SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), Bureau of the Fiscal Service proposes to modify a current Treasury system of records titled, “Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service .014— ( printed page 25778) United States Securities and Access System of Records.”

The modification will add a new routine use and is intended to facilitate Fiscal Service's payment of applicable savings bonds, as defined by 31 CFR part 323 and the SECURE 2.0 Act, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.^[1] The routine use described in this notice accompanies amendments to 31 CFR part 323, published at 89 FR 102735.

In accordance with the Privacy Act, Fiscal Service published a System of Records Notice (SORN) covering information pertaining to individuals who own savings bonds.^[2] The SORN outlines the records contained in, and the protections and procedures applicable to, the system of records maintained regarding the owners of savings bonds.

The SECURE 2.0 Act requires Treasury to share certain savings bond information with states for the purpose of locating bond owners.^[3] Under this statute, Treasury must “provide each State, in digital or other electronic form, with information describing any applicable savings bond which has an applicable address that is within such State, including (i) the name and applicable address of the registered owner; and (ii) the name and applicable address of any registered co-owner or beneficiary.” ^[4] “Applicable address” is further defined to include the registered address on the savings bond or the last known address available to the Secretary.^[5] “Applicable savings bond” is defined to include a savings bond which is more than three years past its final maturity date, in paper or electronic form, and has not been redeemed.^[6]

As noted in amendments to 31 CFR part 323, Treasury is authorized to issue regulations or guidance as necessary to protect the privacy of the owners of applicable savings bonds, prevent fraud, and ensure that any information provided to a state shall be used solely for the purpose of locating the bond owner. Moreover, the Privacy Act authorizes an agency to disclose information pursuant to routine uses that are consistent with the purpose for which information is collected. Fiscal Service believes the new routine use published below is consistent with the collection of information pertaining to the purchase and/or ownership of Treasury securities in order to: (a) comply with the provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act; and (b) facilitate payment of applicable savings bonds to the owner of such Treasury security, or to the owner's heir(s) or successor(s) in interest.

Treasury does not intend to amend or remove any other routine uses, purposes, or categories within Bureau of the Fiscal Service .014—United States Securities and Access. All existing routine uses will remain in effect and unchanged. Treasury only intends to add one new routine use, identified below as (24), to the existing list of routine uses.

Description of Changes: Replace the period “(.)” at the end of the last routine use of System of Records Notice .014 (United States Securities and Access) with a semicolon “(;)” and add the following:

“(24) States, for the purpose of providing the states with information necessary or useful to assist the U.S. Treasury in locating the owner(s) or beneficiaries of, or their heir(s) or successor(s) in interest to, “applicable securities.” For purposes of this routine use, “states” and “applicable securities” have the meanings defined by 31 CFR part 323.

Treasury/Fiscal Service .014

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:

Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service .014—United States Securities and Access

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Bureau of the Fiscal Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 200 Third Street, Parkersburg, WV 26106-1328; Bureau of the Fiscal Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 3201 Pennsy Drive, Warehouse “E”, Landover, MD 20785; the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 90 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55401; and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, East Rutherford Operations Center, 100 Orchard Street, East Rutherford, NJ 07073.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):

Assistant Commissioner, Retail Securities Services, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, 200 Third Street, Parkersburg, WV 26106-1328. For Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Debentures: Assistant Commissioner, Office of Fiscal Accounting Operations, 200 Third Street, Parkersburg, WV 26106-1328.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

“(24) States, for the purpose of providing the states with information necessary or useful to assist the U.S. Treasury in locating the owner(s) or beneficiaries of, or their heir(s) or successor(s) in interest to, “applicable securities.” For purposes of this routine use, “states” and “applicable securities” have the meanings defined by 31 CFR part 323.

HISTORY:

Notice of this system of records was last published in full in the Federal Register on February 27, 2020 (85 FR 11776) as the Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service .014—United States Securities and Access.

91 FR 25777