Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 14, 2000 / Notices 37445

19 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).

20 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).

4The transaction credit can be applied to any and

all changes imposed by the NASD or its non-selfregulatory organization affiliates. Any remaining

balance may be paid directly to the member.

It is important to stress that

implementation of the 100 Spoke RAES

Wheel will have no effect on the prices

offered to customers. Under CBOE Rule

6.8(a)(ii), RAES automatically provides

to each retail customer order its

execution price, generally determined

by the prevailing market quote at the

time of the order’s entry into the system.

The 100 Spoke RAES Wheel merely

provides for a different contract

allocation system than currently exists

for automatic execution of small retail

orders.

C. Pilot Program

The Commission is approving this

proposal on a nine-month pilot basis,

through February 28, 2001. As indicated

above, the Commission anticipates that

the 100 Spoke RAES Wheel will

encourage market makers to compete

effectively for order flow in the trading

crowds, thus benefiting investors and

serving the public interest. The

Commission, however, intends to

review the Exchange’s experience with

the 100 Spoke RAES Wheel during the

course of the pilot program.

IV. Conclusion

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,19 that the

proposed rule change (SR–CBOE–99–

40) is approved on a pilot basis, through

February 28, 2001.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.20

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–14931 Filed 6–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–42907; File No. SR–NASD–

00–32]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness

of Proposed Rule Change by the

National Association of Securities

Dealers, Inc. Relating to Nasdaq’s

Transaction Credit Pilot Program

June 7, 2000.

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 June 6,

2000, the National Association of

Securities Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’

‘‘Association’’), through its wholly

owned subsidiary The Nasdaq Stock

Market, Inc. (‘‘Nasdaq’’), filed with the

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule

change as described in Items I, II, and

III below, which Items have been

prepared by Nasdaq. Nasdaq has

designated this proposal as one

establishing or changing a due, fee, or

other charge imposed by the Association

under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the

Act, 3 which renders the proposal

effective upon filing with the

Commission. 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

Nasdaq proposes to amend NASD

Rule 7010, System Services, to extend

Nasdaq’s transaction credit pilot

program for an additional six months for

Tape A reports, and reinstate for nine

months the pilot for Tape B reports. The

text of the proposed rule change is

below. Proposed new language is in

italics. Proposed deletions are in

brackets.

* * * * *

7010 System Services

(a)–(b) No Change

(c)

(1) No Change

(2) Exchange-Listed Securities Transaction

Credit. For a pilot period, qualified NASD

members that trade securities listed on the

NYSE and Amex in over-the-counter

transactions reported by the NASD to the

Consolidated Tape Association may receive

from the NASD transactions credits based on

the number of trades so reported. To qualify

for the credit with respect to Tape A reports,

an NASD member must account for 500 or

more average daily Tape A reports of overthe-counter transactions as reported to the

Consolidated Tape during the concurrent

calendar quarter. To qualify for the credit

with respect to Tape B reports, an NASD

member must account for 500 or more

average daily Tape B reports of over-thecounter transactions as reported to the

Consolidated Tape during the concurrent

calendar quarter. If an NASD member is so

qualified to earn credits based either on its

Tape A activity, or its Tape B activity, or

both, that member may earn credits from one

or both pools [the Tape A pool] maintained

by the NASD, each [such] pool representing

40% of the revenue paid by the Consolidated

Tape Association to the NASD for each of

Tape A and Tape B transactions. A qualified

NASD member may earn credits from the

pools [the Tape A pool] according to the

member’s pro rata share of the NASD’s overthe-counter trade reports in each of Tape A

and Tape B for each calendar quarter starting

with [January 1, 2000, and ending with the

calendar quarter starting on April 1, 2000]

July 1, 2000 for Tape A reports (April 1, 2000

for Tape B reports) and ending with the

calendar quarter starting on October 1, 2000.

* * * * *

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission,

Nasdaq included statements concerning

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. Nasdaq 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

Nasdaq proposes to extend until

December 31, 2000, its pilot program to

provide a transaction credit 4 to NASD

members that exceed certain levels of

trading activity in exchange-listed

securities. Nasdaq proposes to extend by

six months the pilot for over-the-counter

(‘‘OTC’’) trades in securities listed on

the New York Stock Exchange (‘‘NYSE’’)

(i.e., from July 1, 2000 to December 31,

2000) and re-institute and extend by

nine months the pilot for OTC trades in

securities listed on the American Stock

Exchange (‘‘Amex’’) (i.e. from April 1,

2000 to December 31, 2000). The NASD

established its transaction credit pilot to

find ways to lower investor costs

associated with trading listed securities,

and to respond to steps taken by other

exchanges that compete with Nasdaq for

investor order flow in those issues.

Nasdaq’s Third Market is a quotation,

communication, and execution system

that allows NASD members to trade

stocks listed on the NYSE and the

Amex. The Third Market competes with

regional exchanges like the Chicago

Stock Exchange (‘‘CHX’’) and the

Cincinnati Stock Exchange (‘‘CSE’’) for

retail order flow in stocks listed on the

NYSE and Amex. The NASD collects

quotations from broker-dealers that

trade these securities OTC and provides

such quotations to the Consolidated

Quotation System for dissemination.

