Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 214 / Friday, November 3, 2000 / Notices 66277

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 43177

(Aug. 18, 2000), 65 FR 51889 (Aug. 25, 2000).

4A Top 120 Option is defined as one of the 120

most actively traded equity options in terms of the

total number of contracts that were traded on all

U.S. options markets for the period January 1, 2000

through June 30, 2000, based on volume

information provided by The Options Clearing

Corporation. The Phlx will determine the Top 120

Options every six months, with the next measuring

period commencing June 1, 2000 and ending on

November 30, 2000. The proposed fee does not

apply to index or currency options.

5According to the Phlx, a broker-dealer order is

an order, entered from other than the floor of the

exchange, for any account: (i) In which the holder

of a beneficial interest is a member or non-member

broker-dealer; or (ii) in which the holder of

beneficial interest is a person associated with or

employed by a member or non-member brokerdealer. This includes orders for the acount of an

ROT entered from off the floor.

6The $1.00 fee is not eligible for the monthly

credit of up to $1,000 to be applied against certain

fees, dues, charges, and other amounts that certain

members owe to the Exchange. See Securities

Exchange Act Release No. 42791 (May 16, 2000), 65

FR 33606 (May 24, 2000).

7See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 43177

(Aug. 18, 2000), 65 FR 51889 (Aug. 25, 2000). The

Phlx later filed a proposed rule change to amend

its payment for order flow program in order to

exclude from the program, as of September 1, 2000,

any transactions between Phlx specialists or ROTs

and Phlx member firms trading in their proprietary

accounts. See SR–PHLX–00–86 (September 11,

2000). The Phlx also proposed to rebate the fees that

were imposed upon specialists and ROTs for

transactions of the type that would be excluded by

virtue of SR–PHLX–00–86. See SR–PHLX–00–87

(September 11, 2000).

in furtherance of the purposes of the

Act.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

The Commission invites interested

persons to submit written data, views,

and arguments concerning the

foregoing, including whether the

proposed rules are 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 submissions, all

subsequent amendments, all written

statements with respect to the proposed

rule changes that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications between the

Commission and any person relating to

the proposed rule changes, 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 filings will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal offices of the Phlx. All

submissions should refer to File Nos.

SR–PHLX–00–86 and SR–PHLX–00–87,

and should be submitted by November

24, 2000.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.11

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–28224 Filed 11–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–43481; File Nos. SR–PHLX–

00–88 and SR–PHLX–00–89]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness

of Proposed Rule Changes by the

Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc.

Relating to an Amendment to the

Exchange’s Payment for Order Flow

Fee and a Rebate for Certain Fees

Incurred

October 25, 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 the

Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc.

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

the Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) proposed

rule changes SR–PHLX–00–88 and SR–

PHLX–00–89 on October 2, 2000 and

October 4, 2000, respectively, as

described in Items I, II, and III below,

which Items the Phlx has prepared. The

Commission is publishing this notice to

solicit comments on the proposed rule

changes from interested persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Changes

In SR–PHLX–00–88, the Phlx

proposes to amend its payment for order

flow program 3 that imposed a fee,

effective August 1, 2000 of $1.00 per

contract on transactions by Phlx

specialists and Registered Options

Traders (‘‘ROTs’’) in the Top 120

Options 4 traded on the Phlx. The effect

of the amendment would be to exclude

from the program, as of October 1, 2000,

any transaction between a Phlx

specialist or a Phlx ROT and a brokerdealer order.5 The proposed amendment

is effective as of October 1, 2000.6

In SR–PHLX–00–89, the Phlx

proposes to rebate the fees that the Phlx

ROTs and Phlx specialists incurred

during the period from August 1, 2000

through September 30, 2000, when they

engaged in a transaction with a brokerdealer order, and not with the order of

a customer. The text of these proposed

rule changes is available at the principal

offices of the Phlx.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Changes

In its filings with the Commission, the

Phlx included statements concerning

the purpose of and basis for the

proposed rule changes and discussed

any comments it received on them. The

text of these statements may be

examined at the places specified in Item

IV below. The Phlx 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

Changes

The purpose of SR-PHLX–00–88 is to

amend the Phlx’s payment for order

flow fee program such that, effective

October 1, 2000, the Phlx would not

assess the $1.00 per contract fee on

transactions in which a Phlx specialist

or Phlx ROT trades with a broker-dealer

order. Moreover, in connection with

SR–PHLX–00–89, the Phlx proposes to

rebate the fees that Phlx specialists and

ROTs incurred in executing such

transactions with broker-dealers during

the period from August 1, 2000 through

September 30, 2000.

The purpose of the Phlx’s payment for

order flow program is to generate a

source of revenue that specialists may

use to attract order flow to the Phlx. The

Phlx’s payment for order flow program

originally imposed a $1.00 fee on all

transactions of specialists and ROTs in

the Top 120 Options traded on the Phlx,

other than ROT-to-ROT or specialist-toROT transactions.7 The Phlx believes

that it was necessary for it to adopt this

type of fee in order to maintain and

enhance its competitive position.

