Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 4 / Wednesday, January 7, 1998 / Proposed Rules 707

account manager or the futures

commission merchant allocating the

order;

(4) Any employee, associated person,

or limited partner of the account

manager or the futures commission

merchant allocating the order who

affects or supervises the handling of the

order;

(5) Any business affiliate that, directly

or indirectly, controls, is controlled by,

or is under common control with, the

account manager or the futures

commission merchant allocating the

order; or

(6) Any spouse, parent, sibling, or

child of the foregoing persons.

(iv) Account certification.

(A) Before placing the initial eligible

order, the account manager must certify,

in writing, to each futures commission

merchant executing and/or allocating

any part of the order that the account

manager is aware of the provisions of

this paragraph and is, and will remain,

in compliance with the requirements of

this paragraph.

(B) Before placing the initial eligible

order, the account manager must

provide each futures commission

merchant allocating the order with a list

of eligible futures accounts.

(v) Allocation.

(A) The account manager and the

futures commission merchant allocating

the order must allocate fills from each

eligible order to eligible participating

customer accounts prior to the end of

the day the order is executed, as

specified by exchange rules for this

purpose.

(B) Allocations of eligible orders must

be fair and non-preferential, taking into

account the effect on each relevant

portfolio in the bunched order.

(vi) Recordkeeping.

(A) Each eligible order must be

identified on the office and floor order

tickets at the time of placement. These

order tickets also must identify the

account manager placing the order.

(B) Each transaction resulting from an

eligible order must be identified on

contract market trade registers and other

computerized trade practice

surveillance records.

(C) The futures commission merchant

carrying the account must identify each

trade resulting from the execution of an

eligible order on confirmation

statements provided to eligible customer

accounts.

(D) Each account manager must make

available, upon request of any

representative of the Commission or the

United States Department of Justice, the

following:

(1) The customer consent documents

required pursuant to paragraph (a1)(5)(iii)(A) of this section; and

(2) Records reflecting futures and

option transactions, other transactions

executed pursuant to the portfolio

management strategy, and any other

records that would identify the

management strategy and relate to, or

reflect upon, the fairness of the

allocations.

(E) Each account manager must make

available for review, upon request of an

eligible customer, data sufficient for that

customer to compare its results with

those of other relevant customers. These

data may be prepared so as not to

disclose the identity of individual

account holders.

(vii) Contract market rule enforcement

programs. As part of its rule

enforcement program, each contract

market that adopts rules that allow the

placement, execution, and allocation of

eligible orders must adopt audit

procedures to determine compliance

with the certification, allocation, and

recordkeeping requirements identified

in paragraphs (a-1)(5)(iv), (v)(A), and

(vi)(A) through (C) of this section.

* * * * *

Issued in Washington, DC on December 31,

1997 by the Commission.

Catherine D. Dixon,

Assistant Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 98–240 Filed 1–6–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 1

[REG–119449–97]

RIN 1545–AV75

Qualified Zone Academy Bonds

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

by cross-reference to temporary

regulations and notice of public hearing.

SUMMARY: In the Rules and Regulations

section of this issue of the Federal

Register, the IRS is issuing temporary

regulations that provide guidance to

holders and issuers of qualified zone

academy bonds. These proposed

regulations reflect changes made by the

Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Pub. L. No.

105–34, 111 Stat. 788 (1997), and affect

holders and issuers of qualified zone

academy bonds. The text of those

temporary regulations also serves as the

text of these proposed regulations. This

document also provides a notice of

public hearing on these proposed

regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by April 7, 1998. Outlines of

topics to be discussed at the public

hearing scheduled for May 27, 1998,

must be received by May 6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send submissions to

CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG–119449–97),

room 5226, Internal Revenue Service,

POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station,

Washington, DC 20044. Submissions

may be hand delivered between the

hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to:

CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG–119449–97),

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue

Building, 1111 Constitution Avenue

NW, Washington, DC. Alternatively,

taxpayers may submit comments

electronically via the Internet by

selecting the ‘‘Tax Regs’’ option on the

IRS Home Page, or by submitting

directly to the IRS Internet site at

http:www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/taxregs/

comments.html. The public hearing will

be held in Room 2615, Internal Revenue

Building, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW,

Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Concerning the regulations, Timothy L.

Jones, (202) 622–3980; concerning

submissions and the hearing, LaNita

Van Dyke (202) 622–7180 (not toll-free

numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 1.1397E–1T, published in the

Rules and Regulations portion of this

issue of the Federal Register, is issued

to provide guidance to holders and

issuers of qualified zone academy

bonds.

The text of those temporary

regulations also serves as the text of

these proposed regulations. The

preamble to the temporary regulations

explains the temporary regulations.

