76306 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

whether any actions taken by the Bank would be

consistent with its fiduciary obligations under Part

4 of Title I of the Act. In this regard, section 404(a)

requires, among other things, that a plan fiduciary

act prudently, solely in the interest of the plan’s

participants and beneficiaries, and for the exclusive

purpose of providing benefits to participants and

beneficiaries when making decisions on behalf of a

plan.

will direct the Plan’s trustee with

respect to the exercise of voting and

other privileges applicable to

shareholders of Cranston, and the Plan’s

rights pursuant to the Put Option as it

deems appropriate.

11. In summary, the applicants

represent that the proposed transactions

will satisfy the criteria of section 408(a)

of the Act because: (a) the Stock will

represent no more than 7.5% of the

Plan’s assets at the time of the

acquisition; (b) the purchase price for

the Stock will be determined by an

evaluation prepared by Willamette, a

qualified independent expert in the

valuation of such securities; (c) the Plan

has received an additional safeguard in

the form of an irrevocable Put Option

which will enable the Plan, upon the

independent fiduciary’s decision, to sell

the Stock back to Cranston at a price

which is equal to the greater of the

Stock’s then current fair market value,

as determined by independent

appraisal, or the price at which the

Stock was sold by Cranston to the Plan;

(d) the Bank, an independent fiduciary

for the Plan, will determine that the

transactions are appropriate for the Plan

and in the best interests of the Plan’s

participants and beneficiaries; (e) the

Bank will monitor the holding of the

Stock and determine, among other

things, when to exercise the Put Option;

(f) any sale of the Stock by the Plan to

Cranston pursuant to Cranston’s right of

first refusal will be triggered by a

proposed sale of the Stock by the Plan

to an unrelated party pursuant to a bona

fide purchase offer, and any shares of

the Stock that are repurchased by

Cranston, under its right of first refusal,

will be for cash at a price which is equal

to the greater of the then current fair

market value of the Stock, as

determined by the bona fide third party

purchase offer, or the fair market value

of the Stock as determined by a

contemporaneous independent

appraisal; and (g) Cranston will make an

initial deposit of 12.5% of the purchase

price for the Stock into the Escrow

(which will be held by the Bank), and

will make additional deposits of

$125,000 at the close of each calendar

quarter thereafter until a total of 25% of

the purchase price for the Stock has

been deposited into the Escrow to

support Cranston’s obligations to the

Plan under the Put Option.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary

H. Lefkowitz of the Department,

telephone (202) 219–8881. (This is not

a toll-free number.)

General Information

The attention of interested persons is

directed to the following:

(1) The fact that a transaction is the

subject of an exemption under section

408(a) of the Act and/or section

4975(c)(2) of the Code does not relieve

a fiduciary or other party in interest or

disqualified person from certain other

provisions of the Act and/or the Code,

including any prohibited transaction

provisions to which the exemption does

not apply and the general fiduciary

responsibility provisions of section 404

of the Act, which, among other things,

require a fiduciary to discharge his

duties respecting the plan solely in the

interest of the participants and

beneficiaries of the plan and in a

prudent fashion in accordance with

section 404(a)(1)(b) of the Act; nor does

it affect the requirement of section

401(a) of the Code that the plan must

operate for the exclusive benefit of the

employees of the employer maintaining

the plan and their beneficiaries;

(2) Before an exemption may be

granted under section 408(a) of the Act

and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the Code,

the Department must find that the

exemption is administratively feasible,

in the interests of the plan and of its

participants and beneficiaries, and

protective of the rights of participants

and beneficiaries of the plan;

(3) The proposed exemptions, if

granted, will be supplemental to, and

not in derogation of, any other

provisions of the Act and/or the Code,

including statutory or administrative

exemptions and transitional rules.

Furthermore, the fact that a transaction

is subject to an administrative or

statutory exemption is not dispositive of

whether the transaction is in fact a

prohibited transaction; and

(4) The proposed exemptions, if

granted, will be subject to the express

condition that the material facts and

representations contained in each

application are true and complete, and

that each application accurately

describes all material terms of the

transaction which is the subject of the

exemption.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 1st day of

December, 2000.

Ivan Strasfeld,

Director of Exemption Determinations,

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration,

U.S. Department of Labor.

