Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 8169 

18 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

19 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The basis under the Exchange Act for 

this proposed rule change is the 

requirement under Section 6(b)(5) 18

that an exchange have rules that are 

designed to prevent fraudulent and 

manipulative acts and practices, to 

promote just and equitable principles of 

trade, to remove impediments to, and 

perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and, in general, to protect 

investors and the public interest. The 

Exchange believes that the proposed 

rule change will facilitate the listing and 

trading of an additional type of 

exchange-traded product that will 

enhance competition among market 

participants, to the benefit of investors 

and the marketplace. In addition, the 

listing and trading criteria set forth in 

NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 are 

intended to protect investors and the 

public interest. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants or Others 

No written comments were solicited 

or received with respect to the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within 35 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period (i) 

as the Commission may designate up to 

90 days of such date if it finds such 

longer period to be appropriate and 

publishes its reasons for so finding or 

(ii) as to which the self-regulatory 

organization consents, the Commission 

will: 

(A) By order approve the proposed 

rule change, or 

(B) Institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule change 

should be disapproved. 

The Exchange has requested accelerated 

approval of this proposed rule change 

prior to the 30th day after the date of 

publication of notice in the Federal 

Register. The Commission is 

considering granting accelerated 

approval of the proposed rule change at 

the end of a 15-day comment period. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

No. SR–NYSEArca–2010–04 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

Station Place, 100 F Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSEArca–2010–04. This 

file number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, on official business 

days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 

3 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be 

available for inspection and copying at 

the principal office of the Exchange. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change; the Commission does 

not edit personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSEArca–2010–04 and 

should be submitted on or before March 

10, 2010. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.19

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3464 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–61517; File No. SR–FINRA– 

2010–006] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing of 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend the 

Codes of Arbitration Procedure To 

Provide for Attorney Representation of 

Non-Party Witnesses in Arbitration 

February 16, 2010. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on January 

22, 2010, the Financial Industry 

Regulatory Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) (f/ 

k/a National Association of Securities 

Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’)) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed 

rule change as described in Items I, II, 

and III below, which Items have been 

substantially prepared by FINRA. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

FINRA is proposing to amend Rule 

12602 of the Code of Arbitration 

Procedure for Customer Disputes 

(‘‘Customer Code’’) and Rule 13602 of 

the Code of Arbitration Procedure for 

Industry Disputes (‘‘Industry Code’’) 

(together, ‘‘Codes’’) to provide that a 

non-party witness may be represented 

by an attorney at an arbitration hearing 

while the witness is testifying. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on FINRA’s Web site at 

http://www.finra.org, at the principal 

office of FINRA and at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

FINRA included statements concerning 

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8170 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 

3Rules 12208 and 13208 (Representation of 

Parties) provide that parties have the right to be 

represented by an attorney at any stage in an 

arbitration proceeding. They also allow parties to be 

represented by a person who is not an attorney 

subject to certain limitations. 

4Rules 12602 and 13602 (Attendance at Hearings) 

provide that parties and their representatives are 

entitled to attend all hearings and that, absent 

persuasive reasons to the contrary, expert witnesses 

should also be permitted to attend all hearings. The 

panel determines who else may attend any or all 

hearings. 

5Rules 12512 and 13512 (Subpoenas) provide 

that arbitrators have the authority to issue 

subpoenas for the production of documents or the 

appearance of witnesses. The rules permit a party 

to make a written motion requesting that an 

arbitrator issue a subpoena to a party or a non-party. 

6Rules 12513 and 13513 (Authority of Panel to 

Direct Appearances of Associated Person Witnesses 

and Production of Documents Without Subpoenas) 

provide that the panel may order the appearance of 

any employee or associated person of a FINRA 

member. 

