November 28, 2000
                                   DO-00-045

MEMORANDUM

TO:       Designated Agency Ethics Officials

FROM:     Amy L. Comstock
          Director

SUBJECT:  Technical Amendments Rulemaking


     The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has published in the
Federal Register a set of final rule technical amendments to
certain of its executive branch regulations.  See 65 Fed. Reg.
69655-69657 (November 20, 2000).  The rulemaking is also available
in the "What's New In Ethics" section of OGE's Web site (Internet
address: http://www.usoge.gov).

     Among the changes are references in 5 C.F.R. part 2634 to the
higher categories of value for reporting on SF 278 public financial
disclosure reports of assets, income, transactions and liabilities
over $1,000,000, as required by the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act
amendments to the Ethics in Government Act.  In addition, OGE has
adjusted the reporting thresholds for gifts and travel
reimbursements for both the public and confidential executive
branch financial disclosure systems.[1]   The new thresholds for
gifts and reimbursements are "more than $260" for the aggregation
level for reporting and "$104 or less" for de minimis items which
do not have to be counted towards the aggregate threshold
(previously $250 and $100, respectively).  Similarly, in the
branchwide standards of ethical conduct regulation at 5 C.F.R.
§ 2635.204(g)(2), OGE has raised the widely attended gathering gift
exception ceiling for nonsponsor gifts of free attendance from $250
to $260.  OGE has also made additional, minor revisions to
parts 2634, 2635 and 2638 of its executive branchwide regulations.

     These revisions were effective upon publication, except for
the gifts/reimbursements threshold changes which were made
retroactively effective to January 1, 1999.

__________________________________________________

     1.  Both changes are reflected on the new March 2000 edition of
the SF 278 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure
Report form, as are the gifts/reimbursements threshold changes on
the current April 1999 edition of the OGE Form 450 Executive Branch
Confidential Financial Disclosure Report