[FR Doc. 00–31017 Filed 12–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration

Prohibited Transaction Exemption

2000–63; [Exemption Application No.

D–10651, et al.] Grant of Individual

Exemptions; Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

(ML&Co.)

AGENCY: Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Grant of Individual Exemptions.

SUMMARY: This document contains

exemptions issued by the Department of

Labor (the Department) from certain of

the prohibited transaction restrictions of

the Employee Retirement Income

Security Act of 1974 (the Act) and/or

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the

Code).

Notices were published in the Federal

Register of the pendency before the

Department of proposals to grant such

exemptions. The notices set forth a

summary of facts and representations

contained in each application for

exemption and referred interested

persons to the respective applications

for a complete statement of the facts and

representations. The applications have

been available for public inspection at

the Department in Washington, D.C. The

notices also invited interested persons

to submit comments on the requested

exemptions to the Department. In

addition the notices stated that any

interested person might submit a

written request that a public hearing be

held (where appropriate). The

applicants have represented that they

have complied with the requirements of

the notification to interested persons.

No public comments and no requests for

a hearing, unless otherwise stated, were

received by the Department.

The notices of proposed exemption

were issued and the exemptions are

being granted solely by the Department

because, effective December 31, 1978,

section 102 of Reorganization Plan No.

4 of 1978, 5 U.S.C. App. 1 (1996),

transferred the authority of the Secretary

of the Treasury to issue exemptions of

the type proposed to the Secretary of

Labor.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices 76307

1The Department is providing no opinion herein

as to whether any principal transactions involving

debt securities would be covered by PTCE 75–1, or

whether any particular mark-up by a broker-dealer

for such transaction would be permissible under

Part II of PTCE 75–1.

2For purposes of this exemption, the term

‘‘maintain’’ means that all calculations relating to

the securities in the Index, as well as the rate of

return of the Index, are made by an entity that is

unrelated to the Applicants or their affiliates.

Statutory Findings

In accordance with section 408(a) of

the Act and/or section 4975(c)(2) of the

Code and the procedures set forth in 29

CFR Part 2570, Subpart B (55 FR 32836,

32847, August 10, 1990) and based upon

the entire record, the Department makes

the following findings:

(a) The exemptions are administratively

feasible;

(b) They are in the interests of the plans

and their participants and

beneficiaries; and

(c) They are protective of the rights of

the participants and beneficiaries of

the plans.

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (ML&Co.) Located

in New York, NY

[Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2000–63

Exemption Application No. D–10651]

Exemption

Section I. Covered Transactions

The restrictions of section

406(a)(1)(A) through (D) of the Act and

the sanctions resulting from the

application of section 4975 of the Code,

by reason of section 4975(c)(1)(A)

through (D) of the Code, shall not apply

to (1) the purchase or sale by employee

benefit plans (the Plans), other than

Plans sponsored by ML&Co. or its

affiliates (collectively, the Applicants),

of Market Index Target-Term Securities

(the MITTS), which are debt securities

issued by the Applicants; and (2) the

extension of credit by the Plans to the

Applicants in connection with the

holding of the MITTS.

This exemption is subject to the

general conditions that are set forth

below in Section II.

Section II. General Conditions

(a) The MITTS are made available by

the Applicants in the ordinary course of

their business to Plans as well as to

customers which are not Plans.

(b) The decision to invest in the

MITTS is made by a Plan fiduciary (the

Independent Plan Fiduciary) or a

participant in a Plan that provides for

participant-directed investments (the

Plan Participant), which is independent

of the Applicants.

(c) The Applicants do not have any

discretionary authority or control or

provide any investment advice, within

the meaning of 29 CFR 2510.3–21(c),

with respect to the Plan assets involved

in the transactions.

(d) The Plans pay no fees or

commissions to ML&Co. or its affiliates

in connection with the transactions

covered by the requested exemption,

other than the mark-up for a principal

transaction permissible under Part II of

Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption

(PTCE) 75–1 (40 FR 50845, October 31,

1975).1

(e) ML&Co. agrees to notify Plan

investors in the prospectus (the

Prospectus) for the MITTS that, at the

time of acquisition, no more than 15

percent of a Plan’s assets should be

invested in any of the MITTS.

(f) The MITTS do not have a duration

which exceeds 9 years from the date of

issuance.

