Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Notices 34235

4:15 Future Agenda Topics

5:00 Conclude (approximate time)

The meeting is open to the public. It

is suggested that persons planning to

attend the meeting as observers contact

Margaret Johnson, Federal Economic

Research Advisory Committee, on Area

Code (202) 691–5600. Persons needing

special assistance such as sign language

interpretation or other special

accommodation in order to attend the

meeting are asked to contact Ms.

Johnson at least two days prior to the

meeting date.

Signed at Washington, D.C. the 19th day of

May 2000.

Katharine G. Abraham,

Commissioner of Labor Statistics.

[FR Doc. 00–13248 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–24–P

DEPARTMENT OF RAILROAD

RETIREMENT BOARD

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

which provides opportunity for public

comment on new or revised data

collections, the Railroad Retirement

Board (RRB) publishes periodic

summaries of proposed data collections.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed information collection is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the agency, including

whether the information has practical

utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB’s

estimate of the burden of the collection

of the information; (c) ways to enhance

the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; and (d)

ways to minimize the burden related to

the collection of information on

respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Title and Purpose of Information

Collection

Lag Service Reports; OMB 3220–0005.

Under Section 9 of the Railroad

Retirement Act (RRA) and Section 6 of

the Railroad Unemployment Insurance

Act (RUIA), railroad employers are

required to submit reports of employee

service and compensation to the RRB as

needed for administering the RRA and

RUIA. To pay benefits due on a

deceased employee’s earnings records or

determine entitlement to, and amount of

annuity applied for, it is necessary at

time to obtain from railroad employers

current (lag) service and compensation

net yet reported to the RRB through the

annual reporting process.

The reporting requirements are

specified in 20 CFR 209.4 and 209.5.

The RRB currently utilizes Form G–88,

Employer’s Supplemental Report of

Service and Compensation, and Form

AA–22, Notice of Death and

Compensation, to obtain the required

lag service and related information from

railroad employers. The RRB proposes

to obsolete Form G–88a. Form G–88a

will be replaced by two forms, Form G–

88a.1, Notice of Retirement of

Verification of Date Last Worked, and

Form G–88a.2, Notice of Retirement and

Request for Service Needed for

Eligibility. Form G–88a.1 will be sent by

the RRB to railroad employers and used

for the specific purpose of verifying

information previously provided to the

RRB regarding the date last worked by

the employee. If the information is

correct, the employer need not reply. If

the information is incorrect, the

employer is asked to provide corrected

information. Form G–88a.2 will be used

by the RRB to secure lag service and

compensation information when it is

needed to determine benefit eligibility.

Both proposed forms will direct the

railroad employers to fax the

information directly to the RRB. It is

expected that the proposed new forms

will be easier for railroad employers to

complete and will encourage a speedier

reply, allowing the RRB to pay

applicants in a more timely and

accurate manner. A minor editorial

change is proposed to Form AA–12.

The completion time for proposed

forms G–88a.1 and G–88a.2 is estimated

at 5 minutes per response. The

estimated completion time for Form

AA–22 remains at 61⁄2 minutes per

response. Completion is mandatory. The

RRB estimates that approximately 800

Form AA–12’s 2,300 Form G–88a.1’s,

and 1,200 G–88a.2’s will be completed

annually.

The renewal of this information

collection will continue the RRB’s

initiative to consolidate information

collections by major functional areas.

The purpose of the initiative is to bring

related collection instruments together

in one collection, better manage the

instruments, and prepare for the

electronic collection of this information

(A collection instrument can be an

individual form, electronic collection,

interview, or any other method that

collects specific information from the

public.)

As part of the OMB renewal process,

the RRB proposes that this collection

(OMB 3220–0005), Lag Service Reports,

will be renamed Employer Reporting.

Upon approval by OMB, and RRB

intends to merge the following OMB

approved collections into the collection

by the Expected Expiration Date.

OMB collection

No. Collection title RRB forms Expected expiration date

3220–0008 ........ Railroad Service and Compensation Reports ...................................................................... BA 3a, BA–4 .... 9/30/2001

3220–0012 ........ Employers Quarterly Report of Contributions Under the RUIA ............................................ DC–1 ................ 2/28/2003

3220–0014 ........ Employer Representatives’ Status and Compensation Reports .......................................... DC–2, DC–2a ... 6/30/2003

3220–0070 ........ Employer Service and Compensation Reports ..................................................................... UI–41, UI–41a .. 9/30/2001

3220–0089 ........ Pension Plan Reports ........................................................................................................... G–88p, G–88r,

G–88r.1.

11/30/2002

3220–0097 ........ Pay Rate Report ................................................................................................................... UI–1e ................ 9/30/2001

3220–0132 ........ Gross Earnings Report ......................................................................................................... BA–11 ............... 1/31/2003

3220–0156 ........ Employers Deemed Service Month Questionnaire ............................................................... GL–99 ............... 6/30/2003

3220–0173 ........ Railroad Separation Allowance or Severance Pay Report ................................................... BA–9 ................. 4/30/2002

3220–0175 ........ Sick Pay and Miscellaneous Payments Report .................................................................... BA–10 ............... 9/30/2001

3220-0194 ......... Employee Home Address Report ......................................................................................... BA–6a ............... 3/31/2001

Revisions to existing collection

instruments and, occasionally, a new

instrument related to this program

function may be required during the

three-year cycle of this information

collection.

