Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 95 / Monday, May 18, 1998 / Notices 27339

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

2Amendment No. 1 corrects errors in exhibits to

the Exchange’s filing. See Letter from James E.

Buck, Senior Vice President and Secretary,

Exchange, to Michael Walinskas, Senior Special

Counsel, Division of Market Regulation,

Commission, dated March 10, 1998.

3Amendment No. 2 clarifies that the Exchange, in

those instances in which an Exchange disciplinary

action is not warranted, will issue a summary fine

instead of a cautionary letter as its first regulatory

action against a specialist organization. Such fine

will be issued against the specialist member

organization, which, according to the schedule of

fines contained in Rule 476A, would be result in

a fine of $1,000; the second and third regulatory

actions within a rolling 12-month period would

result in fines of $2,500 and $5,000 respectively. If

a specialist member organization is issued a fine

relating to Rule 79A.15 twice within a rolling 12-

month period, the Exchange will pursue formal

disciplinary proceedings under Rule 476 when

continued poor performance during that rolling 12-

month period warrants such action. See letter from

Robert J. McSweeny, Senior Vice President, Market

Surveillance, NYSE, to Katherine A. England,

Division of Market Regulation, SEC, dated April 16,

1998.

4Concurrently with the proposed rule change, the

Exchange is seeking to amend its Rule 19d–1

reporting plan for Rule 476A violations to include

the items proposed for addition to the list of rules

subject to Rule 467A. See letter from James E. Buck,

Senior Vice President and Secretary, NYSE, to

Michael Walinskas, Senior Special Counsel,

Division of Market Regulation, SEC, dated January

16, 1998.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–13096 Filed 5–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34 39980; File No. SR–NYSE–

98–02]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. To

Include Rules 392, 460.30, 80A(b),

79A.15 and 105 in Its Minor

Disciplinary Fine System under

Exchange Rule 476A

May 8, 1998.

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(‘‘Act’’),1 notice is hereby given that on

January 20, 1998, the New York Stock

Exchange, Inc. (‘‘NYSE’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’)

filed with the Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)

the proposed rule change as described

in Items I, II, and III below, which Items

have been prepared by the NYSE. On

March 11, 1998, the Exchange filed

Amendment No. 1,2 and on April 16,

1998, the Exchange filed Amendment

No. 2.3 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 proposed rule change would

revise the ‘‘List of Exchange Rule

Violations and Fines Applicable Thereto

Pursuant to Rule 476A’’ by adding the

failure to comply with the provisions of

Rules 392,460.30, 80A(b), 79A.15 and

105. The Exchange believes it is

appropriate to make the failure to

comply with the provisions of the

above-named rules subject to the

possible imposition of a fine under Rule

476A procedures.4

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change.

In its filing with the Commission, the

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. The 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

Rule 476A provides that the Exchange

may impose a fine, not to exceed $5,000,

or any member, member organization,

allied member, approved person, or

registered or non-registered employee of

a member or member organization for a

minor violation of certain specified

Exchange rules.

The purpose of the Rule 476A

procedure is to provide for a meaningful

sanction for a rule violation when the

initiation of a disciplinary proceeding

under Rule 476 would be more costly

and time-consuming than would be

warranted given the minor nature of the

violation, or when the violation calls for

a stronger regulatory response than a

cautionary letter would convey. Rule

476A preserves due process rights;

identifies those rule violations which

may be the subject of summary fines;

and includes a schedule of fines.

In SR–NYSE–84–27, which initially

set forth the provisions and procedures

of Rule 476A, the Exchange indicated in

would amend the list of rules from time

to time, as it considered appropriate, in

order to phase-in the implementation of

Rule 476A as experience with it was

gained.

The Exchange is presently seeking

approval to add to the List of Rules

subject to possible imposition of fines

under Rules 476A procedures, failure by

members or member organizations to

comply with the provisions of: (1) Rule

392 and Rule 460.30 which require

notification to the Exchange by member

organizations when they are

participating in or engaging in certain

activities related to an offering of

securities listed on the Exchange; (2)

Rule 80-A(b) which prohibits entry of

stop orders for the remainder of any

trading day on which ‘’sidecar’’

procedures have been invoked; (3) Rule

79A.15 on specialists’ publishing bids

or offers upon receipt of limit orders;

and (4) Rule 105 and its Guidelines with

respect to specialists’ specialty stock

options transactions and the reporting of

such transactions.

The purpose of the proposed change

to Rule 476A is to facilitate the

Exchange’s ability to induce compliance

with all aspects of the above-cited rules.

The Exchange believes failure to comply

with the requirments of these rules

should be addressed with an

appropriate sanction and seeks

Commission approval to add violations

of these requirements to the Rule 476A

List so as to have a board range of

regulatory responses available. The

Exchange believes that this would more

effectively encourage compliance by

enabling a prompt, meaningful and

heightened regulatory response (e.g., the

issuance of a fine rather than a

cautionary letter) to a minor violation of

a rule.

