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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6030-6032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01125]

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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

[Docket ID: OPM-2024-0017]

Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of the Executive Secretariat and Privacy and Information 
Management, Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 
1974, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposes to establish a 
new OPM system of records titled, ``OPM/Internal--29, Federal Register 
Comments.'' This system of records contains information about 
individuals who submit a public comment (a comment and/or supplementary 
materials provided to OPM in response to an OPM publication in the 
Federal Register).

DATES: Submit comments on or before February 18, 2025 This new system 
is effective upon publication in the Federal Register, except for the 
routine uses, which are effective February 18, 2025.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments using the following method:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number 
for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and 
other submissions from members of the public is to make these 
submissions available for public viewing on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov without change, including any personal identifiers.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kayyonne Marston, Federal Registe 
Liaison, Office of the Executive Secretariat, Privacy, and Information 
Management, Office of Personnel Management, at 202-936-2308 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the requirements of the 
Privacy Act of 1974, OPM proposes to establish a new OPM system of 
records titled, ``OPM/Internal--29, Federal Register Comments.'' This 
system of records supports OPM's public notice and comment process.
    When OPM publishes a rulemaking, guidance, or notice document in 
the Federal Register, anyone can visit Regulations.gov (https://www.regulations.gov) to access that document and submit a public 
comment. Commenters may choose to respond anonymously or provide 
personal identifiers.
    The comments and identifying information submitted on 
Regulations.gov are maintained in the Federal Docket Management System 
(FDMS), a government-wide platform. Although the General Services 
Administration eRulemaking Program Office manages Regulations.gov and 
FDMS, each Federal agency manages its own dockets and public comments 
within FDMS.
    OPM uses FDMS to search, review, organize, analyze, and download 
the comments, and address them, as appropriate, when finalizing their 
publications. This system of records will enable OPM to identify 
individuals who submitted a public comment in response to a request for 
comments on an OPM document published in the Federal Register. If the 
commenter provided identifying information, OPM may use that 
information to ask the commenter to clarify their comment, as 
appropriate, or for other needs connected to the notice and comment 
process.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), OPM has provided a report of 
this new system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and 
to Congress. This new system of records will be included in OPM's 
inventory of record systems.

Office of Personnel Management.
Kayyonne Marston,
Federal Register Liaison.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Office of Personnel Management, OPM/Internal--29, Federal Register 
Comments.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Office of the Executive Secretariat, Privacy, and Information 
Management, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20415-0001 and General Services Administration, National 
Computer Center, 3799 Hopson Road, Research Triangle Park, North 
Carolina 27709.

 SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Federal Register Liaison, Office of the Executive Secretariat, 
Privacy, and Information Management, U.S. Office of Personnel 
Management, 1900 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20415-0001.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Section 206(d) of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347, 44 
U.S.C.

[[Page 6031]]