(g) Prior to a Plan’s acquisition of any

of the MITTS, the Applicants fully

disclose, in the Prospectus, to the

Independent Plan Fiduciary or Plan

Participant, all of the terms and

conditions of such MITTS, including,

but not limited to, the following:

(1) A statement to the effect that the

return calculated for the MITTS will be

denominated in U.S. dollars;

(2) The specified index (the Index) or

Indexes on which the rate of return on

the MITTS is based;

(3) A numerical example, capable of

being understood by the average

investor, which explains the calculation

of the return on the MITTS at maturity

and reflects, among other things, (i) a

hypothetical initial value and closing

value of the applicable Index, and (ii)

the effect of any adjustment factor on

the percentage change in the applicable

Index;

(4) The date on which the MITTS are

issued;

(5) The date on which the MITTS will

mature and the conditions of such

maturity;

(6) The initial date on which the value

of the Index is calculated;

(7) Any adjustment factor or other

numerical methodology that would

affect the rate of return, if applicable;

(8) The ending date on which interest

is determined, calculated and paid;

(9) Information relating to the

calculation of payments of principal and

interest, including a representation to

the effect that, at maturity, the beneficial

owner of the MITTS is entitled to

receive the entire principal amount,

plus an amount derived directly from

the growth in the Index (but in no event

less than zero);

(10) All details regarding the

methodology for measuring

performance;

(11) The terms under which the

MITTS may be redeemed;

(12) The exchange or market where

the MITTS are traded or maintained;

and

(13) Copies of the proposed and final

exemptions relating to the exemptive

relief provided herein, upon request.

(h) The terms of a Plan’s investment

in the MITTS are at least as favorable to

the Plan as those available to an

unrelated non-Plan investor in a

comparable arm’s length transaction at

the time of such acquisition.

(i) In the event a MITTS security is

delisted from either the American Stock

Exchange (the AMEX), the New York

Stock Exchange or any other nationallyrecognized securities exchange, Merrill

Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

Incorporated (MLPF&S) will apply for

trading through the National

Association of Securities Dealers

Automated Quotations System, which

requires that there be independent

market-makers establishing a market for

such securities in addition to MLPF&S.

If there are no independent marketmakers, the exemption will no longer be

considered effective with respect to that

MITTS security.

(j) The MITTS are rated in one of the

three highest generic rating categories

by at least one nationally-recognized

statistical rating service at the time of

their acquisition.

(k) The rate of return for the MITTS

is objectively determined and, following

issuance, the Applicants retain no

authority to affect the determination of

the return for such security, other than

in connection with a ‘‘market disruption

event’’ that is described in the

Prospectus for the MITTS.

(l) The MITTS are based on an Index

that is—

(1) Created and maintained 2 by an

entity that is unrelated to the Applicants

and is a standardized and generallyaccepted Index of securities; or

(2) Created by the Applicants or an

affiliate, but maintained by an entity

that is unrelated to the Applicants, and

(i) Consists either of standardized and

generally-accepted Indexes or an Index

comprised of at least 10 publicly-traded

securities that are not issued by the

Applicants or their affiliates, are

designated in advance and listed in the

Prospectus for the MITTS (under either

circumstance, neither the Applicants

nor their affiliates may unilaterally

modify the composition of the Index,

including the methodology comprising

the rate of return),

(ii) Meets the requirements for an

Index in Rule 19b–4 under the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and

76308 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

* * * Pursuant to the provisions contained in 29

CFR 2510.3–2(d), the IRA is not subject to Title I

of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

1974 (the Act). However, the IRA is subject to Title

II of the Act, pursuant to section 4975 of the Code.

(iii) The index value for the Index is

publicly-disseminated through an

independent pricing service, such as

Reuters Group, PLC or Bloomberg L.P.,

or through a national securities

exchange, such as the AMEX.

(m) The Applicants do not trade in

any way intended to affect the value of

the MITTS through holding or trading in

the securities which comprise an Index.