7 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(6). 

the purpose of and basis for the 

proposed rule change and discussed any 

comments it received on the proposed 

rule change. The text of these statements 

may be examined at the places specified 

in Item IV below. FINRA has prepared 

summaries, set forth in sections A, B, 

and C below, of the most significant 

aspects of such statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

FINRA is proposing to amend Rules 

12602 and 13602 of the Codes to 

provide that a non-party witness has the 

right to be represented by an attorney at 

an arbitration proceeding held in a 

United States hearing location while the 

witness is testifying. The attorney 

would have to be in good standing and 

admitted to practice before the Supreme 

Court of the United States or the highest 

court of any State of the United States, 

the District of Columbia, or any 

commonwealth, territory, or possession 

of the United States, unless State law 

prohibits such representation. Under the 

proposed rule change, the panel would 

determine the extent to which the 

attorney could participate at the 

hearing. 

The Codes expressly allow a party to 

be represented at any stage in an 

arbitration proceeding.3 They do not 

address representation of a non-party 

witness. FINRA believes that a nonparty witness should be entitled to be 

represented by an attorney while he or 

she is testifying. Currently, under the 

Codes, the arbitration panel determines 

if a non-party witness’ attorney may 

attend a hearing.4 A non-party witness 

may testify at a hearing: (1) Voluntarily; 

(2) pursuant to a subpoena; 5 or (3) in 

compliance with an arbitrator’s order for 

an associated person to appear and give 

testimony.6

While the proposed rule change 

would apply to all non-party witnesses, 

in many instances when a non-party is 

testifying at a FINRA arbitration 

hearing, the non-party witness is an 

associated person who handled the 

customer claimant’s account, but was 

not named as a respondent in the case. 

Under the current Codes, the arbitrators 

determine whether an associated person 

can bring an attorney to a hearing. 

FINRA does not believe that arbitrators 

have been denying requests by nonparty witnesses to be represented by 

counsel while testifying; nevertheless, 

to assure due process in its dispute 

resolution forum, FINRA believes that 

the Codes should expressly provide that 

a non-party witness is entitled to be 

represented by an attorney while 

testifying. 

2. Statutory Basis 

FINRA believes that the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the provisions 

of Section 15A(b)(6) of the Act,7 which 

requires, among other things, that 

FINRA rules must be designed to 

prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, to promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, and, in 

general, to protect investors and the 

public interest. The proposed rule 

change is consistent with FINRA’s 

statutory obligations under the Act to 

protect investors and the public interest 

because the proposal would enhance 

fairness in the arbitration process by 

ensuring that a non-party witness may 

be represented by counsel during his or 

her testimony. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

FINRA does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will result in any 

burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within 35 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period (i) 

as the Commission may designate up to 

90 days of such date if it finds such 

longer period to be appropriate and 

publishes its reasons for so finding or 

(ii) as to which the self-regulatory 

organization consents, the Commission 

will: 

(A) By order approve such proposed 

rule change, or 

(B) Institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule change 

should be disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–FINRA–2010–006 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–FINRA–2010–006. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 10 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing 

also will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of 

FINRA. All comments received will be 

posted without change; the Commission 

does not edit personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 8171 

8 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–FINRA–2010–006 and 

should be submitted on or before March 

16, 2010. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.8

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3393 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; 

Proposed System of Records and 

Routine Use Disclosures 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration 

(SSA). 

ACTION: Proposed System of Records and 

Routine Uses. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and 

(e)(11)), we are issuing public notice of 

our intent to establish a new system of 

records and routine uses applicable to 

this system of records entitled, the 

Administrative Law Judge/Public 

Alleged Misconduct Complaints System, 

60–0356 (the ALJ/PAMC system of 

records). We will use the information 

covered by the system of records to 

manage and monitor complaints filed 

against Administrative Law Judges 

(ALJ). We discuss the system of records 

and routine use disclosures in the 

Supplementary Information section 

below. We invite public comments on 

this proposal. 

