Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 194 / Monday, October 7, 2024 / Notices 81129 

1This estimate is based on the three-year average 

of the number of proxies filed by registered 

investment companies. 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–132, OMB Control No. 

3235–0158] 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request; Extension: Rule 20a–1 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 

20549–2736 

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. 

Rule 20a–1 (17 CFR 270.20a–1) was 

adopted under Section 20(a) of the 

Investment Company Act of 1940 

(‘‘1940 Act’’) (15 U.S.C. 80a–20(a)) and 

concerns the solicitation of proxies, 

consents, and authorizations with 

respect to securities issued by registered 

investment companies (‘‘Funds’’). More 

specifically, rule 20a–1 under the 1940 

Act (15 U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.) requires 

that the solicitation of a proxy, consent, 

or authorization with respect to a 

security issued by a Fund be in 

compliance with Regulation 14A (17 

CFR 240.14a–1 et seq.), Schedule 14A 

(17 CFR 240.14a–101), and all other 

rules and regulations adopted pursuant 

to section 14(a) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘1934 Act’’) (15 

U.S.C. 78n(a)). It also requires, in certain 

circumstances, a Fund’s investment 

adviser or a prospective adviser, and 

certain affiliates of the adviser or 

prospective adviser, to transmit to the 

person making the solicitation the 

information necessary to enable that 

person to comply with the rules and 

regulations applicable to the 

solicitation. In addition, rule 20a–1 

instructs Funds that have made a public 

offering of securities and that hold 

security holder votes for which proxies, 

consents, or authorizations are not being 

solicited, to refer to section 14(c) of the 

1934 Act (15 U.S.C. 78n(c)) and the 

information statement requirements set 

forth in the rules thereunder. 

The types of proposals voted upon by 

Fund shareholders include not only the 

typical matters considered in proxy 

solicitations made by operating 

companies, such as the election of 

directors, but also include issues that 

are unique to Funds, such as the 

approval of an investment advisory 

contract and the approval of changes in 

fundamental investment policies of the 

Fund. Through rule 20a–1, any person 

making a solicitation with respect to a 

security issued by a Fund must, similar 

to operating company solicitations, 

comply with the rules and regulations 

adopted pursuant to Section 14(a) of the 

1934 Act. Some of those Section 14(a) 

rules and regulations, however, include 

provisions specifically related to Funds, 

including certain particularized 

disclosure requirements set forth in Item 

22 of Schedule 14A under the 1934 Act. 

Rule 20a–1 is intended to ensure that 

investors in Fund securities are 

provided with appropriate information 

upon which to base informed decisions 

regarding the actions for which Funds 

solicit proxies. Without rule 20a–1, 

Fund issuers would not be required to 

comply with the rules and regulations 

adopted under Section 14(a) of the 1934 

Act, which are applicable to non-Fund 

issuers, including the provisions 

relating to the form of proxy and 

disclosure in proxy statements. 

The staff currently estimates that 

approximately 1,129 proxy statements 

are filed by Funds annually.1 Based on 

staff estimates and information from the 

industry, the staff estimates that the 

average annual burden associated with 

the preparation and submission of proxy 

statements is 85 hours per response, for 

a total annual burden of 95,965 hours 

(1,129 responses × 85 hours per 

response = 95,965). In addition, the staff 

estimates the costs for purchased 

services, such as outside legal counsel, 

proxy statement mailing, and proxy 

tabulation services, to be approximately 

$30,000 per proxy solicitation. 

Rule 20a–1 does not involve any 

recordkeeping requirements. Providing 

the information required by the rule is 

mandatory and information provided 

under the rule 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 

Commission, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the Commission’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 

by December 6, 2024. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

under the PRA unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

Please direct your written comments 

to: Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data 

Officer, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, c/o Oluwaseun Ajayi, 100 

F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 or 

send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@

sec.gov. 

Dated: October 2, 2024. 

Vanessa A. Countryman, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23151 Filed 10–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–101224; File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2024–016] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Designation of Longer Period for 

Commission Action on Proceedings To 

Determine Whether To Approve or 

Disapprove Proposed Rule Change To 

Increase Fees for Certain Market Data 

and Connectivity Products and To 

Maintain the Current Fees for Such 

Products if Members Meet a Minimum 

Average Daily Displayed Volume 

Threshold 

October 1, 2024. 

On March 22, 2024, The Nasdaq Stock 

Market LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant 

to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),1 and 

Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule 

change (File Number SR–NASDAQ– 

2024–016) to increase fees for certain 

market data and connectivity products 

and to maintain the current fees for such 

products if members meet a minimum 

average daily displayed volume 

threshold (‘‘Proposal’’). The proposed 

rule change was immediately effective 

upon filing with the Commission 

pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
81130 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 194 / Monday, October 7, 2024 / Notices 

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

may take effect upon filing with the Commission if 

it is designated by the exchange as ‘‘establishing or 

changing a due, fee, or other charge imposed by the 

self-regulatory organization on any person, whether 

or not the person is a member of the self-regulatory 

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

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 99879 

(April 1, 2024), 89 FR 24070 (‘‘Notice’’). 