(n) The Applicants maintain, for a

period of six years, the records

necessary to enable the persons

described in paragraph (o) of this

section to determine whether the

conditions of this proposed exemption

have been met, except that—

(1) A prohibited transaction will not

be considered to have occurred if, due

to circumstances beyond the control of

the Applicants, the records are lost or

destroyed prior to the end of the six year

period; and

(2) No party in interest other than the

Applicants shall be subject to the civil

penalty that may be assessed under

section 502(i) of the Act, or to the taxes

imposed by section 4975(a) and (b) of

the Code, if the records are not

maintained, or are not available for

examination as required by paragraph

(o) below.

(o)(1) Except as provided in section

(o)(2) of this paragraph and

notwithstanding any provisions of

subsections (a)(2) and (b) of section 504

of the Act, the records referred to in

paragraph (n) are unconditionally

available at their customary location

during normal business hours by:

(A) Any duly authorized employee or

representative of the Department, the

Internal Revenue Service or the

Securities and Exchange Commission;

(B) Any fiduciary of a participating

Plan or any duly authorized

representative of such fiduciary;

(C) Any contributing employer to any

participating Plan or any duly

authorized employee representative of

such employer; and

(D) Any Plan Participant or

beneficiary of any participating Plan, or

any duly authorized representative of

such Plan Participant or beneficiary.

(o)(2) None of the persons described

above in subparagraphs (B)–(D) of

paragraph (o)(1) are authorized to

examine the trade secrets of the

Applicants or commercial or financial

information which is privileged or

confidential.

For a more complete statement of the

facts and representations supporting the

Department’s decision to grant this

exemption, refer to the proposed

exemption published on October 19,

2000 at 65 FR 62756.

Written Comments

The Department received one written

comment with respect to the notice of

proposed exemption. The comment,

which was submitted on behalf of the

Applicants, requests several

clarifications to the conditional

language of the proposal. First, in

Section II(i) of the General Conditions,

in the first sentence thereof, the

Applicants suggest that the phrase ‘‘In

the event a MITTS security is delisted

* * *’’ be substituted for the phrase ‘‘In

the event the MITTS are delisted * * *’’

Second, in the last sentence of the same

subparagraph, at the end thereof, the

Applicants request the addition of the

following new phrase ‘‘with respect to

that MITTS security.’’ Third, in Section

II(l) of the General Conditions, the

Applicants suggest that the word ‘‘and’’

be added at the end of subparagraph

(l)(2), that the comma prior to the

parenthetical in subparagraph (l)(2)(i) be

deleted, that a lower case ‘‘u’’ be

substituted for the upper case ‘‘U’’ in

the word ‘‘under’’ in the parenthetical

and that the period at the end of (but

within) the parenthetical be deleted.

The Department concurs with these

clarifications to the proposed exemption

and has made the changes requested by

the Applicants in the operative language

of the final exemption. The Department

has also noted these changes in the

Summary of Facts and Representations

of the proposed exemption.

For further information regarding the

Applicants’ comment letter and other

matters discussed therein, interested

persons are encouraged to obtain copies

of the exemption application file

(Exemption Application No. D–10651)

the Department is maintaining in this

case. The complete application file, as

well as all supplemental submissions

received by the Department, are made

available for public inspection in the

Public Documents Room of the Pension

and Welfare Benefits Administration,

Room N–5638, U.S. Department of

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20210.

Accordingly, after giving full

consideration to the entire record,

including the Applicants’ comment, the

Department has decided to grant the

exemption subject to the modifications

described above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Jan D. Broady of the Department,

telephone (202) 219–8881. (This is not

a toll-free number.)

The David Mandelbaum IRA Rollover

Account (the IRA) Located in West Orange,

New Jersey

[Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2000–64;

Exemption Application No. D–10765]

Exemption

The sanctions resulting from the

application of section 4975 of the Code,

by reason of section 4975(c)(1)(A)

through (F) of the Code shall not apply

to the cash sale by the

IRA * ensp;* ensp;* to the David

Mandelbaum Family Trust of a 50

percent (50%) undivided interest in two

(2) parcels of improved real property

subject to a long term lease (the

Property); provided the following

conditions are satisfied:

(1) The sale is a one time transaction

for cash;

(2) The terms and conditions of the

sale are at least as favorable to the IRA,

as the terms of similar transactions

negotiated at arm’s length with

unrelated third parties;

(3) The IRA receives the greater of

$4,307,000 dollars or the fair market

value of the IRA’s undivided interest in

the Property, as of the date of the sale;

(4) The fair market value of the IRA’s

undivided interest in the Property is

determined by an independent,

qualified appraiser, as of the date of the

sale; and

(5) The IRA does not pay any

commissions, costs, finder’s fees, or

other expenses in connection with such

sale.

