17202 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / Notices 

1Safeguards Information is a form of sensitive, 

unclassified, security-related information that the 

Commission has the authority to designate and 

protect under Section 147 of the AEA. 

2Person means (1) any individual, corporation, 

partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public 

or private institution, group, government agency 

other than the Commission or the Department of 

Energy, except that the Department of Energy shall 

be considered a person with respect to those 

facilities of the Department of Energy specified in 

Section 202 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 

1974 (88 Stat. 1244), any State or any political 

subdivision of, or any political entity within a State, 

any foreign government or nation or any political 

subdivision of any such government or nation, or 

other entity; and (2) any legal successor, 

representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing. 

may re-disseminate the information to any 

other individual who does not have a needto -know. 

3. The personal information obtained on an 

individual from a criminal history record 

check may be transferred to another licensee 

if the licensee holding the criminal history 

record check receives the individual’s 

written request to re-disseminate the 

information contained in his/her file, and the 

current licensee verifies information such as 

the individual’s name, date of birth, social 

security number, sex, and other applicable 

physical characteristics for identification 

purposes. 

4. The licensee shall make criminal history 

records, obtained under this section, 

available for examination by an authorized 

representative of the NRC to determine 

compliance with the regulations and laws. 

5. The licensee shall retain all fingerprint 

and criminal history records received from 

the FBI, or a copy if the individual’s file has 

been transferred, for three (3) years after 

termination of employment or determination 

of access to SGI (whether access was 

approved or denied). After the required three 

(3) year period, these documents shall be 

destroyed by a method that will prevent 

reconstruction of the information in whole or 

in part. 

Attachment 2—Trustworthiness and 

Reliability Requirements for Individuals 

Handling Safeguards Information 

In order to ensure the safe handling, use, 

and control of information designated as 

Safeguards Information, each licensee shall 

control and limit access to the information to 

only those individuals who have established 

the need-to-know the information, and are 

considered to be trustworthy and reliable. 

Licensees shall document the basis for 

concluding that there is reasonable assurance 

that individuals granted access to Safeguards 

Information are trustworthy and reliable, and 

do not constitute an unreasonable risk for 

malevolent use of the information. 

The Licensee shall comply with the 

requirements of this attachment: 

1. The trustworthiness and reliability of an 

individual shall be determined based on a 

background investigation: 

(a) The background investigation shall 

address at least the past three (3) years, and, 

at a minimum, include verification of 

employment, education, and personal 

references. The licensee shall also, to the 

extent possible, obtain independent 

information to corroborate that provided by 

the employee (i.e., seeking references not 

supplied by the individual). 

(b) If an individual’s employment has been 

less than the required three (3) year period, 

educational references may be used in lieu of 

employment history. 

The licensee’s background investigation 

requirements may be satisfied for an 

individual that has an active Federal security 

clearance. 

2. The licensee shall retain documentation 

regarding the trustworthiness and reliability 

of individual employees for three years after 

the individual’s employment ends. 

[FR Doc. 07–1698 Filed 4–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

[EA–06–235, Docket No.: 70–1151, License 

No.: SNM–1107] 

In the Matter of Westinghouse Electric 

Company LLC and All Other Persons 

Who Seek or Obtain Access To 

Safeguards Information Described 

Herein; Order Imposing Fingerprinting 

and Criminal History Check 

Requirements for Access to 

Safeguards Information (Effective 

Immediately) 

I 

Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC 

(WEC), Columbia, SC holds a license 

issued in accordance with the Atomic 

Energy Act (AEA) of 1954, as amended, 

by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC), authorizing it to 

engage in an activity subject to 

regulation by the Commission. 

On August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy 

Act of 2005 (EPAct) was enacted. 

Section 652 of the EPAct, amended 

Section 149 of the AEA to require 

fingerprinting and a Federal Bureau of 

Investigation (FBI) identification and 

criminal history records check of any 

person who is to be permitted to have 

access to Safeguards Information (SGI).1

The NRC’s implementation of this 

requirement cannot await the 

completion of the SGI rulemaking, 

which is underway, because the EPAct 

fingerprinting and criminal history 

check requirements for access to SGI 

were immediately effective on 

enactment of the EPAct. Although the 

EPAct permits the Commission, by rule, 

to except certain categories of 

individuals from the fingerprinting 

requirement, which the Commission has 

done [see 10 CFR 73.59, 71 Federal 

Register 33989 (June 13, 2006)], it is 

unlikely that licensee employees will be 

excepted from the fingerprinting 

requirement by the ‘‘fingerprinting 

relief’’ rule. Individuals relieved from 

fingerprinting and criminal history 

checks under the relief rule include: 

