Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 122 / Friday, June 23, 2000 / Notices 39209

ACTION: Notice of request for extension

of OMB approval.

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation (PBGC) is requesting that

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) extend approval, under the

Paperwork Reduction Act, of the

collection of information (OMB control

number 1212–0054; expires July 31,

2000) relating to model forms contained

in the PBGC booklet, Divorce Orders &

PBGC. The booklet provides guidance

on how to submit a proper qualified

domestic relations order (a ‘‘QDRO’’) to

the PBGC. This notice informs the

public of the PBGC’s request and solicits

public comment on the collection of

information.

DATES: Comments should be submitted

by July 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs of the Office of

Management and Budget, Attention:

Desk Officer for Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation, Washington, DC

20503. Copies of the request for

extension (including the collection of

information) may be obtained by writing

the Communications and Public Affairs

Department, suite 240, 1200 K Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20005–4026, or

visiting that office between 9 a.m. and

4 p.m. on business days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James L. Beller, Attorney, Office of the

General Counsel, Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20005–4026, 202–

326–4024. (For TTY and TDD, call the

Federal relay service toll-free at 1–800–

877–8339 and request connection to

202–326–4024.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A defined

benefit pension plan that does not have

enough money to pay benefits may be

terminated if the employer responsible

for the plan faces severe financial

difficulty, such as bankruptcy, and is

unable to maintain the plan. In such an

event, the PBGC becomes trustee of the

plan and pays benefits, subject to legal

limits, to plan participants and

beneficiaries.

The benefits of a pension plan

participant generally may not be

assigned or alienated. Title I of ERISA

provides an exception for domestic

relations orders that relate to child

support, alimony payments, or marital

property rights of an alternate payee (a

spouse, former spouse, child, or other

dependent of a plan participant). The

exception applies only if the domestic

relations order meets specific legal

requirements that make it a qualified

domestic relations order.

When the PBGC is trustee of a plan,

it reviews submitted domestic relations

orders to determine whether the order is

qualified before paying benefits to an

alternate payee. For several years the

PBGC has provided the public with

model QDROs (and accompanying

guidance) in the booklet, Divorce Orders

& PBGC, that attorneys and other

professionals who are preparing QDROs

for plans trusteed by the PBGC may

submit to the PBGC after receiving court

approval. The models and the guidance

assist parties by making it easier to

comply with ERISA’s QDRO

requirements in plans trusteed by the

PBGC.

Before providing the model forms and

the QDRO booklet, the PBGC received

many inquiries on the requirements for

QDROs. Furthermore, many domestic

relations orders, both in draft and final

form, did not meet the applicable

requirements. The PBGC worked with

practitioners on a case-by-case basis to

ensure that their orders were amended

to meet applicable requirements. This

process was time-consuming for

practitioners and for the PBGC.

Since making the booklet and the

model forms available, the PBGC has

experienced a decrease in (1) the

number of inquiries about QDRO

requirements, (2) the number of orders

that do not meet the applicable

requirements, and (3) the amount of

time practitioners and the PBGC need to

spend to ensure that the orders meet the

applicable requirements.

The requirements for submitting a

QDRO are established by statute. The

model QDROs and accompanying

guidance do not create any additional

requirements and will result in a

reduction of the statutory burden. The

PBGC estimates that it will receive 300

QDROs each year from prospective

alternate payees; that the average

burden of preparing a QDRO with the

assistance of the guidance and model

QDROs in PBGC’s booklet will be 1⁄4

hour of the alternate payee’s time and

$400 in professional fees if the alternate

payee hires an attorney or other

professional to prepare the QDRO, or 10

hours of the alternate payee’s time if the

alternate payee prepares the QDRO

without hiring an attorney or other

professional; and that the total annual

burden will be 104.25 hours and

$118,800.

The PBGC is requesting a three-year

extension of the paperwork approval

relating to model forms contained in the

PBGC booklet, Divorce Orders & PBGC.

The collection of information has been

approved through July 31, 2000, by

OMB under control number 1212–0054.

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 OMB control

number.

Issued in Washington, D.C., this 20th day

of June, 2000.

Stuart Sirkin,

Director, Corporate Policy and Research

Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 00–15921 Filed 6–22–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Agency Meetings

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to

the provisions of the Government in the

Sunshine Act, Pub. L. 94–409, that the

Securities and Exchange Commission

will hold the following meetings during

the week of June 26, 2000.

An open meeting will be held on

Tuesday, June 27, 2000 at 10 a.m. in

Room 1C30.

Commissioner Hunt, as duty officer,

determined that no earlier notice thereof

was possible.

The subject matter of the open

meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 27,

2000 will be:

The Commission will consider

whether to propose rule amendments to

its auditor independence requirements.

The proposals are intended to

modernize the Commission’s

regulations regarding:

(1) Investments by auditors or their

family members in audit clients;

(2) Employment relationships

between auditors or their family

members and audit clients; and

(3) The scope of services provided by

audit firms to their audit clients.

In addition, the rules would require

companies to disclose in their annual

proxy statements certain information

about non-audit services provided by

their auditors during the last fiscal year.

For further information, please

contact John Morrissey or W. Scott

Bayless at (202) 942–4400.

A closed meeting will be held on

Wednesday, June 28, 2000 at 11 a.m.

Commissioners, Counsel to the

Commissioners, the Secretary to the

Commission, and recording secretaries

will attend the closed meeting. Certain

staff members who have an interest in

the matters may also be present.