For a more complete statement of the

facts and representations supporting the

Department’s decision to grant this

exemption refer to the Notice of

Proposed Exemption published on

October 11, 2000, at 65 FR 60464.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Angelena C. Le Blanc of the Department,

telephone (202) 219–8883 (this is not a

toll-free number).

I.B.E.W. LU 567 Electrical Joint

Apprenticeship and Training Trust Fund

(the Training Plan) and Money Purchase

Retirement Plan of Local 567, I.B.E.W (the

M/P Plan) (Collectively, the Plans) Located in

Falmouth, Maine

[Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2000–64;

Exemption Application Nos. L–10906 and

D–10907]

Exemption

The restrictions of sections 406(a),

406 (b)(1) and (b)(2) of the Act and the

sanctions resulting from the application

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices 76309

of section 4975 of the Code, by reason

of section 4975(c)(1)(A) through (E) of

the Code, shall not apply, effective

August 31, 2000, to the leases (the

Leases) of certain office space and

supplemental facilities (the Leased

Space) to the Plans by Local 567

I.B.E.W. Building Corporation (the

Building Corporation), an entity which

is wholly owned by Local 567 of the

International Brotherhood of Electrical

Workers (the Union), a party in interest

with respect to the Plans, provided that

the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) The terms of the Leases are at least

as favorable to the Plans as those

obtainable in an arm’s length

transaction with an unrelated party;

(2) A qualified, independent appraiser

determines annually the fair market

rental value of the Leased Space;

(3) The Lease payments are adjusted

annually by an independent fiduciary to

assure that such Lease payments are not

greater than the fair market rental of the

Leased Space. The Lease payments are

reduced, if the fair market rental value,

as determined by the independent

fiduciary, decreases;

(4) An independent fiduciary

determines that the transactions are

appropriate for the Plans and in the best

interest of the Plans’ participants and

beneficiaries;

(5) The independent fiduciary

monitors the terms of the transactions

and conditions of this exemption at all

times, and takes whatever actions are

necessary and proper to enforce the

Plans’ rights under the Leases and

protect the participants and

beneficiaries of the Plans. (Such

independent fiduciary duties also

include, but are not limited to,

negotiating any required amendments to

the Leases on behalf of the Plans to

make certain the terms of the Leases are

commercially reasonable.); and

(6) The annual fair market rental

amount for the Leased Space will not

exceed 5% of the Training Plan’s total

assets, and 1% of the M/P Plan’s total

assets.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This exemption is

effective as of August 31, 2000.

For a more complete statement of the

facts and representations supporting the

Department’s decision to grant this

exemption, refer to the notice of

proposed exemption (the Notice)

published on September 22, 2000 at 65

FR 57397.

Written Comments

The Department received two written

comments (the Comments) with respect

to the Notice and no requests for a

hearing. The Comments were submitted

by the same commenter (the

Commenter), who is a party in interest

with respect to the Plans. Set forth

below is a discussion of the major

points made by the Commenter, and the

applicant’s response to the issues raised

thereby.

Discussion of the Comments

The Commenter raised certain issues

relating to the operation of the Union

and the Plans. In particular, the

Commenter made various allegations

regarding Milton McBreairty (Mr.

McBreairty), who is the business

manager for the Union and a trustee of

the Plans (Trustee). The Commenter

believed that Mr. McBreairty is not

carrying out his duties as business

manager for the Union in an appropriate

manner and that his duties as business

manager will conflict with his duties as

a Plan Trustee. Among other things, the

Commenter suggested that there should

be a complete audit and examination of

the business manager’s spending of the

Union’s monies. The Commenter also

questioned whether Maineland

Appraisal Consultants of Portland,

Maine, the Plans’ independent fiduciary

for the Leases (the Independent

Fiduciary), and Frank R. Montello, the

president of the Independent Fiduciary,

will be able to effectively represent the

interests of the Plans or can be

considered independent of the business

manager. In this regard, the Commenter

asserted that the Independent

Fiduciary’s fees are being paid by the

business manager from the Union’s

funds. In addition, the Commenter

stated that the M/P Plan should only be

permitted to lease a maximum of 800

square feet in Building I, instead of the

1200 square feet mentioned in the

Notice. Finally, the Commenter stated

that the annual fair market rental

amount for the Leased Space paid by the

M/P Plan should not represent more

than 1% of the M/P Plan’s total assets,

rather than the 5% required by

condition 6 of the Notice.