Federal, State, and local officials and 

law enforcement personnel; Agreement 

State inspectors who conduct security 

inspections on behalf of the NRC; 

members of Congress and certain 

employees of members of Congress or 

Congressional Committees; and 

representatives of the International 

Atomic Energy Agency or certain 

foreign government organizations. In 

addition, individuals who have had a 

favorably-decided U.S. Government 

criminal history check within the last 

five (5) years, and individuals who have 

active federal security clearances 

(provided in either case that they make 

available the appropriate 

documentation), have satisfied the 

EPAct fingerprinting requirement and 

need not be fingerprinted again. 

Therefore, in accordance with Section 

149 of the AEA, as amended by the 

EPAct, the Commission is imposing 

additional requirements for access to 

SGI, as set forth by this Order, so that 

affected licensees can obtain and grant 

access to SGI. This Order also imposes 

requirements for access to SGI by any 

person,2 from any person, whether or 

not they are a licensee, applicant, or 

certificate holder of the Commission or 

an Agreement State. 

Subsequent to the terrorist events of 

September 11, 2001, the NRC issued 

Orders requiring certain entities to 

implement Additional Security 

Measures or Interim Compensatory 

Measures for certain radioactive 

materials. The requirements imposed by 

these Orders, and certain measures that 

licensees have developed to comply 

with the Orders, were designated by the 

NRC as SGI. 

II 

The Commission has broad statutory 

authority to protect and prohibit the 

unauthorized disclosure of SGI. Section 

147 of the AEA grants the Commission 

explicit authority to issue such Orders, 

as necessary, to prohibit the 

unauthorized disclosure of SGI. 

Furthermore, Section 652 of the EPAct, 

amended Section 149 of the AEA to 

require fingerprinting and an FBI 

identification and a criminal history 

records check of each individual who 

seeks access to SGI. In addition, no 

person may have access to SGI unless 

the person has an established need- to 

-know, and satisfies the trustworthiness 

and reliability requirements described 

in Attachment 2 to this Order. 

To provide assurance that WEC is 

implementing appropriate measures to a 

consistent level of protection to prohibit 

unauthorized disclosure of SGI, and to 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / Notices 17203 

3The NRC’s determination of this individual’s 

access to SGI in accordance with the process 

described in Enclosure 3 [available through NRC’s 

Agencywide Documents Access and Management 

System (ADAMS)] to the transmittal letter of this 

Order is an administrative determination that is 

outside the scope of this Order. 

comply with the fingerprinting and 

criminal history check requirements for 

access to SGI, WEC shall implement the 

requirements of 10 CFR 73.21 and of 

this Order. In addition, pursuant to 10 

CFR 2.202, I find that in light of the 

common defense and security matters 

identified above, which warrant the 

issuance of this Order, the public 

health, safety and interest require that 

this Order be effective immediately. 

III 

Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 53, 

62, 63, 81, 147, 149, 161b, 161i, 161o, 

182 and 186 of the AEA of 1954 as 

amended, and the Commission’s 

regulations in 10 CFR 2.202, 10 CFR 

Part 70, and 10 CFR Part 73, It is hereby 

ordered, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, 

that WEC and all other persons who 

seek or obtain access to safeguards 

information as described herein shall 

comply with the requirements set forth 

in 10 CFR 73.21 and this Order. 

A. 1. No person may have access to 

SGI unless that person has a need-toknow the SGI, has been fingerprinted, 

and satisfies all other applicable 

requirements for access to SGI. 

Fingerprinting and the FBI 

identification and criminal history 

records check are not required, 

however, for any person who is relieved 

from the requirement by 10 CFR 73.59 

[71 Federal Register 33989 (June 13, 

2006)], or who has had a favorablydecided U.S. Government criminal 

history check within the last five (5) 

years, or who has an active Federal 

security clearance, provided in the latter 

two (2) cases that the appropriate 

documentation is made available to 

WEC’s NRC-approved reviewing official. 

2. No person may have access to any 

SGI if the NRC, when making an SGI 

access determination for a nominated 

reviewing official, has determined, 

based on fingerprinting and an FBI 

identification and criminal history 

records check, that the person may not 

have access to SGI. 

B. No person may provide SGI to any 

other person except in accordance with 

Condition III.A. above. Prior to 

providing SGI to any person, a copy of 

this Order shall be provided to that 

person. 

