Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 54 / Wednesday, March 21, 2007 / Notices 13317 

4 15 U.S.C. 78bb. 

5 17 CFR 242.608(b)(3). 

6 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2). 7 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(29). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78k–1. 

2 17 CFR 242.608. 

3The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan 

approved by the Commission pursuant to Section 

11A of the Act and Rule 608 thereunder (formerly 

Rule 11Aa3–2). See Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 17638 (March 18, 1981), 22 S.E.C. 

Docket 484 (March 31, 1981). The full text of the 

OPRA Plan is available at http:// 

www.opradata.com. 

The OPRA Plan provides for the collection and 

dissemination of last sale and quotation information 

on options that are traded on the participant 

exchanges. The six participants to the OPRA Plan 

are the American Stock Exchange LLC, the Boston 

Stock Exchange, Inc., the Chicago Board Options 

Exchange, Incorporated, the International Securities 

Exchange, Inc., the NYSE Arca, Inc., and the 

Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc. 

4The device-based fees that became effective on 

January 1, 2007 were first proposed in File No. SR–

OPRA–2004–01, which became effective upon filing 

Continued 

situation, that payment of OPRA’s fees 

by the Third Party Payor is eligible for 

the safe harbor under Section 28(e) of 

the Act.4 In particular, the revised form 

states expressly that OPRA will waive a 

Professional Subscriber’s obligation 

under its PSA to pay OPRA’s fees in 

consideration for the agreement of the 

Third Party Payor to pay fees directly to 

OPRA for the Professional Subscriber’s 

receipt of OPRA Information. 

II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan 

Amendment 

Pursuant to paragraphs (b)(3) of Rule 

608 under the Act,5 OPRA designates 

this amendment as concerned solely 

with the administration of the OPRA 

Plan and/or as involving solely 

technical or ministerial matters, thereby 

qualifying for effectiveness upon filing. 

OPRA states that it will begin to use 

the proposed revised form ‘‘Third Party 

Billing Agreement’’ upon filing with the 

Commission. However, OPRA states that 

these revised documents would be used 

only on a prospective basis. Existing 

Professional Subscribers and Third 

Party Payors that are parties to existing 

payment arrangements would not be 

required to execute the revised form. 

However, upon the request from a 

Professional Subscriber and Third Party 

Payor, OPRA will execute the revised 

form with respect to their existing 

payment arrangement if the Third Party 

Payor is current in its payments. 

The Commission may summarily 

abrogate the amendment within sixty 

days of its filing and require refiling and 

approval of the amendment by 

Commission order pursuant to Rule 

608(b)(2) under the Act 6 if it appears to 

the Commission that such action is 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest, for the protection of investors 

and the maintenance of fair and orderly 

markets, to remove impediments to, and 

perfect the mechanisms of, a national 

market system, or otherwise in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act. 

III. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed OPRA 

Plan amendment is consistent with the 

Act. Comments may be submitted by 

any of the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

No. SR–OPRA–2007–01 on the subject 

line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–OPRA–2007–01. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed plan 

amendment that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed plan amendment 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 also will be 

available for inspection and copying at 

the principal office of OPRA. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change; the Commission does 

not edit personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

should submit only information that 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–OPRA–2007–01 and should 

be submitted on or before April 11, 

2007. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated 

authority.7

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–5086 Filed 3–20–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–55455; File No. SR–OPRA–

2007–02] 

Options Price Reporting Authority; 

Notice of Filing and Immediate 

Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment 

To Revise OPRA’s Fee Schedule and 

its ‘‘Policies With Respect to DeviceBased Fees’’

March 13, 2007. 

Pursuant to Section 11A of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 608 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on February 

23, 2007 the Options Price Reporting 

Authority (‘‘OPRA’’) submitted to the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) an amendment to the 

Plan for Reporting of Consolidated 

Options Last Sale Reports and 

Quotation Information (‘‘OPRA Plan’’).3

Specifically, OPRA proposes to revise 

its Fee Schedule and its ‘‘Policies with 

Respect to Device-Based Fees.’’