The Exchange wishes to emphasize

the importance it places upon

compliance with the above-named rules

and, in particular, Rule 79A.15, which

it adopted to reflect the provisions and

certain interpretations of SEC Rule

11Ac1–4 under the Act. The Exchange

recognizes that violations of Rule

79A.15 would likely result in violations

of a Commission rule and, therefore,

proposes, when a full disciplinary

action is not warranted, to issue a

summary fine instead of a cautionary

letter as its first regulatory action against

a specialist organization. While the

Exchange, upon investigation, may

determine that a violation of any of

these rules is a minor violation of the

type which is properly addressed by the

procedures adopted under Rule 476A,

in those instances where investigation

reveals a more serious violation of the

above-described rules, the Exchange

will provide an appropriate regulatory

response. This includes the full

disciplinary procedures available under

Rule 476.
27340 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 95 / Monday, May 18, 1998 / Notices

5 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

2. Statutory Basis

The proposed rule change will

advance the objectives of Section 6(b)(6)

of the Act in that it will provide a

procedure whereby member

organizations can be ‘‘appropriately

disciplined’’ in those instances when a

rule violation is minor in nature, but a

sanction more serious than a warning or

cautionary letter is appropriate. The

proposed rule change provides a fair

procedure of imposing such sanctions,

in accordance with the requirements of

Sections 6(b)(7) and 6(d)(1) of the Act.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that

the proposed rules 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

The Exchange has neither solicited

nor received written comments on the

proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Within 35 days of the date of

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register or within such longer period (i)

as the Commission may designate up to

90 days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reasons for so finding or

(ii) as to which the self-regulatory

organization consents, the Commission

will:

A. By order approve such proposed

rule change, or

B. Institute proceedings to determine

whether the proposed rule change

should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to

submit written data, views, and

arguments concerning the foregoing,

including whether the proposed rule

change is consistent with the Act.

Persons making written submissions

should file six copies thereof with the

Secretary, Securities and Exchange

Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of the

submission, all subsequent

amendments, all written statements

with respect to the proposed rule

change that are filed with the

Commission, and all written

communications relating to the

proposed rule change 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 office of the NYSE. All

submissions should refer to the File No.

SR–NYSE–98–02 and should be

submitted by June 8, 1998.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.5

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–13098 Filed 5–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as

amended by Public Law 104–13;

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The proposed information

collection described below will be

submitted to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) for review, as

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as

amended). The Tennessee Valley

Authority is soliciting public comments

on this proposed collection as provided

by 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1). Requests for

information, including copies of the

information collection proposed and

supporting documentation, should be

directed to the Agency Clearance

Officer: Wilma H. McCauley, Tennessee

Valley Authority, 1101 Market Street

(WR 4Q), Chattanooga, Tennessee

37402–2801; (423) 751–2523.

Comments should be sent to the

Agency Clearance Officer no later than

July 17, 1998.

Type of Request: Regular submission.

Title of Information Collection: TVA

Aquatic Plant Management.

Frequency of Use: On occasion.

Type of Affected Public: Individuals

or households.

Small Businesses or Organizations

Affected: No.

Federal Budget Functional Category

Code: 452.

Estimated Number of Annual

Responses: 2,000.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 400.

Estimated Average Burden Hours Per

Response: .2.

Need For and Use of Information:

TVA committed to involving the public

in developing plans for managing

aquatic plants in individual TVA lakes

under a Supplemental Environmental

Impact Statement completed in August

1993. This proposed survey will provide

a mechanism for obtaining input into

this planning process from a

representative sample of people living

near each lake. The information

obtained from the survey will be

factored into the development of aquatic

plant management plans for mainstream

Tennessee River lakes.

William S. Moore,

Senior Manager, Administrative Services.

[FR Doc. 98–13058 Filed 5–15–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8120–08–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping

Requirements Agency Information

Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice

announces that the Information

Collection (ICR) abstracted below has

been forwarded to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

review and comment. The ICR describes

the nature of the information collection

and its expected burden. The Federal

Register Notice with a 60-day comment

period soliciting comments on the

following collection of information was

published on September 30, 1997, [62

FR 51176].

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before June 17, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Judith Street, ABC–100; Federal

Aviation Administration; 800

Independence Avenue, SW.;

Washington, DC 20591; Telephone

number (202) 267–9895.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Title: Certification: Mechanics.

Repairmen, Parachute Riggers—14 CFR

part 65.

OMB Control Number: 2120–0022.

Type of Request: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Forms: FAA Form 8610–1 and FAA

Form 8610–2.