C. WEC shall comply with the 

following requirements: 

1. WEC shall, within twenty (20) days 

of the date of this Order, establish and 

maintain a fingerprinting program that 

meets the requirements of Attachment 1 

to this Order. 

2. WEC shall, within twenty (20) days 

of the date of this Order, submit the 

fingerprints of one (1) individual who: 

(a) The licensee nominates as the 

‘‘reviewing official’’ for determining 

access to SGI by other individuals; and 

(b) has an established need- to -know 

the information and has been 

determined to be trustworthy and 

reliable in accordance with the 

requirements described in Attachment 2 

to this Order. The NRC will determine 

whether this individual (or any 

subsequent reviewing official) may have 

access to SGI and, therefore, will be 

permitted to serve as WEC’s reviewing 

official.3 WEC may, at the same time or 

later, submit the fingerprints of other 

individuals to whom WEC seeks to grant 

access to SGI. Fingerprints shall be 

submitted and reviewed in accordance 

with the procedures described in 

Attachment 1 to this Order. 

3. WEC may allow any individual 

who currently has access to SGI, in 

accordance with the previously-issued 

NRC Orders, to continue to have access 

to previously-designated SGI without 

being fingerprinted, pending a decision 

by the NRC-approved reviewing official 

(based on fingerprinting, an FBI 

criminal history records check and a 

trustworthiness and reliability 

determination) that the individual may 

continue to have access to SGI. WEC 

shall make determinations on continued 

access to SGI within ninety (90) days of 

the date of this Order, in part on the 

results of the fingerprinting and 

criminal history check, for those 

individuals who were previously 

granted access to SGI before the 

issuance of this Order. 

4. WEC shall, in writing, within 

twenty (20) days of the date of this 

Order, notify the Commission: (1) If it is 

unable to comply with any of the 

requirements described in the Order, 

including Attachment 1; or (2) if 

compliance with any of the 

requirements is unnecessary in its 

specific circumstances. The notification 

shall provide WEC’s justification for 

seeking relief from, or variation of, any 

specific requirement. 

WEC’s responses to C.1., C.2., C.3., 

and C.4., above shall be submitted to the 

Director, Office of Nuclear Material 

Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555. In addition, WEC responses 

shall be marked as ‘‘Security-Related 

Information—Withhold Under 10 CFR 

2.390.’’

The Director, Office of Nuclear 

Material Safety and Safeguards, may, in 

writing, relax or rescind any of the 

above conditions upon demonstration of 

good cause by WEC. 

IV 

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, 

WEC must, and any other person 

adversely affected by this Order may, 

submit an answer to this Order and may 

request a hearing with regard to this 

Order, within twenty (20) days of the 

date of this Order. Where good cause is 

shown, consideration will be given to 

extending the time to request a hearing. 

A request for extension of time in which 

to submit an answer or request a hearing 

must be made in writing to the Director, 

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 

Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555, 

and include a statement of good cause 

for the extension. The answer may 

consent to this Order. Unless the answer 

consents to this Order, the answer shall, 

in writing and under oath or 

affirmation, specifically set forth the 

matters of fact and law by which WEC 

or other entities adversely affected rely, 

and the reasons as to why the Order 

should not have been issued. Any 

answer or request for a hearing shall be 

submitted to the Secretary, Office of the 

Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, ATTN: Rulemakings and 

Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 

20555. Copies shall also be sent to the 

Director, Office of Nuclear Material 

Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, 

DC 20555, to the Assistant General 

Counsel for Materials Litigation and 

Enforcement at the same address, and to 

WEC, if the answer or hearing request is 

by an entity other than WEC. Because of 

possible delays in delivery of mail to 

United States Government offices, it is 

requested that answers and requests for 

hearing be transmitted to the Secretary 

of the Commission, either by means of 

facsimile transmission to (301) 415–

1101, or via e-mail to 

hearingdocket@nrc.gov, and also to the 

Office of the General Counsel either by 

means of facsimile transmission to (301) 

415–3725, or via e-mail to 

OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. If an entity 

other than WEC requests a hearing, that 

entity shall set forth, with particularity, 

the manner in which their interest is 

adversely affected by this Order, and 

shall address the criteria set forth in 10 

CFR 2.309. 

If a hearing is requested by WEC, or 

a person whose interest is adversely 

affected, the Commission will issue an 

Order designating the time and place of 

any hearing. If a hearing is held, the 

issue to be considered at such hearing 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
17204 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / Notices 

shall be whether this Order should be 

sustained. 

Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), 

WEC may, in addition to demanding a 

hearing, at the time the answer is filed 

or sooner, move the presiding officer to 

set aside the immediate effectiveness of 

the Order on the grounds that the Order, 

including the need for immediate 

effectiveness, is not based on adequate 

evidence, but on mere suspicion, 

unfounded allegations, or error. In the 

absence of any request for hearing, or 

written approval of an extension of time 

in which to request a hearing, the 

provisions as specified above in Section 

III, shall be final twenty (20) days from 

the date of this Order without, further 

order or proceedings. If an extension of 

time for requesting a hearing has been 

approved, the provisions, as specified 

above in Section III, shall be final when 

the extension expires, if a hearing 

request has not been received. 

An answer or a request for hearing 

shall not stay the immediate 

effectiveness of this Order. 

Dated this 29th day of March, 2007. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Michael F. Weber, 

Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety 

and Safeguards. 

Attachment 1—Requirements for 

Fingerprinting and Criminal History 

Records Checks of Individuals When 

Licensee’s Reviewing Official Is Determining 

Access to Safeguards Information 

General Requirements 

Licensees shall comply with the 

requirements of this attachment. 

A.1. Each licensee subject to the provisions 

of this attachment shall fingerprint each 

individual who is seeking or permitted 

access to Safeguards Information (SGI). The 

licensee shall review and use the information 

received from the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation (FBI) and ensure that the 

provisions contained in the subject Order 

and this attachment are satisfied. 

2. The licensee shall notify each affected 

individual that the fingerprints will be used 

to secure a review of his/her criminal history 

record and inform the individual of the 

procedures for revising the record or 

including an explanation in the record, as 

specified in the ‘‘Right to Correct and 

Complete Information’’ section of this 

attachment. 

3. Fingerprints need not be taken if an 

employed individual (e.g., a licensee 

employee, contractor, manufacturer, or 

supplier) is relieved from the fingerprinting 

requirement by 10 CFR 73.59, has had a 

favorably-decided U.S. Government criminal 

history records check within the last five (5) 

years, or has an active federal security 

clearance. Written confirmation from the 

Agency/employer which granted the federal 

security clearance or reviewed the criminal 

history records check must be provided. The 

licensee must retain this documentation for 

a period of three (3) years from the date the 

individual no longer requires access to SGI 

associated with the licensee’s activities. 

4. All fingerprints obtained by the licensee, 

pursuant to this Order, must be submitted to 

the Commission for transmission to the FBI. 

5. The licensee shall review the 

information received from the FBI and 

consider it in conjunction with the 

trustworthiness and reliability requirements 

in Attachment 2 to this Order when making 

a determination to grant access to SGI to 

individuals who have a need-to-know. 

6. The licensee shall use any information 

obtained as part of a criminal history records 

check solely for the purpose of determining 

an individual’s suitability for access to SGI. 

7. The licensee shall document the basis 

for its determination to grant access to SGI. 

B. The licensee shall notify the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC) of any desired 

change in reviewing officials, in compliance 

with C.2 of the subject Order. The NRC will 

determine whether the individual nominated 

as the new reviewing official may have 

access to SGI based on a previously-obtained 

or new criminal history check, therefore, will 

be permitted to serve as the licensee’s 

reviewing official. 

Prohibitions 

A licensee shall not base a final 

determination to deny an individual access 

to SGI solely on the basis of information 

received from the FBI involving: An arrest 

more than one (1) year old for which there 

is no information of the disposition of the 

case, or an arrest that resulted in dismissal 

of the charge or an acquittal. 

A licensee shall not use information 

received from a criminal history check, 

obtained pursuant to this Order in a manner 

that would infringe upon the rights of any 

individual under the First Amendment to the 

Constitution of the United States, nor shall 

the licensee use the information in any way 

which would discriminate among 

individuals on the basis of race, religion, 

national origin, sex, or age. 

Procedures for Processing Fingerprint Checks 

For the purpose of complying with this 

Order, licensees shall, using an appropriate 

method listed in 10 CFR 73.4, submit to the 

NRC’s Division of Facilities and Security, 

Mail Stop T–6E46, one completed, legible 

standard fingerprint card (Form FD–258, 

ORIMDNRCOOOZ) or, where practicable, 

other fingerprint records for each individual 

seeking access to SGI, to the Director of the 

Division of Facilities and Security, marked 

for the attention of the Division’s Criminal 

History Check Section. Copies of these forms 

may be obtained by writing to the Office of 

Information Services, U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 

20555–0001, by calling (301) 415–5877, or by 

e-mail to forms@nrc.gov. Practicable 

alternative formats are set forth in 10 CFR 

73.4. The licensee shall establish procedures 

to ensure that the quality of the fingerprints 

taken results in minimizing the rejection rate 

of fingerprint cards due to illegible or 

incomplete cards. 