37446 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 14, 2000 / Notices

5See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 41174

(March 16, 1999), 64 FR 14034 (March 23, 1999)

(SR–NASD–99–13); 42095 (November 3, 1999), 64

FR 61680 (November 12, 1999) (SR–NASD–99–59);

and 42672 (April 12, 2000), 65 FR 21225 (April 20,

2000) SR–NASD–00–10).

6Both CHX and CSE have established similar

programs. See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos.

38237 (February 4, 1997), 62 FR 6592 (February 12,

1997) (SR–CH–97–01) and 39395 (December 3,

1997), 62 FR 65113 (December 10, 1997) (SR–CSE–

97–12).

7As explained in SR–NASD–99–13, the

qualification thresholds were selected based on

Nasdaq’s belief that such numbers represent clear

examples of a member’s commitment to operating

in the Third Market and competing for order flow.

8 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(6).

9 15 U.S.C. 78o–3(b)(5).

10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).

11 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2).

Additionally, the NASD collects trade

reports from broker-dealers trading

these securities in the OTC market and

provides the trade reports to the

Consolidated Tape Association (‘‘CTA’’)

for inclusion in the Consolidated Tape.

As a participant in the CTA, the NASD

earns a share of those broker-dealers’

revenue from trades that it reports in

NYSE-listed securities (‘‘Tape A’’) and

in Amex-listed securities (‘‘Tape B’’). It

is from the NASD’s share of these

revenues that Nasdaq created the credit

pools for qualified pilot participants.

Nasdaq’s original transaction credit

pilot program and its subsequent

extensions,5 including this proposal, are

intended to lower costs for Third Market

makers and their customers who

execute trades in exchange-listed stocks

through NASD members and Nasdaq

facilities. The NASD believes that

lowering the cost of trading increases

competition among market centers

trading listed securities. Continuation of

the pilot also will allow Nasdaq to

continue to evaluate the efficacy of its

revenue sharing model and continue to

effectively complete for the retention of

Third Market participants with other

regional exchanges that have adopted

similar revenue distribution

methodologies.6

Under the original transaction credit

pilot program, Nasdaq calculates two

separate pools of revenue from which

credits can be earned—one representing

40% of the gross revenues received by

the NASD from the CTA for providing

trade reports in NYSE-listed securities

executed in the Third Market for

Dissemination by CTA (‘‘Tape A’’), and

the other representing 40% of the gross

revenue received from the CTA for

reporting Amex trades (‘‘Tape B’’).

These revenue calculation pools will

remain at the same 40% level during the

pilot’s extension.

Eligibility for transaction credits

during the pilot’s extension is based

upon concurrent quarterly trading

activity. For example, a Third Market

participant that enters the market for

Tape A or Tape B securities during the

third quarter of 2000 and prints an

average of 500 daily trades of Tape A or

Tape B securities during the time it is

in the market, or that averages 500 daily

Tape A or Tape B prints during the

entire third quarter, would be eligible to

receive transaction credits based on its

trades during the third quarter. As in the

original pilot, only those NASD

members who continue to average an

appropriate daily execution level during

the term of the pilot’s extension will

become eligible for transaction credits

and thus able to receive a pro-rata

portion of the 40% revenue calculation

pools.7 The NASD chose to create these

thresholds to permit the NASD to

recover appropriate administrative costs

related to NASD members that do not

exceed the threshold and to provide an

incentive for NASD members to actively

trade in these securities.

As before, a fully qualifying NASD

member’s transaction credit will be

determined by taking its percentage of

total Third Market transactions during

the applicable calculation period and

providing an equivalent percentage from

the appropriate Tape A or Tape B

calculation pool. Thus, for calendar

quarter commencing with the calendar

quarter that begins on July 1, 2000 for

Tape A trades (April 1, 2000 for Tape

B trades), the NASD will measure a

qualified member’s trade reports for that

calendar quarter in each of Tape A and

Tape B and create a credit for that

member based upon this activity. For

example, should a qualifying NASD

member’s transactions represent 10% of

the NASD’s Tape A transactions, that

member would receive a 10% share of

the Tape A 40% calculation pool.

Nasdaq’s transaction credit program is

being proposed on a pilot basis only.

There is no guarantee that transaction

credits will be available to qualifying

NASD members beyond the term of the

pilot.