5 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(C). 

6 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 

7See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 

100188, 89 FR 46243 (May 28, 2024) (‘‘Order 

Instituting Proceedings’’). The Commission has 

received three comment letters on the proposed rule 

change, as well as a response from the Exchange to 

the Order Instituting Proceedings. Comments 

received on the Proposal are available at: https://

www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nasdaq-2024-016/ 

srnasdaq2024016.htm. 

8 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

9See Notice, supra note 4. 

10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(57). 

Act.3 The proposed rule change was 

published for comment in the Federal 

Register on April 5, 2024.4 On May 21, 

2024, the Commission issued an order 

temporarily suspending the proposed 

rule change pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(C) of the Act 5 and 

simultaneously instituting proceedings 

under Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the Act 6 to 

determine whether to approve or 

disapprove the proposed rule change.7

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 8 provides 

that, after initiating proceedings, the 

Commission shall issue an order 

approving or disapproving the proposed 

rule change not later than 180 days after 

the date of publication of notice of filing 

of the proposed rule change. The 

Commission may extend the period for 

issuing an order approving or 

disapproving the proposed rule change, 

however, by not more than 60 days if 

the Commission determines that a 

longer period is appropriate and 

publishes the reasons for such 

determination. The proposed rule 

change was published for notice and 

comment in the Federal Register on 

April 5, 2024.9 October 2, 2024 is 180 

days from that date, and December 1, 

2024 is 240 days from that date. 

The Commission finds it appropriate 

to designate a longer period within 

which to issue an order approving or 

disapproving the proposed rule change 

so that it has sufficient time to consider 

the proposed rule change and its 

comments. Accordingly, the 

Commission, pursuant to Section 

19(b)(2) of the Act,10 designates 

December 1, 2024 as the date by which 

the Commission shall either approve or 

disapprove the proposed rule change 

(File No. SR–NASDAQ–2024–016). 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.11

Vanessa A. Countryman, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23060 Filed 10–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Small Business Investment Company 

Interim Application Filing Window 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Notice of SBIC program interim 

application filing window. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA) is providing 

notice of an interim filing window for 

the acceptance of SBA Form 2181, SBIC 

Management Assessment 

Questionnaires (MAQs or Applications) 

for licensing as a Small Business 

Investment Company (SBIC). 

DATES: The SBIC program interim 

Application filing window due date 

identified in this notice is Friday, 

November 15, 2024, with a deadline for 

acceptance of Applications submitted 

prior to 5 p.m. eastern standard time 

(EST) to SBIC_Applications@SBA.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Van Eyl, Office of Investment and 

Innovation at 202–257–5955 or 

oii.policy@sba.gov. If you are deaf, hard 

of hearing, or have a speech disability, 

please dial 7–1–1 to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SBA may 

select to add and publicly announce 

additional SBIC Application filing 

windows. Application filings should be 

made on the actual window date prior 

to the deadline provided. Application 

filings made after the deadline date or 

between window dates, including 

interim filing window dates, will be 

held in abeyance until the next window 

opens. The next quarterly scheduled 

filing window due date is December 31, 

2024. Incomplete MAQ submissions 

will not be accepted for processing. If an 

applicant fails to file by the deadline of 

a quarterly or interim filing deadline 

date, the applicant SBIC must either 

wait until the next quarterly window to 

refile or understand that SBA will take 

on action on the MAQ until the next 

quarterly filing window, which for this 

calendar year would be December 31, 

2024, with a deadline of 5 p.m. EST. 

MAQ submissions should be emailed to 

SBIC_Applications@SBA.gov. 

Bailey DeVries, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Investment 

and Innovation, U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23088 Filed 10–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8026–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 12560] 

30-Day Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection: Statement Regarding a 

Valid Lost or Stolen U.S. Passport 

Book and/or Card 

ACTION: Notice of request for public 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of State has 

submitted the information collection 

described below to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

approval. In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we 

are requesting comments on these 

collections from all interested 

individuals and organizations. The 

purpose of this Notice is to allow 30 

days for public comment. 

DATES: The Department will accept 

comments from the public up to 

November 6, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to: www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

30-day Review—Open for Public 

Comments’’ or by using the search 

function. You must include the DS form 

number, information collection title, 

and the OMB control number in any 

correspondence (if applicable). You may 

send requests for additional information 

regarding the collection listed in this 

notice, including requests for copies of 

the proposed collection instrument and 

supporting documents, to the following 

email address: Passport-FormComments@State.gov. You must include 

the DS form number and information 

collection title in the email subject line. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

• Title of Information Collection: 

Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen 

U.S. Passport Book and/or Card. 

• OMB Control Number: 1405–0014. 

• Type of Request: Revision of a 

Currently Approved Collection. 

• Originating Office: Bureau of 

Consular Affairs, Passport Services, 

Office of Program Management and 

Operational Support (CA/PPT/S/PMO). 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1