The NRC will review submitted fingerprint 

cards for completeness. Any Form FD–258 

fingerprint record containing omissions or 

evident errors will be returned to the licensee 

for corrections. The fee for processing 

fingerprint checks includes one resubmission if the initial submission is 

returned by the FBI because the fingerprint 

impressions cannot be classified. The one 

free re-submission must have the FBI 

Transaction Control Number reflected on the 

re-submission. If additional submissions are 

necessary, they will be treated as initial 

submittals and will require a second payment 

of the processing fee. 

Fees for processing fingerprint checks are 

due upon application. Licensees shall submit 

payment with the application for processing 

fingerprints by corporate check, certified 

check, cashier’s check, money order, or 

electronic payment, made payable to ‘‘U.S. 

NRC.’’ [For guidance on making electronic 

payments, contact the Facilities Security 

Branch, Division of Facilities and Security, at 

(301) 415–7404]. Combined payment for 

multiple applications is acceptable. The 

application fee (currently $27) is the sum of 

the user fee charged by the FBI for each 

fingerprint card or other fingerprint records 

submitted by the NRC on behalf of a licensee, 

and an NRC processing fee, which covers 

administrative costs associated with the NRC 

handling of licensee fingerprint submissions. 

The Commission will directly notify 

licensees who are subject to this regulation 

of any fee changes. 

The Commission will forward, to the 

submitting licensee, all data received from 

the FBI as a result of the licensee’s 

application(s) for criminal history records 

checks, including the FBI fingerprint record. 

Right To Correct and Complete Information 

Prior to any final adverse determination, 

the licensee shall make available, to the 

individual, the contents of any criminal 

records obtained from the FBI for the purpose 

of assuring correct and complete information. 

Written confirmation by the individual of 

receipt of this notification must be 

maintained by the licensee for a period of 

one (1) year from the date of the notification. 

If, after reviewing the record, an individual 

believes that it is incorrect or incomplete in 

any respect and wishes to change, correct, or 

update the alleged deficiency, or to explain 

any matter in the record, the individual may 

initiate challenge procedures. These 

procedures include either direct application 

by the individual challenging the record to 

the agency (i.e., law enforcement agency) that 

contributed the questioned information, or 

direct challenge as to the accuracy or 

completeness of any entry on the criminal 

history record to the Assistant Director, 

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

Identification Division, Washington, DC 

20537–9700 (as set forth in 28 CFR 16.30 

through 16.34). In the latter case, the FBI 

forwards the challenge to the agency that 

submitted the data and requests that agency 

to verify or correct the challenged entry. 

Upon receipt of an official communication 

directly from the agency that contributed the 

original information, the FBI Identification 

Division makes any necessary changes in 

accordance with the information supplied by 

that agency. The licensee must allow at least 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / Notices 17205 

ten (10) days for an individual to initiate an 

action challenging the results of an FBI 

criminal history records check after the 

record is made available for his/her review. 

The licensee may make a final SGI access 

determination based upon the criminal 

history record only upon receipt of the FBI’s 

ultimate confirmation or correction of the 

record. Upon a final adverse determination 

on access to SGI, the licensee shall provide 

the individual its documented basis for 

denial. Access to SGI shall not be granted to 

an individual during the review process. 

Protection of Information 

1. Each licensee who obtains a criminal 

history record on an individual pursuant to 

this Order shall establish and maintain a 

system of files and procedures for protecting 

the record and the personal information from 

unauthorized disclosure. 

2. The licensee may not disclose the record 

or personal information collected and 

maintained to persons other than the subject 

individual, his/her representative, or to those 

who have a need to access the information 

in performing assigned duties in the process 

of determining access to SGI. No individual 

authorized to have access to the information 

may re-disseminate the information to any 

other individual who does not have a needto-know. 

3. The personal information obtained on an 

individual from a criminal history record 

check may be transferred to another licensee 

if the licensee holding the criminal history 

record check receives the individual’s 

written request to re-disseminate the 

information contained in his/her file, and the 

current licensee verifies information such as 

the individual’s name, date of birth, social 

security number, sex, and other applicable 

physical characteristics for identification 

purposes. 