3501 note); 5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental regulations; 5 U.S.C. 552a, 
Records maintained on individuals; 5 U.S.C. 553, Rule making; 6 U.S.C. 
101, Definitions; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35 subchapter 1, Federal 
Information Policy; and 5 CFR part 1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens 
on the Public.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    This system of records will enable OPM to identify individuals who 
submitted a public comment (a comment and/or supplementary materials 
provided to OPM in response to an OPM publication in the Federal 
Register) in response to a request for comments to an OPM document 
published in the Federal Register. If the commenter provided 
identifying information, OPM may use that information to ask the 
commenter to clarify their comment, as appropriate, or for other needs 
connected to the notice and comment process.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals who provided personal identifiers when submitting a 
public comment.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Records may include the commenter's name, personal contact 
information, business contact information, and public comment. Records 
may also include a comment tracking number, document title, keywords, 
document identification number, Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) title, 
CFR citation, document type, document sub type, date posted, and 
comment period end date.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Individuals who submitted a public comment.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, the records or information contained in 
this system may be disclosed outside OPM as a routine use pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    a. In an appropriate proceeding before a court, grand jury, or 
administrative or adjudicative body, when OPM or another agency 
representing OPM determines that the records are relevant and necessary 
to the proceeding; or in an appropriate proceeding before an 
administrative or adjudicative body when the adjudicator determines the 
records to be relevant to the proceeding.
    b. To the Department of Justice when (a) OPM, or any component 
thereof; (b) any OPM employee in their official capacity; (c) any OPM 
employee in their individual capacity where the Department of Justice 
has agreed to represent the employee; or (d) the United States, where 
OPM determines that litigation is likely to affect OPM or any of its 
components, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such 
litigation, and the use of such records by the Department of Justice is 
deemed by OPM to be relevant and necessary to the litigation.
    c. Where a record, either alone or in conjunction with other 
information, indicates a violation or potential violation of law--
criminal, civil, or regulatory in nature--the relevant records may be 
referred to the appropriate Federal, State, local, territorial, Tribal, 
or foreign law enforcement authority or other appropriate entity 
charged with the responsibility for investigating or prosecuting such 
violation or charged with enforcing or implementing such law.
    d. To a member of Congress or staff acting upon the member's 
behalf, when the member or staff requests the information on behalf of, 
and at the request of, the individual to whom the record pertains.
    e. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for 
records management inspections conducted under the authority of 44 
U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    f. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) OPM 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records, (2) OPM has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, OPM (including 
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal 
Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure made to such 
agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in 
connection with OPM's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed 
breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    g. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when OPM determines 
that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to 
assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected 
or confirmed breach or (2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the 
risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including 
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal 
Government, or national security, resulting from a suspected or 
confirmed breach.
    h. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, or volunteers 
performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative 
agreement, or other assignment for OPM to the extent necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.
    i. To the General Services Administration to operate the 
eRulemaking system.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    All comments are maintained electronically by the General Services 
Administration in the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS). Comments 
are also extracted and stored electronically at OPM for further 
analysis.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records may be retrieved by the commenter's name, keywords, 
document identification number, comment tracking number, document 
title, CFR title, CFR citation, document type, document sub type, date 
posted, and comment period end date.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Comments on rulemakings are retained permanently in accordance with 
OPM's NARA approved record schedule DAA-0478-2017-0002-0001. Comments 
on SORNs are retained for 2 years after supersession by a revised SORN 
or after system ceases operation in accordance with GRS 4.2, item 150. 
Records of notices of announcements and other matters not codified in 
the Code of Federal Regulations are retained for 1 year unless needed 
longer for a required business use.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    The General Services Administration information technology system 
that hosts Regulations.gov and FDMS is in a facility protected by 
physical walls, security guards, and requiring identification badges. 
Rooms housing the system infrastructure are locked, as are the 
individual server racks. All security controls are reviewed on a 
periodic basis by external assessors. The controls themselves include 
measures for access control, security awareness training, audits, 
configuration management, contingency planning, incident response, and 
maintenance.
    Several administrative, technical, and physical security measures 
implemented by OPM also protect the records stored by OPM from 
unauthorized access and misuse. These

[[Page 6032]]

measures comply with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act 
of 2002, as amended by the Federal Information Security Modernization 
Act of 2014, OMB policies, and standards and guidance from the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking access to their records in this system may 
email their request to [email protected] or mail their request to the Office 
of Personnel Management, Office of the Executive Secretariat, Privacy, 
and Information Management--FOIA, 1900 E Street NW, OESPIM/FOIA Room 
5H35, Washington, DC 20415-0001. The email or letter should:
    1. Include the words ``Privacy Act Records Access Request'',
    2. State that the request relates to OPM/Internal--29, Federal 
Register Comments, and
    3. Clearly describe the information requested.
    The letter or email must also include the individual's:
    1. Full name, and any former names,
    2. Date of birth,
    3. Preference for how they want to be contacted (home address, 
telephone number, and/or personal email), and
    4. Signature.
    Additional requirements regarding record access requests, including 
the rights of guardians and how records may be provided, may be found 
in 5 CFR part 297, Privacy Procedures for Personnel Records.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Individuals wishing to request an amendment of records about them 
may email their request to [email protected] or mail their request to the 
Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Executive Secretariat, 
Privacy, and Information Management--FOIA, 1900 E Street NW, OESPIM/
FOIA Room 5H35, Washington, DC 20415-0001. The email or letter should:
    1. Include the words ``Privacy Act Amendment Request'',
    2. State that the request relates to OPM/Internal--29, Federal 
Register Comments,
    3. Clearly describe the records the individual wants to amend and 
why, and
    4. Include any documents which could help substantiate the request.
    The letter or email must also include the individual's:
    1. Full name, and any former names,
    2. Date of birth,
    3. Preference for how they want to be contacted (home address, 
telephone number, and/or personal email), and
    4. Signature.
    Additional requirements regarding record access requests, including 
the rights of guardians and how records may be provided, may be found 
in 5 CFR part 297, Privacy Procedures for Personnel Records.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    See ``Record Access Procedures.''

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    None.

[FR Doc. 2025-01125 Filed 1-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-67-P
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