Special Analyses

It has been determined that this notice

of proposed rulemaking is not a

significant regulatory action as defined

in EO 12866. Therefore, a regulatory

assessment is not required. It has also

been determined that section 553(b) of

the Administrative Procedure Act (5

U.S.C. chapter 5) does not apply to these

regulations, and, because the regulations

do not impose a collection of

information on small entities, the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

chapter 6) does not apply. Pursuant to

section 7805(f) of the Internal Revenue

Code, this notice of proposed

rulemaking will be submitted to the

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
708 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 4 / Wednesday, January 7, 1998 / Proposed Rules

Business Administration for comment

on its impact on small business.

Comments and Public Hearing

Before these proposed regulations are

adopted as final regulations,

consideration will be given to any

written (a signed original and eight (8)

copies) or electronic comments that are

submitted timely to the IRS. All

comments will be available for public

inspection and copying.

A public hearing has been scheduled

for May 27, 1998, at 10:00 a.m. in Room

2615, Internal Revenue Building, 1111 C

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,

DC. Because of access restrictions,

visitors will not be admitted beyond the

building lobby more than 15 minutes

before the hearing starts.

The rules of 26 C.F.R. 601.601(a)(3)

apply to the hearing.

Persons that wish to present oral

comments at the hearing must submit

written comments by April 7, 1998 and

submit an outline of the topics to be

discussed and time to be devoted to

each topic (signed original and eight (8)

copies) by May 6, 1998.

A period of 10 minutes will be

allotted to each person for making

comments.

An agenda showing the scheduling of

the speakers will be prepared after the

deadline for receiving outlines has

passed. Copies of the agenda will be

available free of charge at the hearing.

Drafting Information

Several persons from the Office of

Chief Counsel and the Treasury

Department participated in the

development and drafting of these

regulations.

List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 1

Income taxes, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Proposed Amendment to the

Regulations

Accordingly, 26 CFR part 1 is

proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 1—INCOME TAXES

Paragraph 1. The authority citation

for part 1 is amended by adding an entry

in numerical order to read as follows:

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *

Section 1.1397E–1 also issued under

26 U.S.C. 1397E(b) and 1397E(d). * * *

Par. 2. Sections 1.1397E–1 is added to

read as follows:

§ 1.1397E–1 Qualified zone academy

bonds.

[The text of this proposed section is the

same as the text of § 1.1397E–1 published

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal

Register.]

Michael P. Dolan,

Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

[FR Doc. 98–17 Filed 1–6–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 54

[REG–209485–86]

RIN 1545–AI93

Continuation Coverage Requirements

of Group Health Plans

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This document contains

proposed regulations that provide

guidance under section 4980B of the

Internal Revenue Code on certain

changes made by the Health Insurance

Portability and Accountability Act of

1996, the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1989, and the

Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue

Act of 1988 relating to the continuation

coverage requirements applicable to

group health plans. The regulations will

generally affect sponsors of and

participants in group health plans, and

they provide plan sponsors and plan

administrators with guidance necessary

to comply with the law.

DATES: Written comments and requests

for a public hearing must be received by

April 7, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send Submissions to:

CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG–209485–86),

room 5226, Internal Revenue Service,

POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station,

Washington, DC 20044. Submissions

may be hand delivered between the

hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to:

CC:DOM:CORP:R (REG–209485–86),

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue

Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW,

Washington, DC. Alternatively,

taxpayers may submit comments

electronically via the Internet by

selecting the ‘‘Tax Regs’’ option on the

IRS Home Page, or by submitting

comments directly to the IRS Internet

site at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/

taxlregs/comments.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Concerning the regulations, Russ

Weinheimer, 202–622–4695; concerning

submissions or requests for a hearing,

LaNita VanDyke, 202–622–7190 (not

toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Paperwork Reduction Act

The collection of information

contained in this notice of proposed

rulemaking has been submitted to the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for review in accordance with

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3507(d)). Comments on the

collection of information should be sent

to the Office of Management and

Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for the

Department of the Treasury, Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Washington, DC 20503, with copies to

the Internal Revenue Service, Attn: IRS

Reports Clearance Officer, T:FP,

Washington, DC 20224. Comments on

the collection of information should be

received by March 9, 1998. Comments

are specifically requested concerning

the following:

Whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

Internal Revenue Service, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

The accuracy of the estimated burden

associated with the proposed collection

of information;

How to enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected;

How to minimize the burden of

complying with the proposed collection

of information, including the

application of automated collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology; and

Estimates of capital or start-up costs

and costs of operation, maintenance,

and purchase of services to provide

information.

The collection of information is in

proposed § 54.4980B–1(a)(1)(iii). This

collection of information is required by

statute. The likely respondents are

individuals. Responses to this collection

of information are required in order to

obtain the benefit of an extended period

during which a group health plan must

make COBRA continuation coverage

available.

Estimated total annual reporting

burden: 440 hours.

The estimated annual burden per

respondent: 1 minute.

Estimated number of respondents:

26,400.

Estimated annual frequency of

responses: on occasion.

An agency may not conduct or

sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information

unless the collection of information

displays a valid control number.

Books or records relating to a

collection of information must be