September 17, 1993
DO-93-026
MEMORANDUM
TO: Designated Agency Ethics Officials
FROM: Stephen D. Potts
Director
SUBJECT: Revised OGE Form 201
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is distributing a
revised OGE Form 201, which is now two-sided, entitled "Request to
Inspect or Receive Copies of SF 278 Executive Branch Personnel
Public Financial Disclosure Report or Other Covered Record." The
Office of Government Ethics has obtained the approval of the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act
for the use of the revised form for a three-year period (at which
time OGE will again seek clearance of it from OMB and advise the
agencies). By permission of OMB, the newly revised form does not
have the expiration date printed on it.
The OGE Form 201 serves as the uniform form by which persons
can request access from executive departments and agencies to
SF 278 Public Financial Disclosure Reports, as well as certain
additional records, pursuant to section 105(b) of the Ethics in
Government Act and 5 C.F.R. § 2634.603(c) of OGE's executive
branch-wide financial disclosure regulation. The revisions to the
form clarify the application of the form and reflect various
changes in law and regulation since the form was last revised and
disseminated in February 1990.
The Office of Government Ethics has modified OGE Form 201 to
reflect the fact that, in addition to SF 278s, access under the law
and regulation can now be sought to: (1) certificates of
divestiture (see 5 C.F.R. § 2634.1004); (2) 18 U.S.C. § 208(b)(1)
and (b)(3) waiver determinations, after deletion by the agencies of
any material withholdable pursuant to the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552 (see 18 U.S.C. § 208(d)(1)); and
(3) other OGE Form 201s (see 5 C.F.R. § 2634.603(d)). These other
covered records are noted on the reverse side of the form in
Part III, with a check-off box in Part I.5 on the front side if
access to any such records is sought.
The Office of Government Ethics also has added to the OGE
Form 201 an expanded Privacy Act statement (the form fits into
OGE's executive branch-wide OGE/GOVT-1 Privacy Act system of
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Designated Agency Ethics Officials
Page 2
records) and a modified public burden information (with an
increased average response time estimate of ten minutes per form).
Further, OGE has added an optional block, in Part I.1a on the front
of the form, for applicants to indicate an office telephone number
to facilitate processing of requests. Finally, a new box on fees
has been included in the "Notice of Action" section of the form's
front page (Part II) for those agencies which have access fee
regulations (see 5 C.F.R. § 2634.603(e)).
The OGE Form 201 continues to require applicants to provide
the statutorily mandated information on their name, occupation and
address, as well as the name and address of any other person or
organization on whose behalf they seek access, and provides a
statement of prohibited uses. The Form 201 itself is to be made
available to the public upon request during the period the
underlying report or other covered record requested is made
available (generally six years). See section 105(b)(2) and (c)(1)
of the Ethics Act and 5 C.F.R. § 2634.603(c) and (f).
Both sides of the attached newly revised OGE Form 201 should
be reproduced locally by the agencies for their use. Existing
stocks of the prior version of Form 201 can be exhausted, after
which the new form should be used. Alternatively, agencies may
also design and use their own access forms provided they comply
with all the requirements of the Ethics Act, OGE's implementing
regulation at 5 C.F.R. part 2634 and other relevant provisions
(such as the Privacy Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act).
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(TEBBS note: The "attachment" (form 201) is not available in a
"text" format on the bulletin board. However, if you have a Postscript
printer available you can "download" the file OGE201.EPS from the
FILES/MISCELLANEOUS section and print it.)