[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 210 (Monday, October 30, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64726-64727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27718]


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SECURITES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 
20549.

SEC Investor Complaint Forms, SEC File No. 270-485, OMB Control No. 
3235-new.

    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 (``SEC'') has submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget a request for approval of three proposed forms. The titles of 
the forms are SEC Investor Complaint Form (two versions) and SEC 
Investor Question Form.
    The SEC receives annually over 150,000 letters, e-mails, faxes, and 
phone calls from investors who have complaints and questions on a wide 
range of investment-related issues. The SEC proposes to place on its 
website two online forms, and to make available a hard-copy complaint 
form, to be used by investors to submit complaints and questions to the 
SEC through the Internet, by mail, or by fax. The SEC will use the 
information supplied on the forms to respond to general investor 
queries, process investor complaints, or initiate enforcement 
investigations in appropriate matters. The information that is captured 
automatically in the online forms and through manual data entry of the 
hard-copy form will allow the SEC to employ automation to direct a 
complaint or question to the appropriate division or office at the SEC 
(primarily the Division of Enforcement or the Office of Investor 
Education and Assistance) for review and processing, to maintain a 
record of the complaint or question, and to track the volume of 
complaints and questions received. Investors are not required to use 
the online or hard-copy Investor Complaint Form or the Investor 
Question Form and may continue to submit written complaints and 
questions by letter (sent by mail or fax), e-mail messages, and 
telephone calls. However, investors who complete the forms enable the 
SEC to process their complaints and questions more quickly and 
efficiently.
    The respondents to the Investor Complaint Forms and the Investor 
Question Form will be investors who want the SEC's assistance with 
their complaints against entities that the SEC regulates, who want to 
report companies or individuals who may be violating the federal 
securities laws, or who want to ask questions or request information 
about the statutes and rules the SEC administers or about specific 
companies the SEC regulates.
    Investors will use the Investor Complaint Forms to send complaints 
to the SEC about entities that are regulated by the SEC, about issuers 
of securities, and about individuals and companies whose activities may 
violate the federal securities laws. Investors who submit the Investor 
Complaint Forms are asked to provide information on, among other 
things, their names, how they can be contacted, the names of the 
financial institutions, companies, or individuals they are complaining 
about, the nature of their complaints, what documents can be provided, 
and what legal actions they have taken. The online version asks for 
general information about the investor's complaint and then poses 
follow-up questions based on previous answers. Most questions on the 
Investor Complaint Forms are asked in a multiple-choice style that 
allows the investor to provide an answer simply by checking a box. Some 
questions require the investor to provide more detailed full-text 
responses about the facts of his complaint.
    Investors will use the Investor Question Form to ask general 
questions about the SEC's programs, rules, and other matters that are 
not appropriate for the Investor Complaint Form.
    Investors who submit the Investor Question Form are asked to 
provide their names, how they can be contacted, and their questions.
    The total reporting burden of using the Investor Complaint Forms or 
Investor Question Form is estimated to 23,750 hours. This was 
calculated by multiplying the total number of investors whom the SEC 
expects to use the forms times how long it will take to complete each 
form (95,000 respondents  x  15 minutes = 23,750 burden hours).
    Use of the Investor Complaint and Question Forms is voluntary. The 
SEC will continue to accept questions and complaints submitted in 
letters (sent by mail or fax), e-mail messages, and telephone calls. 
However, if an investor chooses to submit an Investor Complaint Form or 
Investor Question Form through the Internet, the investor must respond 
to certain questions about the nature of the complaint or the form will 
not be accepted electronically.
    Responses to the Investor Complaint or Investor Question Forms are 
subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which generally 
allows the SEC to make information available to the public upon 
request. An investor who submits an Investor Complaint or Investor 
Question Form may request

[[Page 64727]]

that his information not be released to the public by writing a letter 
asking that it remain confidential under one of the exemptions 
described in FOIA (see 5 U.S.C. 552). The SEC determines whether the 
investor's claim of an exemption if valid when someone requests the 
investor's information under FOIA. The SEC often makes it files 
available to other governmental agencies, particularly United States 
Attorneys and state prosecutors. There is a likelihood that information 
supplied by investors will be made available to such agencies where 
appropriate. Whether or not the SEC makes its files available to other 
governmental agencies is, in general, all confidential matter between 
the SEC and such other governmental agencies. 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.
    General comments regarding the above information should be directed 
to the following persons: (i) Desk Officer for Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503; and (ii) Michael E. Bartell, Associate Executive 
Director, Office of Information Technology, Securities and Exchange 
Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549. Comments must 
be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice.

    Dated: October 20, 2000.
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-27718 Filed 10-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M