Proposed rule change SR–PHLX–00–

88 would now exempt from the fee all

transactions between a specialist or an

ROT and a broker-dealer order. The

Phlx believes that it would not promote

the goals of the payment for order flow

program to collect the $1.00 fee from an

ROT or a specialist that engages in a

transaction with a broker-dealer order,

and not the order of a customer.

Therefore, any funds collected in

connection with those trades would not

be used to make payments to brokerdealers for their proprietary order flow,

because those are not the kind of

transactions that the fee is designed to

attract. Indeed, because the primary

66278 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 214 / Friday, November 3, 2000 / Notices

8See footnote 7, supra.

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).

10 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(6).

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

12 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

focus of the program, as amended, is to

attract order flow from customers, the

$1.00 fee will apply to transactions

between specialists or ROTs and

customers. In SR–PHLX–00–89, the

Phlx proposes to rebate to specialists

and ROTs any fees that were imposed

on them with respect to such

transactions with broker-dealers during

the period from August 1, 2000 through

September 30, 2000.

In sum, the Phlx’s payment for order

flow program, as amended, would

impose the $1.00 fee on all transactions

by specialists and ROTs in the Top 120

Options, with the exception of: (1)

Transactions between ROTs, (2)

transactions between a specialist and an

ROT; (3) transactions between a

specialist or ROT and a Phlx member

firm acting for its proprietary account

and not on behalf of a customer,8 (4)

transactions between a specialist and a

broker-dealer order; and (5) transactions

between an ROT and a broker-dealer

order. The Exchange envisions that the

persons who pay the fees will also

participate in the order flow derived

from the amended program. The

Exchange believes that the program,

amended as proposed, will provide for

the equitable allocation of reasonable

fees among the Exchange’s members

because the specialists and ROTs who

pay the fee should also receive the

benefits of increased order flow.

Moreover, the Exchange believes that

the fee should promote just and

equitable principles of trade, remove

impediments to and perfect the

mechanism of a free and open market,

and protect investors and the public

interest by attracting more order flow to

the Exchange. In the Exchange’s view,

this should result in increased liquidity,

tighter markets, and more competition

among exchange members. Accordingly,

the Exchange believes that its proposals

are consistent with and further the

objectives of the Act, including Sections

6(b)(4) 9 and 6(b)(5) 10 thereof.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that

the proposed rule changes 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 Changes Received From

Members, Participants or Others

The Phlx neither solicited nor

received written comments with respect

to the proposed rule changes.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Changes and Timing for

Commission Action

Because the Phlx has designated the

foregoing proposed rule changes as fee

changes pursuant to section 19(b)(3)(A)

of the Act 11 and Rule 19b–4(f)(2)

thereunder, 12 the proposals have taken

effect upon filing with the Commission.

At any time within 60 days of the filing

of the proposed rule changes, the

Commission may summarily abrogate

them 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

The Commission invites interested

persons to submit written data, views,

and arguments concerning the

foregoing, including whether the

proposed rules are 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 submissions, all

subsequent amendments, all written

statements with respect to the proposed

rule changes that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule changes 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 offices of the Phlx. All

submissions should refer to File Nos.

SR–PHLX–00–88 and SR–PHLX–00–89

and should be submitted by November

24, 2000.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.13

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–28225 Filed 11–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Request and

Comment Request

In compliance with Public Law 104–

13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995, SSA is providing notice of its

information collections that require

submission to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB). SSA is soliciting

comments on the accuracy of the

agency’s burden estimate; the need for

the information; its practical utility;

ways to enhance its quality, utility and

clarity; and on ways to minimize burden

on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

The information collection listed

below has been submitted to OMB for

clearance. Written comments and

recommendations on the information

collection would be most useful if

received within 30 days from the date

of this publication. Comments should be

directed to the SSA Reports Clearance

Officer and the OMB Desk Officer at the

addresses listed after this publication.

You can obtain a copy of the OMB

clearance package by calling the SSA

Reports Clearance Officer on (410) 965–

4145, or by writing to him.

Statement for Determining Continuing

Eligibility, Supplemental Security

Income Payment—0960–0145. SSA uses

Form SSA–8202–F6 to conduct lowand middle-error-profile (LEP–MEP)

telephone or face-to-face interviews

with Supplemental Security Income

(SSI) recipients and representative

payees. The information collected

during the interview is used to

determine whether SSI recipients have

met and continue to meet all statutory

and regulatory requirements for SSI

eligibility and whether they have been

and are still receiving the correct

payment amount. The respondents are

recipients of SSI benefits or their

representative payees. This notice is

being published again to include the

burden for Form SSA–8202–OCR–SM.