I. Description and Purpose of the 

Amendment 

A. Changes in the Fee Schedule 

OPRA states that the purpose of the 

proposed amendment to its Fee 

Schedule is to eliminate language that 

became obsolete on January 1, 2007, and 

to provide a simplified and unified 

presentation of its Fee Schedule. None 

of the proposed revisions would change 

the amount of any of OPRA’s fees. 

Since January 1, 2007, OPRA has had 

in place a single $20.00 ‘‘per device’’ fee 

for its Basic Service (consisting of all 

OPRA Information except Information 

with respect to foreign currency 

options) and a single $5.00 per device 

fee for its FCO Service (consisting of 

OPRA Information with respect to 

foreign currency options).4 As a result, 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
13318 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 54 / Wednesday, March 21, 2007 / Notices 

on February 25, 2004. See Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 49382 (March 9, 2004), 69 FR 12377 

(March 16, 2004). In that filing, OPRA amended its 

Fee Schedule to make incremental changes, over a 

four year period from 2004 through 2007, to its 

device-based fees to eliminate all distinctions in 

these fees based on a subscriber’s status as a 

member or nonmember of an exchange that is a 

party to the OPRA Plan or on the subscriber’s total 

number of OPRA-enabled devices. 

5These are the Subscriber Indirect Access Fee, 

the Direct Access Fee and the Voice-Synthesized 

Market Data Service Fee. 

6This fee is accurately described in OPRA’s 

‘‘Direct Circuit Connection Rider,’’ which a 

Professional Subscriber must sign in order to 

receive OPRA Data directly from OPRA’s processor. 

See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53753 

(May 2, 2006), 71 FR 27296 (May 10, 2006) (SR–

OPRA–2006–01). 

7OPRA also made incremental changes, over the 

four year period from 2004 until 2007, to its 

Enterprise Rate fees. See supra, note 4. Language 

that described the Enterprise Rate fees that were in 

effect before January 1, 2007 is now being 

eliminated because it is obsolete. 

8OPRA’s Fee Schedule currently shows two 

footnotes numbered ‘‘1.’’ The numbering of the 

footnotes is being corrected in the revised Fee 

Schedule. 

9 17 CFR 242.608(b)(3). 10 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2). 

OPRA proposes to delete two tables in 

its Fee Schedule and replace them with 

a single entry setting forth these devicebased fees. 

As shown in Exhibit I(B) to the 

proposed rule change, OPRA’s Fee 

Schedule had two parts. The first part 

was called ‘‘Professional Subscriber Fee 

Schedule,’’ and it contained two tables 

listing device-based fees, one for 

OPRA’s Basic Service and one for 

OPRA’s FCO Service, and described 

OPRA’s alternative Enterprise Rate fees 

for access to the Basic Service. The 

second part was called ‘‘Fee Schedule,’’

which set out OPRA’s other fees, 

including fees applicable to Vendors as 

well as fees that were applicable to 

some Professional Subscribers.5 The 

purpose of the two-part Fee Schedule 

was to accommodate the tables of 

device-based fees because they did not 

fit within the format of the second part 

of the Fee Schedule. 

With the elimination of the devicebased fee tables and their replacement 

with a single chart setting forth per 

device fees for the Basic Service and the 

FCO Service, the first part of the OPRA 

Fee Schedule can be deleted in its 

entirety, and the line in the second part 

of the Fee Schedule that formerly crossreferenced the device-based fees in the 

first part can be replaced with a line that 

states the actual device-based fees 

themselves. 

A secondary purpose of the proposed 

amendment is to correct the description 

in the Fee Schedule of the ‘‘Direct 

Access Fee’’ to state that it is applicable 

to Professional Subscribers, as well as to 

Vendors, that receive OPRA Data 

directly from OPRA’s processor.6

The remaining changes to the Fee 

Schedule are to accommodate the reorganization of the Fee Schedule and 

other non-substantive purposes. 