4. The licensee shall make criminal history 

records, obtained under this section, 

available for examination by an authorized 

representative of the NRC to determine 

compliance with the regulations and laws. 

5. The licensee shall retain all fingerprint 

and criminal history records received from 

the FBI, or a copy if the individual’s file has 

been transferred, for three (3) years after 

termination of employment or determination 

of access to SGI (whether access was 

approved or denied). After the required three 

(3) year period, these documents shall be 

destroyed by a method that will prevent 

reconstruction of the information in whole or 

in part. 

Attachment 2—Trustworthiness and 

Reliability Requirements for Individuals 

Handling Safeguards Information 

In order to ensure the safe handling, use, 

and control of information designated as 

Safeguards Information, each licensee shall 

control and limit access to the information to 

only those individuals who have established 

the need-to-know the information, and are 

considered to be trustworthy and reliable. 

Licensees shall document the basis for 

concluding that there is reasonable assurance 

that individuals granted access to Safeguards 

Information are trustworthy and reliable, and 

do not constitute an unreasonable risk for 

malevolent use of the information. 

The Licensee shall comply with the 

requirements of this attachment: 

1. The trustworthiness and reliability of an 

individual shall be determined based on a 

background investigation: 

(a) The background investigation shall 

address at least the past three (3) years, and, 

at a minimum, include verification of 

employment, education, and personal 

references. The licensee shall also, to the 

extent possible, obtain independent 

information to corroborate that provided by 

the employee (i.e., seeking references not 

supplied by the individual). 

(b) If an individual’s employment has been 

less than the required three (3) year period, 

educational references may be used in lieu of 

employment history. 

The licensee’s background investigation 

requirements may be satisfied for an 

individual that has an active Federal security 

clearance. 

2. The licensee shall retain documentation 

regarding the trustworthiness and reliability 

of individual employees for three years after 

the individual’s employment ends. 

[FR Doc. 07–1697 Filed 4–5–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

Upon written request, copies available 

from: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of Filings and 

Information Services, Washington, DC 

20549. 

Extension: Form N–CSR; SEC File No. 270–

512; OMB Control No. 3235–0570. 

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 (the 

‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the collection of information 

summarized below. The Commission 

plans to submit this existing collection 

of information to the Office of 

Management and Budget for extension 

and approval. 

The title for the collection of 

information is ‘‘Form N–CSR (17 CFR 

249.331 and 17 CFR 274.128) under the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (‘‘Securities Exchange 

Act’’), and under the Investment 

Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–1 

et seq.) (‘‘Investment Company Act’’), 

Certified Shareholder Report of 

Registered Management Investment 

Companies.’’ Form N–CSR is a 

combined reporting form used by 

management investment companies to 

file certified shareholder reports under 

the Investment Company Act and under 

the Securities Exchange Act. Form N–

CSR is to be used for reports under 

section 30(b)(2) of the Investment 

Company Act and section 13(a) or 15(d) 

of the Securities Exchange Act, filed 

pursuant to rule 30b2–1(a) under the 

Investment Company Act (17 CFR 

270.30b2–1(a)). Form N–CSR reports are 

to be filed with the Commission not 

later than 10 days after the transmission 

to stockholders of any report that is 

required to be transmitted to 

stockholders under rule 30e–1 under the 

Investment Company Act (17 CFR 

270.30e–1). The information provided 

on Form N–CSR may be used by the 

Commission in its regulatory, disclosure 

review, inspection, and policymaking 

roles. The information filed with the 

Commission also permits the 

verification of compliance with 

securities law requirements and assures 

the public availability and 

dissemination of the information. 

The Commission estimates that there 

are 7,300 reports filed on Form N–CSR 

annually and that the average number of 

portfolios referenced in each filing is 

2.5. The Commission further estimates 

that the hour burden for preparing and 

filing a report on Form N–CSR is 7.57 

hours per portfolio. Given that filings on 

Form N–CSR are filed semi-annually, 

filings on Form N–CSR require 15.14 

hours per portfolio each year. The total 

annual hour burden for Form N–CSR, 

therefore, is estimated to be 138,153 

hours. 

The information collection 

requirements imposed by Form N–CSR 

are mandatory. Responses to the 

collection of information 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. 

Written comments are invited on: (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the collection of 

information; (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information collected; and (d) ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information on respondents, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. Consideration will be given 

to comments and suggestions submitted 

in writing within 60 days of this 

publication. 

Please direct your written comments 

to R. Corey Booth, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o Shirley 

Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, 


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