2. Statutory Basis

Nasdaq believes the proposed rule

change is consistent with Section

15A(b)(6) of the Act 8 in that the

proposal is designed to promote just and

equitable principles of trade and to

remove impediments to and perfect the

mechanism of a national market system

and, in general, to protect investors and

the public interest. Nasdaq also believes

the proposal is consistent with Section

15A(b)(5) of the Act 9 in that it provides

for the equitable allocation of reasonable

dues, fees and other charges among

members and issuers and other persons

using any facility or system which the

Association operates or controls.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

Nasdaq 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

The proposed rule change has become

effective pursuant to Section

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act 10 and

subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b–4

thereunder,11 because it establishes or

changes a due, fee, or other charge

imposed by the Association. At any time

within 60 days of the filing of the

proposed rule change, the Commission

may summarily abrogate such rule

change if it appears to the Commission

that such action is necessary or

appropriate in the public interest, for

the protection of investors, or otherwise

in furtherance of the purposes of the

Act.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views, and

arguments concerning the foregoing,

including whether the proposal is

consistent with the Act. Persons making

written submissions should file six

copies thereof with the Secretary,

Securities and Exchange Commission,

450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC

20549–0609. 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 inspection and copying in

the Commission’s Public Reference

Room. Copies of such filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal office of the NASD. All

submissions should refer to file number

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 14, 2000 / Notices 37447

12 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

SR–NASD–00–32 and should be

submitted by July 5, 2000.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.12

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–14930 Filed 6–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 3336]

Office of Visa Services

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: 60-Day Notice of Proposed

Information Collection; Choice of

Address and Agent for U.S. Department

of State Immigrant Visa Applicants.

SUMMARY: The Department of State is

seeking Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) approval for the

information collection described below.

The purpose of this notice is to allow 60

days for public comment in the Federal

Register preceding submission to OMB.

This process is conducted in accordance

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995.

The following summarizes the

information collection proposal

submitted to OMB:

Type of Request: New Information

Collection.

Originating Office: Bureau of Consular

Affairs, Department of State.

Title of Information Collection:

Choice of Address and Agent for U.S.

Department of State Immigrant Visa

Applicants.

Frequency: Once.

Respondents: All immigrant visa

principal applicants.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

350,000.

Average Hours Per Response: 0.5

hours.

Total Estimated Burden: 175,000

hours.

Public comments are being solicited

to permit the agency to:

• Evaluate whether the proposed

information collection is necessary for

the proper performance of the functions

of the agency.

• Evaluate the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection, including the

validity of the methodology and

assumptions used.

• Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected.

• Minimize the reporting burden on

those who are to respond, including

through the use of automated collection

techniques or other forms of technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Public comments, or requests for

additional information, regarding the

collection listed in this notice should be

directed to Guyle Cavin, 2401 E St., NW,

RM L–703, Tel: 202–663–1175, U.S.

Department of State, Washington, DC

20520.

Dated: April 14, 2000.

Nancy Sambaiew,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa

Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs.

[FR Doc. 00–15024 Filed 6–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No: 3325]

Advisory Committee on Historical

Diplomatic Documentation; Notice of

Meeting

The Advisory Committee on

Historical Diplomatic Documentation

will meet in the Department of State,

2201 ‘‘C’’ Street NW, Washington, DC,

July 10-11, 2000, in Conference Room

1205. Prior notification and a valid

photo are mandatory for entrance into

the building. One week before the

meeting, members of the public

planning to attend must notify Gloria

Walker, Office of Historian (202–663–

1124) providing relevant dates of birth,

Social Security numbers, and telephone

numbers.

The Committee will meet in open

session from 1:30 p.m. through 4:30

p.m.on Monday, July 10, 2000, to

discuss the implementation of Executive

Order 12958 with respect to Department

of State records, the declassification and

transfer of Department of State

electronic records to the National

Archives and Records Administration,

and the modernization of the Foreign

Relations series. The remainder of the

Committee’s sessions from 9:00 a.m.

until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 11,

2000, will be closed in accordance with

Section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory

Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463). The

agenda calls for discussions involving

consideration of matters not subject to

public disclosure under 5 U.S.C.

552b(c)(1), and that the public interest

requires that such activities be withheld

from disclosure.

Questions concerning the meeting

should be directed to William Slany,

Executive Secretary, Advisory

Committee on Historical Diplomatic

Documentation, Department of State,

Office of the Historian, Washington, DC,

20520, telephone (202) 663–1123, (email history@state.gov).

Dated: May 31, 2000.

William Slany,

Executive Secretary, Advisory Committee on

Historical Diplomatic Documentation, U.S.

Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–15023 Filed 6–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–11–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee; Air Carrier Operations

Issues—New Task

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of new task assignment

for the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee (ARAC).

SUMMARY: Notice is given of a new task

assigned to and accepted by the

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee (ARAC). This notice informs

the public of the activities of ARAC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric

Van Opstal, Federal Aviation

Administration (AFS–200), 800

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20591; phone (202)

267–3774; fax (202) 267–5229.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The FAA has established an Aviation

Rulemaking Advisory Committee to

provide advice and recommendations to

the FAA Administrator, through the

Associated Administrator for Regulation

and Certification, on the full range of

the FAA’s rulemaking activities with

respect to aviation-related issues. One

area ARAC deals with is air carrier

operations issues. These issues involve

the operational requirements for air

carriers, including crewmember

requirements, airplane operating

performance and limitations, and

equipment requirements.

The Task

This notice informs the public that

the FAA has asked ARAC to provide

advice and recommendation on the

following task:

Extended Range Operations with TwoEngine Aircraft (ETOPS)

1. Review the existing policy and

requirements found in Advisory

Circular (AC) 120–42A, applicable

ETOPS special conditions, and policy

memorandums and notices, for