29848 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 106 / Friday, June 1, 2001 / Notices

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

3Letter from Ivonne Natal, Assistant General

Counsel, Amex, to Nancy Sanow, Assistant

Director, Division of Market Regulation

(‘‘Division’’), Commission, dated April 30, 2001

(‘‘Amendment No. 1’’). Amendment No. 1 states

that on April 30, 2001, a majority of the regular and

options principal members, voting as a single class,

voted in favor of the proposed rule change.

4Letter from Ivonne Natal, Assistant General

Counsel, Amex, to Nancy Sanow, Assistant

Director, Division, Commission, dated May 14, 2001

(‘‘Amendment No. 2’’). Amendment No. 2 requests

the Commission to consider the Plan on a pilot

basis for a minimum of two years and a maximum

of four years, in the event the Seat Fund Committee

exercises its discretion to extend the Plan.

Amendment No. 2 also states that there are

approximately 300 members trading equities on the

Exchange floor.

5Letter from Ivonne Natal, Assistant General

Counsel, Amex, to Nancy Sanow, Assistant

Director, Division, Commission, dated May 17, 2001

(‘‘Amendment No. 3’’). Amendment No. 3 clarifies

that the administrative fee that the Amex would

receive for administering the Plan would be $750.00

per sale/lease and that the administrative fee will

be collected out of the sale proceeds, prior to their

distribution to the members. Amendment No. 3 also

states that Amex members and the Board of

Governors have approved this fee.

Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the

Commission has determined that the

granting of this exemption will not have

a significant effect on the quality of the

human environment (66 FR 24410).

This exemption is effective upon

issuance.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day

of May 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

John A. Zwolinski,

Director, Division of Licensing Project

Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation.

[FR Doc. 01–13741 Filed 5–31–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Determination of Quarterly Rate of

Excise Tax for Railroad Retirement

Supplemental Annuity Program

In accordance with directions in

Section 3221(c) of the Railroad

Retirement Tax Act (26 U.S.C., Section

3221(c)), the Railroad Retirement Board

has determined that the excise tax

imposed by such Section 3221(c) on

every employer, with respect to having

individuals in his employ, for each

work-hour for which compensation is

paid by such employer for services

rendered to him during the quarter

beginning July 1, 2001, shall be at the

rate of 26 cents.

In accordance with directions in

Section 15(a) of the Railroad Retirement

Act of 1974, the Railroad Retirement

Board has determined that for the

quarter beginning July 1, 2001, 38.6

percent of the taxes collected under

Sections 3211(b) and 3221(c) of the

Railroad Retirement Tax Act shall be

credited to the Railroad Retirement

Account and 61.4 percent of the taxes

collected under such Sections 3211(b)

and 3221(c) plus 100 percent of the

taxes collected under Section 3221(d) of

the Railroad Retirement Tax Act shall be

credited to the Railroad Retirement

Supplemental Account.

Dated: May 24, 2001.

By Authority of the Board.

Beatrice Ezerski,

Secretary to the Board.

[FR Doc. 01–13766 Filed 5–31–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–44341; File No. SR–Amex–

2001–17]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

the American Stock Exchange LLC

Increasing Regular Memberships and

Creating Two-Year Permits

May 23, 2001.

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 on March 19,

2001, the American Stock Exchange LLC

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

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule

change as described in Items I, II, and

III below, which Items have been

prepared by the Amex. The Exchange

submitted Amendment Nos. 1, 2, and 3

to the proposed rule change on May 3,

2001,3 May 16, 2001,4 and May 18,

2001,5 respectively. The Commission is

publishing this notice to solicit

comments on the proposed rule change,

as amended, from interested persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Change

The Amex proposes to increase the

number of regular memberships and

create 25 two-year permits as a result of

a Regular Seat and Two-Year Permit

Offering Plan (the ‘‘Plan’’). The text of

the proposed rule change is set forth

below. New language is in italics.

Deletions are in brackets.

AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE

CONSTITUTION

Article IV

Admission to Membership

Number of Regular Memberships

SEC. 1(a)(1) Regular Membership—

There shall be up to 889[864] regular

memberships in the Exchange, inclusive

of any regular memberships created

through the options principal

membership upgrade program. The

number of regular memberships shall be

increased only if the Board of Governors

requests The Amex Membership

Corporation to issue additional regular

memberships. Any such issuance of

additional regular memberships shall

require the approval of a majority of the

regular and options principal members

voting together as a single class at a

meeting called for the purpose of

considering the request that new regular

memberships be issued.

(2)–(3) No change.

(b)–(h) No change.

(i) Two-Year Permits

(1) There shall be maximum of

twenty-five two-year permits. Two-year

permits shall expire two years from the

effective date of the membership, but

may be renewed for an additional two

years at the discretion of the Exchange’s

Seat Fund Committee. Two-year permits

are non-transferable. The price for twoyear permits will be determined by the

Exchange’s Seat Fund Committee at the

beginning of a 120-day offering period,

but shall not be less than $14,000. A

two-year permit will automatically

terminate in the event the holder goes

out of business or is delinquent in

payment of dues, fines, fees, charges

and any other financial responsibility

owed to the Exchange for more than

thirty (30) consecutive days. In the event

a two-year permit holder goes out of

business, any monies for unpaid dues,

fines, fees, charges and any other

financial responsibility due to the

Exchange or any other creditor, will be

collected by the Exchange out of the

proceeds of the sale of the two-year

permits.

(2) Requirements for Issuance

A two-year permit holder must:

(i) be at least the minimum age of

majority required to be responsible for

his contracts in each jurisdiction in

which he conducts business:

(ii) agree that his primary occupation

will be the transaction of business on

the Floor of the Exchange in his

capacity as a permit holder; and

(iii) obtain a waiver letter from their

clearing firms waiving their right to file

a claim against the permit should the

permit holder owe them money or,

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 106 / Friday, June 1, 2001 / Notices 29849

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(2).

alternatively, a guarantee from another

member acceptable to the Exchange’s

Seat Fund Committee; and 

(iv) meet such other qualifications as

may be specified in the plan approved

by the regular members of the Exchange

providing for the offering of such

permits. Applications must be approved

by the Exchange in accordance with the

provisions of Section 1(g) of this Article

IV. No person whose application for a

permit has been approved by the

Exchange shall be admitted to the

privileges thereof until he shall have

signed the Constitution of the Exchange.

By such signature he shall pledge

himself to abide by the Constitution as

the same has been or shall be from time

to time amended and by all rules,

regulations, requirements, orders,

directions or decisions adopted or made

in accordance therewith.

(3) Rights and Obligations

A two-year permit holder shall have

all the rights, privileges and obligations

of a regular member, but shall have no

distribution or voting rights.

(j) [i] Class C Trading Rights

No change.

(k) [j] New Trading Rights

No change.

* * * * *

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

Amex 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 Amex 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

During the last few years, volume on

the trading floor of the Exchange has

increased dramatically, while

memberships have remained

unchanged. Exchange members have

identified a need for the issuance of

additional seats.

In response to the apparent need for

additional seats and to allow Exchange

members to remain competitive and

afford customers an optimal level of

service, the Exchange is proposing to

issue 25 additional regular seats and 25

two-year permits pursuant to the Plan,

to be allocated as determined by the

Exchange’s Seat Fund Committee

(‘‘Committee’’). The Committee would

determine the sale price for regular seats

and two-year permits and the effective

date of the Plan. The price for regular

seats would be at least $600,000. The

price for two-year permits would be at

least $14,000, per month. Authority to

resolve and reach a final determination

on any and all issues relating to the

administration of the Plan would be

vested in the Committee.

The Committee would be able to

renew the two-year permits once for an

additional two years, but the permits

would be non-transferable. A two-year

permit would terminate if the holder

went out of business. Monies owed to

the Exchange by a two-year permit

holder who went out of business would

be collected by the Exchange out of the

proceeds of sale of regular seats and

two-year permits under the Plan. Any

regular seats offered but not sold would

be permitted to be converted into twoyear permits as determined by the

Committee. The two-year permits would

have no distribution or voting rights.

