5378 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 23 / Thursday, February 3, 2000 / Notices

1This estimate is based on information in the

Visions98 database, compiled by IBC Financial

Data, Inc. (Oct. 22, 1999).

the control of solid materials. The Issues

Paper discussed several issues and

alternative approaches and invited

written and electronic comment on the

paper by November 15, 1999 (the date

was subsequently extended to December

22, 1999). In addition, the NRC held

four facilitated public meetings at

different locations between September

and December 1999. Currently, the NRC

Staff is preparing a paper, and plans to

brief the Commission, on stakeholder

reactions and concerns with the Issues

Paper expressed both at the public

meetings and in written comment, on

the status of the technical analyses, and

on recommendations on whether to

proceed with rulemaking or other staff

actions regarding release of solid

materials, and the schedule for future

staff actions on this effort. The NRC

Staff will hold regular meetings to

develop the March Commission paper

that are open to the public to better

clarify for interested parties the

development of the alternatives and

issues to be included in the March

Commission paper, and to allow

observers to comment on the planned

development of the paper. As space

permits, all interested parties may

attend as observers. Time will be

allocated for brief statements from the

public.

Information about current NRC efforts

in this area can be found on a website

dedicated to this effort at the following

address: http://www.nrc.gov/NMSS/

IMNS/controlsolids.html. The website

includes the Issues Paper, discussion of

opportunities for public comment, and

summaries of comments at the public

meetings held to date.

The public meetings will generally be

held at the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission offices in Rockville,

Maryland, every other Wednesday,

beginning February 9, 2000, from 1 p.m.

to 3 p.m. in Room T7–A1, Two White

Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike.

Those planning to attend the meetings

should verify the status of the meeting

by checking the NRC public meeting

website at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/

PUBLIC/meet.html. Also, for planning

purposes, observers from the public are

requested to notify Roberta Gordon at

(301) 415–7555 if they plan to attend.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day

of January 2000.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Lawrence E. Kokajko,

Acting Chief, Regulations and Guidance

Branch, Division of Industrial and Medical

Nuclear Safety, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 00–2428 Filed 2–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND

BUDGET

Budget Analysis Branch; Final

Sequestration Report

AGENCY: Office of Management and

Budget—Budget Analysis Branch.

ACTION: Notice of Transmittal of Final

Sequestration Report to the President

and Congress.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 254(b) of

the Balanced Budget and Emergency

Control Act of 1985, as amended, the

Office of Management and Budget

hereby reports that it has submitted its

Final Sequestration Report to the

President, the Speaker of the House of

Representatives, and the President of

the Senate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Balis, Budget Analysis Branch—

202/395–4574.

Dated: January 27, 2000.

Robert L. Nabors,

Executive Secretary and Assistant Director

for Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–2296 Filed 2–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3110 –01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Requests Under Review by Office of

Management and Budget

[Extension: Rule 2a–7, SEC File No. 270–258,

OMB Control No. 3235–0268]

Upon Written Request, Copies Available

From: Securities and Exchange Commission,

Office of Filings and Information Services,

Washington, DC 20549.

Notice is hereby given that under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501), the Securities and

Exchange Commission (the

‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the

Office of Management and Budget

(‘‘OMB’’), a request for extension of

approval for rule 2a–7 (17 CFR 270.21–

7) under the Investment Company Act

of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a) (the ‘‘Act’’).

Rule 2a–7 governs money market

funds. Money market funds are openend management investment companies

that differ from other open-end

management investment companies in

that they seek to maintain a stable price

per share, usually $1.00. The rule

exempts money market funds from the

valuation requirements of the Act and,

subject to certain risk-limiting

conditions, permits money market funds

to use the ‘‘amortized cost method’’ of

asset valuation or the ‘‘penny-rounding

method’’ of share pricing.