The RRB currently estimates the

completion time for manual Form BA–

3a, Annual Report of Creditable

34236 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Notices

Compensation at 85 hours, the

electronic version of Form BA–3a at

33.3 hours, Form BA–4, Report of

Creditable Compensation Adjustments

at 1 hour, Form DC–1, Employer’s

Quarterly Report of Contributions Under

the RUIA at 25 minutes, Form DC–2a,

Employee Representative’s Report of

Compensation at 15 minutes, Form UI–

41, Supplemental Report of Service and

Compensation at 8 minutes, Form UI–

41a, Supplemental Report of

Compensation at 8 minutes, Form G–

88p, Employer’s Supplemental Pension

Report, at 8 minutes, G–88r, Request for

Information About New or Revised

Employer Pension Plan at 10 minutes,

G–88r.1, Request for Additional

Information About Employer Pension

Plan in Case of Change of Employer

Status or Termination of Plan at 10

minutes, Form UI–1E, Pay Report

Information at 5 minutes, Manual Form

BA–11, Report of Gross Earnings at 15

to 30 minutes, the electronic version of

Form BA–11 at 5 hours, Form GL–99,

Employer’s Deemed Service Months

Questionnaire at 2 minutes, Form BA–

9, Report of Separation Allowance or

Severance Pay at 75 minutes, Form BA–

10, Report of Miscellaneous

Compensation and Sick Pay at 55

minutes, and Form BA–6a, Employer

Home Address Report at 30 minutes.

Completion of each of the above forms

is mandatory.

After the last information collection is

merged and other necessary adjustments

are made, the resultant information

collection is expected to total

approximately 55,400 annual burden

hours. A justification for each action

described above (merge collection,

revised collection instrument, new

collection instrument) will be provided

to OMB with a correction Change

Worksheet (OMB Form 83–C) at the

time the action occurs. With the next

renewal of this collection, the RRB will

update the information collection

package to account for the consolidation

and other interim adjustments.

Additional Information or Comments

To request more information or to

obtain a copy of the information

collection justification, forms, and/or

supporting material, please call the RRB

Clearance Officer at (312) 751–3363.

Comments regarding the information

collection should be addressed to

Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement

Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago,

Illinois 60611–2092. Written comments

should be received within 60 days of

this notice.

Chuck Mierzwa,

Clearnace Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–13215 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45am]

BILLING CODE 7905–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 35–27178]

Filings Under the Public Utility Holding

Company Act of 1935, as amended

(‘‘Act’’)

May 19, 2000.

Notice is hereby given that the

following filing(s) has/have been made

with the Commission pursuant to

provisions of the Act and rules

promulgated under the Act. All

interested persons are referred to the

application(s) and/or declarations(s) for

complete statements of the proposed

transaction(s) summarized below. The

application(s) and/or declaration(s) and

any amendment(s) is/are available for

public inspection through the

Commission’s Branch of Public

Reference.

Interested persons wishing to

comment or request a hearing on the

application(s) and/or declaration(s)

should submit their views in writing by

June 13, 2000, to the Secretary,

Securities and Exchange Commission,

Washington, D.C. 20549–0609, and

serve a copy on the relevant applicant

and/or declarant(s) at the address(es)

specified below. Proof of service (by

affidavit or, in the case of an attorney at

law, by certificate) should be filed with

the request. Any request for hearing

should identify specifically the issues of

facts or law that are disputed. A person

who so requests will be notified of any

hearing, if ordered, and will receive a

copy of any notice or order issued in the

matter. After June 13, 2000 the

application(s) and/or declaration(s) as

filed or as amended, may be granted

and/or permitted to become effective.

Southern Co. et al. (70–8733)

The Southern Company, a registered

public utility holding company, located

at 270 Peachtree Street, N.W., Atlanta,

Georgia, Southern Energy, Inc. (‘‘SEI’’),

a nonutility subsidiary company, and

Southern Energy Resources, Inc., a

nonutility subsidiary company of SEI,

both located at 900 Ashwood Parkway,

Suite 500, Atlanta, Georgia 30338, have

filed a post-effective amendment under

section 12(c) of the Act and rules 46 and

54 under the Act.

By supplemental orders dated July 17,

1996 and July 2, 1997 (HCAR Nos.

26543 and 26738, respectively), the

Commission authorized SEI and its

current and future subsidiaries to pay

dividends to their parent companies

with respect to the securities of such

companies through June 30, 2000, out of

capital or unearned surplus (including

revaluation reserve). In both orders the

Commission reserved jurisdiction over

payment of dividends out of capital or

unearned surplus by any current or

future subsidiary company of SEI that

derived any material part of its revenues

from the sale of goods, services,

electricity or natural gas to any of

Southern’s five domestic electric utility

subsidiaries or to Southern Company

Services, Inc.

SEI and its current and future

subsidiaries now propose to extend the

time during which they may declare and

pay dividends to their parent companies

with respect to the securities of such

companies, from time to time through

June 30, 2002, out of capital or unearned

surplus. The Commission will continue

to reserve jurisdiction over the payment

of dividends out of capital or unearned

surplus by any current or future

subsidary company of SEI that derived

any material part of its revenues from

the sale of goods, services, electricity or

natural gas to any of Southern’s five

domestic electric utility subsidiaries or

to Southern Company Services, Inc. The

application cites the need to efficiently

manage the unrestricted cash of SEI and

its intermediate and special purpose

subsidiaries as the main reason for

extending the time to declare and issue

dividends.

For the Commission by the Division of

Investment Management, under delegated

authority.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–13233 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–42803; File No. SR–Amex–

00–04]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

the American Stock Exchange LLC

Adopting a Peer Review Requirement

for Auditors of Listed Companies

May 22, 2000.

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934