Last fall, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) published minor amendments to the Standards of Ethical Conduct regulation (see 62 Federal Register 48746-48748, September 17, 1997) which removed references to the former honoraria ban (5 U.S.C. app., § 501(b)). In 1996, the Department of Justice had determined that the ban was inoperative (OGE DAEOgram, Feb. 28, 1996) . The amendments also made several technical cleanup changes, including updated citations to the statute on procurement integrity and new cross-references to the regulation implementing 18 U.S.C. § 208 at 5 CFR part 2640.

OGE will soon publish a follow-up rule making that will complete the process of eliminating obsolete rules concerning the former honoraria ban, by amending references and text throughout 5 CFR part 2636 and by entirely removing subpart B of part 2636. Subpart B had contained substantive provisions interpreting the honoraria ban for the executive branch. It had also implemented for the executive branch the supplemental disclosure requirements of the financial disclosure statute for certain payments to charitable organizations in lieu of honoraria (5 U.S.C. app., 102(a)(1)(A)), though the effective date for that provision had been deterred indefinitely.

The supplemental disclosure portion will be preserved in capsule form as part of the overall financial disclosure rules at 5 CFR part 2634, but will remain dormant, pending further review.

Source: OGE Ethics Newsgram, Spring, 1998.

The maximum amount that executive branch employees subject to the limitation on outside earned income will be able to receive for calendar year 1998 is $20.505. Under the law, subject employees may not receive outside earned income in excess of 15% of the annual rate of basic pay for Level II of the Executive Schedule. The base rate used for this calculation is that which is in effect as of January 1.

A recent Executive order increased the rate of basic pay for a number of pay systems. Section 3(a) of Executive Order 13071 of December 29, 1997 (Presidential Documents, 62 Federal Register No. 250, December 31, 1997) increased the basic pay for Level II of the Executive Schedule to $136,700. That increase became effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 1998.

Under OGE's (U.S. Office of Government Ethics) implementing regulations at 5 CFR 2636.304(a), the effective date of a change in the Level II pay rate is the date on which a new rate of basic pay for Level II first becomes applicable to any Level II position. OGE has consulted with the Office of Personnel Management and has been advised that htis requirement has been met. Agencies therefore need not be concerned with the date on which a Level II pay increase became effective in their agency.

Source: OGE Ethics Newsgram, Spring, 1998