U.S. Office of Government Ethics
1201 New York Avenue, NW.,
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005-3917


					March 25, 2008
					DO-08-010


MEMORANDUM

TO:		Designated Agency Ethics Officials

FROM:		Marilyn L. Glynn
		General Counsel

SUBJECT:	Increased Gifts and Travel Reimbursements Reporting 
		Thresholds for Financial Disclosure Reports and 
		Nonsponsor Widely Attended Gatherings Gift Exception 
		Ceiling


A. Gifts and Travel Reimbursements Reporting Thresholds

	The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has issued final rule 
amendments that in pertinent part revise the executive branch 
financial disclosure regulation at 5 C.F.R. §§ 2634.304 and 
2634.907(g) to reflect the statutory retroactive increase, 
applicable as of January 1, 2008, of the thresholds for 
reporting of gifts, reimbursements and travel expenses for both 
the public and confidential report systems.  See 73 Federal 
Register 15387-15388 (March 24, 2008).  The new aggregation 
threshold for the reporting of gifts and reimbursements received 
from any one source on financial disclosure reports is "more 
than $335"; items worth "$134 or less" do not need to be counted 
towards that overall threshold.[1]  The Ethics in Government Act 
and OGE regulations tie these increases to the increase last 
month by the General Services Administration of "minimal value" 
for purposes of the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act to "$335 
or less" for the three-year period 2008-2010.  See 73 Federal 
Register 7475 (February 8, 2008).

	The calendar year 2007 Public and Confidential Financial 
Disclosure Reports (SF 278s and OGE Form 450s) being filed this 
year are not affected by this change, because the new gifts and 
reimbursements thresholds only became applicable as of the 
beginning of 2008.  However, any newly filed termination SF 278 
public reports will be affected for the portion of 2008 covered.  
However, it is not necessary to contact termination filers 
regarding such reports already filed this year.

	Departments and agencies should promptly notify their 
report filers of these new thresholds.  OGE will include the new 
thresholds in future editions of the two report forms and post a 
notice thereof in the forms section of its Website 
(www.usoge.gov).

B. Nonsponsor Widely Attended Gatherings Gift Exception Ceiling

	Similarly, in the branchwide standards of ethical conduct 
regulation at 5 C.F.R. § 2635.204(g)(2), OGE has raised from 
$305 to $335 the widely attended gathering gift exception 
ceiling for nonsponsor gifts of free attendance.  That exception 
ceiling is based in part on the aggregate gifts and 
reimbursements reporting threshold.  OGE made this regulatory 
revision, which does not reflect any underlying statutory 
increase, effective March 24, 2008, when the amendatory 
rulemaking was published in the Federal Register.

____________

   [1] The prior reporting amounts were more than $305 for the 
aggregation threshold and $122 or less for excepted items.