Discussion of the Applicant’s Response

to the Comments

1. With respect to the Commenter’s

assertion that Mr. McBreairty’s position

as business manager of the Union is

inconsistent with his duties as a Plan

Trustee, the applicant stated that the

IBEW Constitution requires that the

Union’s business manager serve as a

Union Trustee for the Plans. Further, the

applicant noted that the safeguards set

forth in the Notice are intended to

protect the Plans’ participants from

conflicts of interest relating to all three

Union Trustees for the Plans (not only

Mr. McBreairty). The governing

documents of the Plans require at least

one Union Trustee’s affirmative vote for

any action. The applicant represents

that because all of the Union Trustees

may be construed as having a conflict of

interest in approving any Plan leases

with the Building Corporation, the Plans

have engaged the Independent

Fiduciary to protect the interests of the

Plans and their participants and

beneficiaries.

2. The applicant also addressed the

Commenter’s concern that Mr. Montello,

who is the president of the Independent

Fiduciary, is biased because the

business manager for the Union pays

him with the Union members’ money.

The applicant stated that Mr. Montello

is not compensated by the business

manager with Union funds. Rather, all

of the Independent Fiduciary’s fees, just

like other administrative expenses of the

Plans, are paid by the Plans’ Trustees

out of the Plans’ assets and are

accounted for in the Plans’

administrative budgets.

The applicant represented that Mr.

McBreairty is paid by the Union for his

services to the Union as business

manager.

Mr. McBreairty does not receive any

compensation from the Plans apart from

reimbursement of his expenses as the

Plans’ Trustee while doing business for

the Plans, as reported to the Department

on the Plans’ annual Form 5500 filings.

In addition, the applicant noted that

each year the Plans engage certified

public accountants to audit their

finances, and such audits have not

revealed any misuse of the Plans’ funds.

The applicant represented further that

the M/P Plan and the Union have been

subject to random audits by the Internal

Revenue Service and the Department,

and none of these audits have revealed

any improper payments to Mr.

McBreairty or any other Plan Trustee.

3. With respect to the Commenter’s

concerns about the amount of space

leased to the M/P Plan, the applicant

stated that the office space needs of the

M/P Plan are dictated by its need to

house all of its staff, equipment and

records. In this regard, the applicant

maintained that the anticipated

expansion of its portion of the Leased

Space up to 1200 square feet is

reasonable and appropriate for its

operations which involve overseeing

500 current Plan participant accounts.

The applicant also addressed the

Commenter’s request that the annual

fair market rental for the Leased Space

rented to the M/P Plan be required to

represent less than 1% of the M/P Plan’s

assets. The applicant stated that the 5%

limitation with respect to the M/P Plan’s

assets cited in the Notice is intended to

be a maximum amount. Furthermore,

76310 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

the applicant noted that the M/P Plan’s

initial annual lease payments for the

Leased Space in Building I represent

only approximately 1/100th of 1% of

the current market value of the M/P

Plan’s assets.

In consideration of this Comment, the

Department has modified condition 6 of

the final exemption such that it reads:

‘‘The annual fair market rental amount

for the Leased Space will not exceed 5%

of the Training Plan’s total assets and

1% of the M/P Plan’s total assets.’’

After giving full consideration to the

entire record, including all of the

Comments submitted to the Department

and the responses made by the

applicant, the Department has

determined to grant the exemption,

subject to the modification described

above.

The Comments have been included as

part of the public record for the

exemption application. Interested

persons should be aware that the

complete exemption application file is

available for public inspection in the

Public Disclosure Room of the Pension

and Welfare Benefits Administration,

Room N–5638, U.S. Department of

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,

Washington DC 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ekaterina A. Uzlyan, U.S. Department of

Labor, telephone (202) 219–8883. (This

is not a toll-free number.)