Specifically, the description of the terms 

of the ‘‘30-day free trial’’ for the Basic 

Service will be moved from the old first 

part of the Fee Schedule and 

incorporated into a new footnote 3. The 

description of the Enterprise Rate 

alternative fee for the Basic Service will 

be moved from the old first part of the 

Fee Schedule and incorporated into a 

new footnote 4.7 The footnote currently 

shown as the first footnote 1 8 in the Fee 

Schedule is being deleted because 

OPRA believes that with the simplified 

and unified presentation of the Fee 

Schedule it is no longer necessary to 

state specifically, with respect to devicebased fees, that other fees may also be 

applicable for certain Professional 

Subscribers. 

The text of the footnote currently 

shown as the second footnote 1 relates 

to the Enterprise Rate fee and is being 

incorporated in the new Enterprise Rate 

footnote, footnote 4. New footnote 2 is 

language that is also in the first 

paragraph of the ‘‘Policies with Respect 

to Device-Based Fees’’ and is intended 

to emphasize that Professional 

Subscribers may count ‘‘User IDs’’ as a 

surrogate for ‘‘devices.’’ Footnote 6 is 

being deleted because its language was 

identical to that of footnote 4, which 

will be renumbered as new footnote 6. 

B. Changes in the Policies With Respect 

to Device-Based Fees 

The changes in the ‘‘Policies with 

Respect to Device-Based Fees’’ are also 

for housekeeping purposes. The purpose 

of the change in the second paragraph 

of the Policies is to conform a reference 

to OPRA’s Fee Schedule to the 

elimination of the first part of the Fee 

Schedule itself. The purpose of the 

changes in the subsection with the 

revised subtitle ‘‘Contracting on behalf 

of Affiliates’’ is to delete material that 

no longer has any meaning after OPRA’s 

change to a flat per-device fee schedule 

as of January 1, 2007. 

II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan 

Amendment 

Pursuant to paragraphs (b)(3) of Rule 

608 under the Act,9 OPRA designates 

this amendment as concerned solely 

with the administration of the OPRA 

Plan and/or as involving solely 

technical or ministerial matters, thereby 

qualifying for effectiveness upon filing. 

The Commission may summarily 

abrogate the amendment within sixty 

days of its filing and require refiling and 

approval of the amendment by 

Commission order pursuant to Rule 

608(b)(2) under the Act 10 if it appears 

to the Commission that such action is 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest, for the protection of investors 

and the maintenance of fair and orderly 

markets, to remove impediments to, and 

perfect the mechanisms of, a national 

market system, or otherwise in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act. 

III. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed OPRA 

Plan amendment is consistent with the 

Act. Comments may be submitted by 

any of the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

No. SR–OPRA–2007–02 on the subject 

line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Nancy M. Morris, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–OPRA–2007–02. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed plan 

amendment that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed plan amendment 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 also will be 

available for inspection and copying at 

the principal office of OPRA. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change; the Commission does 

not edit personal identifying 

information from submissions. You 

should submit only information that 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 54 / Wednesday, March 21, 2007 / Notices 13319 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(29). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

5NYSE stipulated the implementation date to be 

March 5, 2007. 

6The Linkage Plan was filed with the 

Commission pursuant to Rule 608 of Regulation 

NMS under the Act. The purpose of the Linkage 

Plan is to enable the Plan Participants to act jointly 

in planning, developing, operating and regulating 

the NMS Linkage System electronically linking the 

Plan Participant Markets to one another, as 

described in the Linkage Plan. Following approval 

by the Commission, the Plan became operative on 

October 1, 2006. The Plan terminates on June 30, 

2007; however, participants that wish to extend the 

term could agree to do so, subject to Commission 

approval. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 

54551 (Sept. 29, 2006), 71 FR 59148 (Oct. 6, 2006) 

(approving the Linkage Plan). 

