February 22, 1999 
                                     DO-99-007 

MEMORANDUM

TO:       Designated Agency Ethics Officials      

FROM:     Stephen D. Potts
          Director

SUBJECT:  Publication of Disposition Instructions On Agency Copies
          of Semiannual Expense Reports for Non-Federally Funded
          Travel and Related Records    


     The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is pleased to announce
the publication of disposition instructions by the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on the management of
agency copies of Semiannual Expense Reports for Non-Federally
Funded Travel and related records.  The publication of this
guidance marks the culmination of a collaborative effort initiated
by OGE and NARA in 1996 for the purpose of providing General
Records Schedule (GRS) instructions on the retention of semiannual
expense report records.  The GRS provides mandatory disposition
instructions for temporary administrative records common to many
departments and agencies. 
        
     During last year's Annual Government Ethics Conference, OGE
shared the results of this collaborative effort with the Federal
ethics community in the panel session on managing ethics records. 
The announcement was well received by the session attendees, who
expressed an interest in seeing similar initiatives in the future. 
On December 21, 1998, NARA published the guidance in the latest
version of GRS 9 (Travel and Transportation Records).  The
instructions read as follows:

GRS 9

Item 6.   Non-Federally Funded Travel.

          a.   Agency copies of Semiannual Expense Reports for
               Non-Federally Funded Travel submitted by all
			   Executive Branch agencies to the Office of
			   Government Ethics.  Reports summarize payments made
               to the agency from non-Federal sources for travel,
               subsistence, and related expenses for an employee
			   who attends a meeting or similar function relating to
			   official duties.

               Destroy when 4 years old.

          b.   Statements, forms, and other records used to
               compile Semiannual Expense Reports for
               Non-Federally Funded Travel.

               Destroy 1 year after submission of report to the
               Office of Government Ethics.

     Item 6.a. specifically covers agency copies of semiannual
travel reports prepared under 31 U.S.C.   1353 in accordance
either with instructions provided in 41 C.F.R.  304-1.9(a) of the
General Services Administration (GSA) regulations or on the two
standard reporting forms GSA recently issued (after prior OGE
comment), the SF 326, "Semiannual Report of Payments Accepted from
a Non-Federal Source" and the SF 326A, continuation sheet.  As a
precaution, ethics officials should first consult with their
agency's records manager(s) before destroying any copies of
Semiannual Expense Reports for Non-Federally Funded Travel or
related records in accordance with the new NARA disposition
instructions.  

     OGE has sought to assist ethics officials in their daily
activities by helping develop simple and definitive guidance on
managing ethics records.  In addition to the recently released
guidance found in GRS 9, Item 6, ethics officials can also find
disposition instructions (with a general 6 year retention period)
for the care of financial disclosure reports in GRS 1 (Civilian
Personnel Records), Item 24.  OGE will be recommending updates to
GRS 1, Item 24 in the near future.  OGE recognizes that by
promoting the use of sound recordkeeping practices, we can help to
simplify the job of agency ethics officials and ensure the
effective operation of ethics programs.  We look forward to
collaborating with NARA and other agencies on future records
management projects concerning ethics program records and welcome
your suggestions in this area.  If you have any questions or
comments regarding this DAEOgram, you may contact the following OGE
staff member:

                    Michael J. Lewandowski
                    Records Management Officer
                    Phone #: 202-208-8000, ext. 1185

A copy of the latest version of GRS 9 has been posted by NARA on
its Web site at http://ardor.nara.gov/grs/grs09.html.