Rule 2a–7 imposes certain

recordkeeping and reporting obligations

on money market funds. The board of

directors of a money market fund, in

supervising the fund’s operations, must

establish written procedures designed to

stabilize the fund’s net asset value

(‘‘NAV’’). The board also must adopt

guidelines and procedures relating to

certain responsibilities it delegates to

the fund’s adviser. These procedures

and guidelines typically address various

aspects of the fund’s operations. The

fund must maintain and preserve for six

years a written copy of both procedures

and guidelines. The fund also must

maintain and preserve for six years a

written record of the board’s

considerations and actions taken in

connection with the discharge of its

responsibilities, to be included in the

board’s minutes. In addition, the fund

must maintain and preserve for three

years written records of certain credit

risk analyses, evaluations with respect

to Securities subject to demand features

or guarantees, and determinations with

respect to adjustable rate securities an

asset backed securities. If the board

takes action with respect to defaulted

securities, events of insolvency, or

deviations in share price, the fund must

file with the Commission an exhibit to

Form N–SAR describing the nature and

circumstances of the action. If any

portfolio security fails to meet certain

eligibility standards under the rule, the

fund also must identify those securities

in an exhibit to Form N–SAR. After

certain events of default or insolvency

relating to a portfolio security, the fund

must notify the Commission of the event

and the actions the fund intends to take

in response to the situation.

The recordkeeping requirements in

rule 2a–7 are designed to enable

Commission staff in its examinations of

money market funds to determine

compliance with the rule, as well as to

ensure that money market funds have

established procedures for collecting the

information necessary to make adequate

credit reviews of securities in their

portfolios. The reporting requirements

of rule 2a–7 are intended to assist

Commission staff in overseeing money

market funds.

Commission staff estimates that 949

money market funds are subject to rule

2a–7 each year.1 The staff estimates that

each of these funds spends an average

of 336 hours each year to document

credit risk analyses, and determinations

regarding adjustable rate securities,

asset backed securities, and securities

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 23 / Thursday, February 3, 2000 / Notices 5379

2This average is based on discussions with

individuals at money market funds and their

advisers. The amount of time may vary significantly

for individual money market funds.

3This number may vary significantly from year to

year.

4This estimate is based on the following

calculation: ((949 × 336) + (10 × 2.5) + 46 × 7)) =

319,211.

5The amount of assets under management in

money market funds ranges from approximately

$100,000 to $60.9 billion.

6For purpose of this PRA submission,

Commission staff used the following categories for

fund sizes: (i) small—money market funds with $50

million or less in assets under management; (ii)

medium—money market funds with more than $50

million up to and including $1 billion in assets

under management; and (iii) large—money market

funds with more than $1 billion in assets under

management.

7The staff estimated the annual cost of preserving

the required books and records by identifying the

annual costs incurred by several funds and then

relating this total cost to the average net assets of

these funds during the year. With a total of $204

billion under management in small and medium

funds, and $1,292.6 billion under management in

large funds, the total amount was estimated as

follows: ($0.0000052 × $204 billion) + ($0.000039

× $1,292.6 billion) = $51.6 million.

subject to a demand feature or

guarantee. 2 In addition, each year an

estimated average of 10 money market

funds each spends approximately 2.5

hours to record (in the board minutes)

board determinations and actions in

response to certain events of default or

insolvency, and to notify the

Commission of the event. 3 Finally,

Commission staff estimates that in the

first year of operation, the board of

directors of an average of 10 new money

market funds each spends 7 hours to

formulate and establish written

procedures for stabilizing the fund’s

NAV and guidelines for delegating

certain of the board’s responsibilities to

the fund’s adviser. Based on these

estimates, Commission staff estimates

the total burden of the rule’s paperwork

requirements for money market funds to

be 319,211 hours. 4 This is an increase

from the previous estimate of 196,371

hours. The increase is attributable to

updated information from money

market funds regarding hourly burdens,

and to a more accurate calculation of the

component parts of some information

collection burdens.

