[Federal Register: June 29, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 124)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 35130]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29jn98-5]

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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 5

 
Exemption of Insubstantial Financial Conflicts.

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is amending a Commission Rule to make it 
consistent with the Office of Government Ethics' regulation 
establishing regulatory waivers of certain financial conflicts of 
interest.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This amendment is effective on June 29, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ira S. Kaye, Attorney, Federal Trade 
Commission, Room 594, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington 
DC 20580. 202-326-2426.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When the Standards of Ethical Conduct for 
Employees of the Executive Branch (``Standards''), 5 CFR Part 2635, 
became effective on February 3, 1993, they superseded most of the 
Commission's own standards of conduct, 16 CFR Part 5. The Commission 
rescinded its superseded standards on February 8, 1993. See 58 FR 15763 
(March 24, 1993). The Commission retained Rule 5.8 because it had not 
been superseded by the new Standards, but renumbered it as Rule 5.2.
    Rule 5.2(a)-(c) provides the requirements and procedures for 
seeking a waiver of a financial conflict of interest. In addition, Rule 
5.2(d) notes that a financial interest in ``[s]tocks and bonds of a 
diversified mutual fund or investment company'' is waived 
automatically, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 208(a), provided that the employee 
does not own more than one percent of the value of the fund's reported 
assets.
    The U.S. Office of Government Ethics issued a final rule, 5 CFR 
Part 2640, effective on January 17, 1997, describing a number of 
additional circumstances under which a financial conflict of interest 
is waived automatically. For example, an employee may participate in a 
particular matter, despite holding a financial interest that would be 
affected by the matter, if the interest arises from the ownership of 
publicly traded securities and is valued at no more than $5000. 5 CFR 
2640.202(a). Thus, the reference to an automatic waiver in Commission 
Rule 5.2(d) should be amended to reflect the existence of these 
additional regulatory waivers.
    This rule amendment relates solely to agency practice, and, thus, 
is not subject to the notice and comment requirements of the 
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), or to the 
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601(2).
    The amended rule does not involve the ``collection of information'' 
as that term is defined by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), 44 
U.S.C. 3501-3520.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 5

    Standards of conduct.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Federal Trade 
Commission amends Title 16, Chapter I, subchapter A, of the Code of 
Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 5--STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

    1. The authorities citation for Part 5 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 7301; 5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in Government 
Act of 1978); 15 U.S.C. 46(g); E.O. 12674, 54 FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989 
Comp. p. 215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 55 FR 42547, 3 CFR, 1990 
Comp., p. 306, 5 CFR part 2635, unless otherwise noted.

    2. Section 5.2 is amended by revising paragraph (d) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 5.2  Exemption of insubstantial financial conflicts.

* * * * *
    (d) Pursuant to 5 CFR Part 2640, certain financial interests are 
exempted from the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 208(a) as being too remote to 
too inconsequential to affect the integrity of an employee's services.

    By direction of the Commission.
Benjamin I. Berman,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-17232 Filed 6-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M