7See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 54727 

(November 8, 2006); 71 FR 66820 (November 16, 

2006) (SR–NYSE–2006–79). 

8Archipelago Securities is billed by the 

destination markets for orders entered on the 

Exchange by entering firms but routed to other 

markets for execution. The Exchange assumed 

responsibility for fees paid by Archipelago 

Securities to Participant markets in its capacity as 

the Exchange’s Sponsoring Member. See id. 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

10 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

11 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(a)(ii). 

you wish to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–OPRA–2007–02 and should 

be submitted on or before April 11, 

2007. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated 

authority.11

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–5087 Filed 3–20–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–55462; File No. SR–NYSE–

2007–18] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; New 

York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change to Amend the 

Linkage Order Fee 

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 February 

22, 2007, the New York Stock Exchange 

LLC (‘‘NYSE’’) 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 substantially by NYSE. NYSE 

submitted the proposed rule change 

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

and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) thereunder,4 which 

renders the proposal effective upon 

filing with the Commission.5 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 

The Exchange proposes to modify the 

fee (the ‘‘Linkage Order Fee’’) it charges 

its member organizations in connection 

with orders in equities executed in 

another market pursuant to the ‘‘Plan for 

the Purpose of Creating and Operating 

an Intermarket Communications 

Linkage’’ (the ‘‘Linkage Plan’’).6 As of 

March 5, 2007, the Linkage Order Fee 

for transactions routed to any other 

market will be $0.0025 per share. The 

Linkage Order Fee will not apply to 

transactions where a broker on the 

Exchange trading floor placed the 

related order. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the NYSE’s Web site at 

http://www.nyse.com, at NYSE and at 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, 

NYSE 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. NYSE 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 

The Exchange’s Linkage Order fee is 

currently fixed at $0.000275 per share. 

As of March 5, 2007, the Linkage Order 

Fee for transactions routed to any other 

market will be $0.0025 per share. The 

Linkage Order Fee is the only 

transaction fee the Exchange charges its 

customers on transactions routed to 

other markets. These transactions are 

not subject to the Exchange’s regular 

equity transaction fees. The Linkage 

Order Fee will not apply to transactions 

where a broker on the Exchange trading 

floor placed the related order. Instead, if 

routed to another market, such 

transactions will be billed at the 

Exchange’s regular equity transaction 

fee rate. At the time of the Linkage 

Order Fee’s adoption,7 the Exchange 

stated that the Linkage Order Fee was 

intended to permit the Exchange to 

recover fees billed to Archipelago 

Securities LLC (‘‘Archipelago 

Securities’’), as the NYSE’s Sponsoring 

Member, by other markets for orders 

executed pursuant to the Linkage Plan. 

The current Linkage Order Fee is set at 

the level of the NYSE’s own equity 

transaction fee. However, as the 

Exchange is charged much higher fees 

than the current Linkage Order Fee in 

connection with most transactions 

routed to other markets, the current 

Linkage Order Fee is enabling the 

Exchange to recoup only a fraction of its 

routing costs.8 The revised Linkage 

Order Fee is more closely related to the 

actual transaction fees charged to 

Archipelago Securities by such other 

markets and will enable the Exchange to 

recoup most of the transaction fees for 

which it is responsible in relation to 

transactions it routes to other markets 

through the Linkage. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

the provisions of Section 6(b) of the 

Act,9 in general, and Section 6(b)(4) of 

the Act,10 in particular, in that it is 

designed to provide for the equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues, fees and 

other charges among the Exchange’s 

members and other persons using its 

facilities. The fee is intended to permit 

the Exchange to recover fees billed to 

Archipelago Securities, as a Sponsoring 

Member, by other markets for orders 

executed pursuant to the Linkage Plan. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

NYSE does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will impose 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 

NYSE has neither solicited nor 

received comments on the proposed 

rule change. 

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 11 and 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES