extensions and, if so indicated, the number
of days granted.
OGE has made available and invites agencies to begin using a
viewable and downloadable Portable Document File (PDF) electronic
image of the new 03/2000 edition of the SF 278 report form, which
is located in the Ethics Resource Library section of OGE's Internet
Web site (address: http://www.usoge.gov); the PDF version of the
new form will also be included in the next edition of The Ethics
CD-ROM.(1) In addition, OGE is working with GSA to have the new
SF 278 edition printed and stocked in packages of 25 forms for
ordering through GSA's Federal Supply Service.
OGE anticipates that the printed paper originals of the new
edition of the form (which will feature a yellow background
shading) will be available for purchasing by agencies nationwide
from GSA Customer Supply Centers by October 2000. In the meantime,
the 6/94 and 1/91 editions of the SF 278 currently in circulation
may still be used. However, once printed copies of the new edition
of the SF 278 report form are made available for ordering through
GSA beginning in October (or as soon thereafter as possible),(2)
those previous editions of the form will be superseded and hence no
longer usable, except by termination filers who may, if they want,
continue to use the 6/94 and 1/91 editions of the SF 278 until the
end of February 2001. Any questions about the new SF 278 can be
directed to your desk officer, who can also provide a copy of the
form if need be.
_______________________
1. OGE is also working on a couple of different types of
electronically fillable SF 278s (& OGE Form 450s) for placement on
our Web site and ethics CD-ROM in the months ahead. Once
available, those fillable forms would until further notice still
have to be printed out after completion on a computer and manually
signed and filed.
2. In the event of any significant delay, OGE will advise
agencies when the printed forms of the new edition do become
available from GSA.