67544 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 222 / Thursday, November 18, 2004 / Notices 

appears at 17 CFR Part 1 Appendix B, 

the Commission calculates the fee to 

recover the costs of its review of rule 

enforcement programs, based on the 

three-year average of the actual costs of 

performing reviews at each SRO. The 

cost of operation of the Commission’s 

program of SRO oversight varies from 

SRO to SRO, according to the size and 

complexity of each SRO’s program. The 

three-year averaging is intended to 

smooth out year-to-year variations in 

cost. Timing of reviews may affect 

costs—a review may span two fiscal 

years and reviews are not conducted at 

each SRO each year. Adjustments to 

actual costs may be made to relieve the 

burden on an SRO with a 

disproportionately large share of 

program costs. 

The Commission’s formula provides 

for a reduction in the assessed fee if an 

SRO has a smaller percentage of United 

States industry contract volume than its 

percentage of overall Commission 

oversight program costs. This 

adjustment reduces the costs so that as 

a percentage of total Commission SRO 

oversight program costs, they are in line 

with the pro rata percentage for that 

SRO of United States industry-wide 

contract volume. 

The calculation made is as follows: 

The fee required to be paid to the 

Commission by each contract market is 

equal to the lesser of actual costs based 

on the three-year historical average of 

costs for that contract market or one-half 

of average costs incurred by the 

Commission for each contract market for 

the most recent three years, plus a pro 

rata share (based on average trading 

volume for the most recent three years) 

of the aggregate of average annual costs 

of all contract markets for the most 

recent three years. The formula for 

calculating the second factor is: 0.5a + 

0.5 vt = current fee. In this formula, ‘‘a’’

equals the average annual costs, ‘‘v’’

equals the percentage of total volume 

across exchanges over the last three 

years, and ‘‘t’’ equals the average annual 

costs for all exchanges. NFA, the only 

registered futures association regulated 

by the Commission, has no contracts 

traded; hence its fee is based simply on 

costs for the most recent three fiscal 

years. 

This table summarizes the data used 

in the calculations and the resulting fee 

for each entity:

Three-year 

average actual costs 

Three-year 

percentage 

of volume 

Average 

year 2003 

fee 

Chicago Board of Trade .......................................................................................................................... $81,264 34.0371 $81,264 

Chicago Mercantile Exchange ................................................................................................................. 318,729 50.8784 318,729 

New York Mercantile Exchange .............................................................................................................. 182,492 12.4781 136,622 

New York Board of Trade ........................................................................................................................ 87,485 2.0163 51,075 

Kansas City Board of Trade .................................................................................................................... 21,534 0.3022 11,866 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange ................................................................................................................... 12,394 0.1121 6,605 

BrokerTec Futures Exchange .................................................................................................................. 23,387 0.1188 12,126 

Subtotal ............................................................................................................................................. 727,285 99.8429 618,287 

National Futures Association ................................................................................................................... 110,946 N/A 110,946 

Total .................................................................................................................................................. 838,231 99.8429 729,233 

An example of how the fee is 

calculated for one exchange, the 

Minneapolis Grain Exchange, is set forth 

here: 

a. Actual three-year average costs 

equal $12,394. 

b. The alternative computation is:

(.5) ($12,394) + (.5) (.001121) ($727,285) 

= $6,605.

c. The fee is the lesser of a or b; in 

this case $6,605. 

As noted above, the alternative 

calculation based on contracts traded is 

not applicable to the NFA because it is 

not a contract market and has no 

contracts traded. The Commission’s 

average annual cost for conducting 

oversight review of the NFA rule 

enforcement program during fiscal years 

2001 through 2003 was $110,946 (onethird of $332,837). The fee to be paid by 

the NFA for the current fiscal year is 

$110,946. 

Payment Method 

The Debt Collection Improvement Act 

(DCIA) requires deposits of fees owed to 

the government by electronic transfer to 

funds (See 31 U.S.C. 3720). For 

information about electronic payments, 

please contact Stella Lewis at (202) 418–

5186 or slewis@cftc.gov, or see the CFTC 

Web site at http://www.cftc.gov,

specifically, http://www.cftc.gov/cftc/

cftcelectronicpayments.htm.

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 

U.S.C. 601, et seq., requires agencies to 

consider the impact of rules on small 

business. The fees implemented in this 

release affect contract markets (also 

referred to as exchanges) and registered 

futures associations. The Commission 

has previously determined that contract 

markets and registered futures 

associations are not ‘‘small entities’’ for 

purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act. Accordingly, the Chairman, on 

behalf of the Commission, certifies 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that the fees 

implemented here will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities.

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 

12, 2004, by the Commission. 

Jean A. Webb, 

Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 04–25615 Filed 11–17–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6351–01–M

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meeting

TIME AND DATE: 11 a.m., Friday, 

December 3, 2004.

PLACE: 1155 21st St., NW., Washington, 

DC, 9th Floor Commission Conference 

Room.

STATUS: Closed.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Surveillance 

Matters.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

A. Webb, (202) 418–5100.

Catherine D. Daniels, 

Assistant Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 04–25675 Filed 11–16–04; 10:29 

am] 

BILLING CODE 6351–01–M