General Information

The attention of interested persons is

directed to the following:

(1) The fact that a transaction is the

subject of an exemption under section

408(a) of the Act and/or section

4975(c)(2) of the Code does not relieve

a fiduciary or other party in interest or

disqualified person from certain other

provisions to which the exemptions

does not apply and the general fiduciary

responsibility provisions of section 404

of the Act, which among other things

require a fiduciary to discharge his

duties respecting the plan solely in the

interest of the participants and

beneficiaries of the plan and in a

prudent fashion in accordance with

section 404(a)(1)(B) of the Act; nor does

it affect the requirement of section

401(a) of the Code that the plan must

operate for the exclusive benefit of the

employees of the employer maintaining

the plan and their beneficiaries;

(2) These exemptions are

supplemental to and not in derogation

of, any other provisions of the Act and/

or the Code, including statutory or

administrative exemptions and

transactional rules. Furthermore, the

fact that a transaction is subject to an

administrative or statutory exemption is

not dispositive of whether the

transaction is in fact a prohibited

transaction; and

3. The availability of these

exemptions is subject to the express

condition that the material facts and

representations contained in each

application accurately describes all

material terms of the transaction which

is the subject of the exemption.

Signed at Washington, D.C., this 1st day of

December, 2000.

Ivan Strasfeld,

Director of Exemption Determinations,

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration,

U.S. Department of Labor.

[FR Doc. 00–31018 Filed 12–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

MEDICARE PAYMENT ADVISORY

COMMISSION

Commission Meeting

AGENCY: Medicare Payment Advisory

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Commission will hold its

next public meeting on Thursday,

December 14, 2000, and Friday,

December 15, 2000, at the Ronald

Reagan Buildings, International Trade

Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC. The meeting is

tentatively scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

on December 14, and at 9 a.m. on

December 15.

Topics for discussion include:

payment update for hospital inpatient

services; analysis of Medicare + Choice;

issues in post-acute care; the March

2001 Report; updating payments for

physician services and ambulatory care

facilities; end-stage renal disease

payment policies in traditional

Medicare; hospital margins and

subsidies analysis for rural hospitals;

MedPAC site visits to rural

communities, and the disproportionate

share payment adjustment for inpatient

hospitals.

Agendas will be mailed on December

6, 2000. The final agenda will be

available on the Commission’s website

(www.MedPAC.gov).

ADDRESSES: MedPAC’s address is: 1730

K Street, NW., Suite 800, Washington,

DC 20006. The telephone number is

(202) 653–7220.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Diane Ellison, Office Manager, (202)

653–7220.

Murray N. Ross,

Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 00–30959 Filed 12–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–BW–M

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION

ADMINISTRATION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission to OMB for

Revision to a Currently Approved

Information Collection; Comment

Request

AGENCY: National Credit Union

Administration (NCUA).

ACTION: Request for comment.

SUMMARY: The NCUA intends to submit

the following information collections to

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for review and clearance under

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(Public Law 104–13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter

35). This information collection is

published to obtain comments from the

public.

DATES: Comments will be accepted until

January 5, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are

invited to submit written comments to

NCUA Clearance Officer or OMB

Reviewer listed below:

Clearance Officer: Mr. James L. Baylen

(703) 518–6411, National Credit

Union Administration, 1775 Duke

Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314–

3428, Fax No. 703–518–6433, E-mail:

jbaylen@ncua.gov

OMB Reviewer: Alexander T. Hunt (202)

395–7860, Office of Management and

Budget, Room 10226, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, DC

20503

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Copies of the information collection

requests, with applicable supporting

documentation, may be obtained by

calling the NCUA Clearance Officer,

James L. Baylen, (703) 518–6411. It is

also available on the following website:

http://www.NCUA.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposal

for the following collection of

information:

OMB Number: 3133–0004.

Form Number: NCUA 5300.

Type of Review: Revision to the

currently approved collection.

Title: Semi-Annual and Quarterly Call

Report.

Description: The financial and

statistical information is essential to

NCUA in carrying out its responsibility

for the supervision of federally insured

credit unions. The information also

enables NCUA to monitor all federally

insured credit unions whose share

accounts are insured by the National

Credit Union Share Insurance Fund

(NCUSIF).

Respondents: All Credit Unions.

Estimated No. of Respondents/

Recordkeepers: 11,000.