DATES: We filed a report of the ALJ/ 

PAMC system of records and routine use 

disclosures with the Chairman of the 

Senate Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs, the 

Chairman of the House Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform, and 

the Administrator, Office of Information 

and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) on 

February 12, 2010. The ALJ/PAMC 

system of records and routine uses will 

become effective on March 14, 2010, 

unless we receive comments before that 

date that would result in a contrary 

determination. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may 

comment on this publication by writing 

to the Executive Director, Office of 

Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the 

General Counsel, Social Security 

Administration, Room 3–A–6 

Operations Building, 6401 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235– 

6401. All comments we receive will be 

available for public inspection at the 

above address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Earlene Whitworth Hill, Social 

Insurance Specialist, Disclosure Policy 

Development and Services Division I, 

Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office 

of the General Counsel, Social Security 

Administration, Room 3–A–6 

Operations Building, 6401 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235– 

6401, telephone: (410) 965–1817, e-mail: 

earlene.whitworth.hill@ssa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and Purpose of the ALJ/ 

PAMC System of Records 

A. General Background 

Our Office of Disability Adjudication 

and Review (ODAR) includes a 

nationwide field organization staffed 

with ALJs who conduct impartial 

hearings and make decisions on appeals 

filed by claimants and their advocates or 

representatives on their behalf. 

Claimants and their advocates or 

representatives may file a complaint 

against an ALJ if they believe the ALJ 

was biased or engaged in improper 

conduct. Persons may make complaints 

in writing to our Office of the Chief 

Administrative Law Judge and to our 

regional and hearing offices. We also 

receive complaints through our Appeals 

Council, agents at our National 800 

Telephone Number Network, our Office 

of the Inspector General Hotline, and 

congressional offices on behalf of their 

constituents. We review, investigate, 

and respond to such complaints. 

At present, we do not have a good 

mechanism to track complaints about 

ALJs from initiation to resolution. This 

weakness makes it difficult for us to 

identify and resolve service delivery 

issues, and also impairs customer 

service. This system of records will help 

us improve service to the public by 

creating a centrally managed, electronic 

method to collect, monitor, and retrieve 

information concerning complaints 

about ALJs. 

The ALJ/PAMC system of records will: 

• Provide us with information to 

manage and respond to complaints, 

which in turn will help us monitor and 

improve customer service and reduce 

manual work; 

• Provide us with information to 

process, review, or investigate 

complaints filed; 

• Provide us with information related 

to the complaint, including the name of 

the claimant and other identifying 

information, the name of the claimant’s 

advocate or representative, if any, and 

information about the ALJ who 

allegedly committed misconduct; and 

• Provide us with management 

information to document, monitor, and 

track complaints about ALJs, to identify 

patterns of improper ALJ behavior that 

may require further review and action, 

and to assist us in deterring recurring 

incidences of ALJ bias or misconduct. 

B. Collection and Maintenance of the 

Data for the ALJ/PAMC System of 

Records 

We will collect and maintain 

information from complaints filed 

against ALJs in an electronic system 

covered by the ALJ/PAMC system of 

records. We will collect information 

relating to the complaint, case analyses, 

results of the review or investigation, 

location of the hearing or regional office, 

ALJ duty station, Federal court if the 

complaint is raised at the Federal court 

level, and copies of relevant 

correspondence. 

We will collect information about the 

claimant (or claimant’s advocate or 

representative) filing the complaint such 

as name, Social Security number (SSN), 

date of birth, address, gender, race or 

ethnic background (if readily available), 

and relevant claims-related information. 

We will also collect information about 

the ALJ named in the complaint, such 

as name, ALJ assigned number, and 

tracking and control log numbers. 

Since we will retrieve information 

from this system using names and other 

personal identifiers, the ALJ/PAMC 

information collection is a system of 

records, as defined by the Privacy Act. 

II. Routine Use Disclosures of Data 

Covered by the ALJ/PAMC System of 

Records 

A. Routine Use Disclosures 

We propose to establish the following 

routine uses of information that will be 

covered by the ALJ/PAMC system of 

records. 

1. To the Office of the President in 

response to an inquiry from that office 

made at the request of the subject of the 

record or a third party on that person’s 

behalf. 

We will disclose information under 

this routine use only when the Office of 

the President makes an inquiry relating 

to information contained in this system 

of records and indicates that it is acting 

on behalf of the person whose record is 

requested (e.g., ALJ, claimant, 

claimant’s advocate or representative, if 

any). 

2. To a congressional office in 

response to an inquiry from that office 

made at the request of the subject of a 

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