The General Counsel of the

Commission, or his designee, has

certified that, in his opinion, one or

more of the exemptions set forth in 5

U.S.C. 552b(c)(4), (8), (9)(A) and (10)

and 17 CFR 200.402(a)(4), (8), (9)(A) and

39210 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 122 / Friday, June 23, 2000 / Notices

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

2 17 CFR 19b–4.

3Amex clarified the proposed rule change’s

purpose in a discussion between Bill Floyd-Jones,

Assistant General Counsel, Laurence McDonald,

Managing Director, Arne Michelson, Senior Vice

President, Amex, and Joshua Kans, Special Counsel,

Division of Market Regulation (‘‘Division’’),

Commission, on June 9, 2000.

4 17 CFR 240.11Ac1–4.

5The Amex Display Book (‘‘ADB’’) is an

electronic workstation at the trading post that keeps

track of limit orders and incoming market orders.

Various window-like screen applications allow the

specialist to view one or more issues at a time at

various levels of detail. Incoming limit orders

automatically enter the ADB. When a floor broker

gives the specialist a limit order, the specialist’s

clerk can enter the order into the ADB using the

keyborad. The ADB sorts the limit orders and

displays them in price/time priority.

6 In a gap pricing situation, an influx of orders

may cause a specialist to move the price of a

security to a new level. In that situation, immediate

display of a customer limit order could cause the

order to be filled at the limit price, and would

prevent the customer from obtaining the benefit of

the new price. Conversation between Bill FloydJones, Laurence McDonald, Arne Michelson, Amex,

and Joshua Kans, Division, Commission, June 9,

2000.

In cases where a customer limit order leads a

specialist to use ITS to send a commitment to trade

to another market center, immediate display of the

customer limit order in the specialist’s quote may

lead to the risk of a double execution and may

cause a locked market. In any event, according to

the Amex, an Amex specialist would not send a

commitment over ITS if the order could be filled

on the floor of Amex. Id.

(10), permit consideration for the

scheduled matters at the closed meeting.

The subject matters of the closed

meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June

28, 2000 will be:

Institution and settlement of

injunctive actions; and

Institution and settlement of

administrative proceedings of an

enforcement nature.

At times, changes in Commission

priorities require alterations in the

scheduling of meeting items. For further

information and to ascertain what, if

any, matters have been added, deleted

or postponed, please contact:

The Office of the Secretary at (202)

942–7070.

Dated: June 21, 2000.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–16057 Filed 6–21–00; 12:25 pm]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–42952; File No. SR–Amex–

00–25]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing and Order Granting

Accelerated Approval to Proposed

Rule Change by American Stock

Exchange LLC Relating to the

Amendment of Exchange Rule 170

June 16, 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 May 3,

2000, the American Stock Exchange LLC

(‘‘Amex’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule

change as described in Items I and II

below, which Items have been prepared

by the Amex. The Commission is

publishing this notice to solicit

comments on the proposed rule change

from interested persons and to approve

the order on an accelerated basis.3

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Change

The Amex proposes to add new

Commentary .10 to Exchange Rule 170

to require Floor Official approval for the

deactivation of Quote Assist

enhancement to the Amex Display Book

by specialists on the equities floor.

Proposed new language is italicized.

* * * * *

.10 Each specialist shall keep active at

all times the quotation processing

facilities (known as ‘‘Quote Assist’’)

provided by the Exchange. A specialist

may deactivate the quotation processing

facilities as to a stock or a group of

stocks provided that Floor Official

approval is obtained. Such approval to

deactivate Quote Assist must be

obtained no later than three minutes

from the time of deactivation.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission, the

Amex 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 III below. The Amex 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

In January 1997, Commission Rule

11Ac1–4 under the Act (‘‘Display

Rule’’) 4 became effective. The Display

Rule requires specialists to display

immediately, i.e., as soon as practicable,

which under normal market conditions

means no later than 30 seconds from the

time of receipt, the price and full size

of customer limit orders that would

improve the bid or offer in a security.

Subsequently, the Exchange

implemented an Amex Display Book 5

enhancement to compute and

disseminate a quote within the 30

second time frame. This enhancement,

known as ‘‘Quote Assist,’’ is designed to

help equities-floor specialists comply

with the Display Rule.

Quote Assist monitors the limit order

book for new orders and compares them

to the published quotation. When a new

order could improve the quote or

increase the size at a quoted price,

Quote Assist publishes a new quote 28

seconds after the order arrives if the

specialist has not already done so.

Quote Assist is always active at the

beginning of the trading day. A

specialist has the ability to deactivate

Quote Assist as to a particular stock or

stocks.

The Exchange proposes to add

Commentary .10 to Rule 170 to provide

that deactivation of Quote Assist will

require that the specialist review that

decision with a Floor Official. Floor

official approval would only be granted

in instances when there is an influx of

orders resulting in gap pricing, when

the specialist deactivates Quote Assist

in connection with an outgoing

commitment on the Intermarket Trading

System (‘‘ITS’’), or other unusual

circumstances.6 Approval by a Floor

Official to deactivate Quote Assist must

be obtained as soon as practicable and

must be obtained no later than three

minutes from the time of deactivation.

Floor Official approvals will be

documented on a Floor Official

approval form. If approval is not

obtained within three minutes from the

time of deactivation, the matter will be

reviewed as a market surveillance issue

by the Exchange.

The requirement to keep Quote Assist

active is not meant to serve as a

substitute for the actual posting of

quotes by equity specialists. The

Exchange represents that it will remind

its equity specialists that they are not to

rely solely on Quote Assist to generate

quotes, since this would not comply

with the Commission’s requirements for

limit order display. Rather, equity