These estimates of burden hours are

made solely for the purposes of the

Paperwork Reduction Act. The

estimates are not derived from a

comprehensive or even a representative

survey or study of Commission rules.

In addition to the burden hours,

Commission staff estimates that money

market funds will incur costs to

preserve records, as required under rule

2a–7. These costs will vary significantly

for individual funds, depending on the

amount of assets under fund

management and whether the fund

preserves its records in a storage facility

in hard copy or has developed and

maintains a computer system to create

and preserve compliance records.5

Commission staff estimates that the

amount an individual fund may spend

ranges from $100 per year to $2 million.

Based on an average cost of $.0000052

per dollar of assets under management

for small and medium-sized funds to

$0.000039 per dollar of assets under

management for large funds,6 the staff

estimates compliance with rule 2a–7

costs the fund industry approximately

$51.6 million.7 Based on responses from

individuals in the money market fund

industry, the staff estimates that some of

the largest fund complexes have created

computer programs for maintaining and

preserving compliance records for rule

2a–7. Based on a cost of $0.000068 per

dollar of assets under management for

large funds, the staff estimates that the

total annualized capital/startup costs

range from $0 for small funds to $88.4

million for all large funds. Commission

staff further estimates, however, that

even absent the requirements of rule 2a–

7, money market funds would spend at

least half of the amount for capital costs

($44.2 million) and for record

preservation ($25.8 million) to establish

and maintain these records and the

systems for preserving them as a part of

sound business practices to ensure

diversification and minimal credit risk

in a portfolio for a fund that seeks to

maintain a stable price per share.

The collections of information

required by rule 2a–7 are necessary to

obtain the benefits described above.

Notices to the Commission will not be

kept confidential. An agency may not

conduct or sponsor, and a person is not

required to respond to, a collection of

information unless it displays a

currently valid control number.

Please direct general comments

regarding the information above to: (i)

Desk Officer for the Securities and

Exchange Commission, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget, New

Executive Office Building, Washington,

DC 20503; and (ii) Michael Bartell,

Associate Executive Director, Office of

Information Technology, Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20549. Comments

must be submitted to OMB within 30

days of this notice.

Dated: January 27, 2000.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–02387 Filed 2–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Request Under Review by the Office of

Management and Budget

[Extension: Rule 15c1–7, SEC File No. 270–

146, OMB control No. 3235–0134]

Upon Written Request, Copies Available

From: Securities and Exchange Commission,

Office of Filings and Information Services,

Washington, DC 20549.

Notice is hereby given that pursuant

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) the Securities

and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the

Office of Management and Budget a

request for extension of the previously

approved collection of information

discussed below.

Rule 15c1–7 provides that any act of

a broker-dealer designed to effect

securities transactions with or for a

customer account over which the

broker-dealer (directly or through an

agent or employee) has discretion will

be considered a fraudulent,

manipulative, or deceptive practice

under the federal securities laws, unless

a record is made of the transaction

immediately by the broker-dealer. The

record must include (a) the name of the

customer, (b) the name, amount, and

price of the security, and (c) the date

and time when such transaction took

place. The Commission estimates that

500 respondents collect information

annually under rule 15c1–7 and that

approximately 33,333 hours would be

required annually for these collections.

An agency may not conduct or

sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information

unless it displays a currently valid

control number.

General comments regarding the

estimated burden hours should be

directed to the Desk Officer for the

Securities and Exchange Commission at

the address below. Any comments

concerning the accuracy of the

estimated average burden hours for

compliance with Commission rules and

forms should be directed to Michael E.

Bartell, Associate Executive Director,

Office of Information Technology,

Securities and Exchange Commission,

450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC

20549 and Desk Officer for Securities

and Exchange Commission, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget, New

Executive Office Building, Washington,

DC 20503. Comments must be submitted

to the Office of Management and Budget

within 30 days of this notice.