All prospective seat and/or permit

holders would be required to be

approved by the Exchange prior to the

sale of a seat or the transfer of a permit.

The Exchange would receive a $750

administrative fee for each seat/permit

for administering the sale/transfer for

prospective seat/permit owners.

Prior to any seat sale or permit

transfer, a non-member or a person/

organization that was not currently the

owner of a regular membership would

be required to meet all requirements

currently applicable to regular or twoyear permit holders. If the purchaser of

a seat intended to lease the seat

pursuant to a special transfer agreement

or transfer the seat to a nominee, the

lessee or nominee would also be

required to meet all Exchange

requirements. All applicable fees due by

persons/organizations that are not

owners of regular memberships or

members of the Exchange would be

required to be paid before the sale of

any seat or transfer of any permit.

Sale proceeds will be distributed to

all seat owners at a date to be

determined by the Committee. The Exdate for determining distribution of sale

proceeds to owners would be the date

of approval of the Plan by the

Commission.

2. Statutory Basis

The Exchange believes that the

proposed rule change is consistent with

section 6(b) of the Act 6 in general and

furthers the objectives of section

6(b)(2) 7 in particular in that it is

designed to provide that any registered

broker or dealer or natural person

associated with a registered broker or

dealer may become a member of such

exchange and any person may become

associated with a member thereof.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that

the proposed rule change will result in

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 did not solicit or

receive 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 Exchange 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, NW.,

Washington, DC 20549–0609. 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

29850 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 106 / Friday, June 1, 2001 / Notices

8 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

Room. Copies of the filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the principal office of the Amex. All

submissions should refer to the File No.

SR–Amex–2001–17 and should be

submitted by June 22, 2001.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.8

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–13754 Filed 5–31–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Request and

Comment Request

The Social Security Administration

(SSA) publishes a list of information

collection packages that will require

clearance by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) in compliance with

Pub. L. 104–13 effective October 1,

1995, The Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995. 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.

Written comments and

recommendations regarding the

information collection(s) should be

submitted to the OMB Desk Officer and

the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the

following addresses:

(OMB)

Office of Management and Budget, Attn:

Desk Officer for SSA, New Executive

Office Building, Room 10230, 725

17th St., NW., Washington, DC. 20503

(SSA)

Social Security Administration,

DCFAM, Attn: Frederick W.

Brickenkamp, 1–A–21 Operations

Bldg., 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore,

MD 21235

I. The information collections listed

below will be submitted to OMB within

60 days from the date of this notice.

Therefore, your comments should be

submitted to SSA within 60 days from

the date of this publication. You can

obtain copies of the collection

instruments by calling the SSA Reports

Clearance Officer at 410–965–4145, or

by writing to him at the address listed

above.

1. Contact with the Representative

Payee and Contact with Beneficiary—

0960–NEW. SSA will use the SSA–

L4945, Contact with the Representative

Payee, and SSA–L4947, Contact with

Beneficiary, to inform respondents and

conduct quality reviews of payments

made under the titles II and XVI (OldAge, Survivors and Disability Insurance/

Supplemental Security Income)

programs. Cases for the review will be

selected randomly and the information

solicited will be used for verification of

payment data on record in the claims

folder and SSA’s Master Beneficiary

Record. Form SSA–L4945 will be used

to notify Representative Payees who

have the responsibility of managing

payments for an SSA Beneficiary that

the case has been selected for the review

process and to request the required

information. Form SSA–L4947 will be

used to notify beneficiaries that their

case has been selected for the review

process and request the needed

information. Both letters contain

information that must be verified and

returned to SSA under the review

process. The respondents are

beneficiaries and representative payees

for beneficiaries receiving title II and

title XVI benefits.

Number of Respondents: 200.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 15

minutes.

Estimated Annual Burden: 50 hours.

2. RSI/DI Quality Review Case

Analysis-Sampled Number Holder,

Auxiliaries/Survivors-Parent,

Stewardship AET Workbook—0960–

0189. SSA uses the information

collected on forms SSA–2930, 2931 and

2932 to establish a national payment

accuracy rate for all cases in payment

status; measure the accuracy rate for

newly adjudicated claims for

beneficiaries receiving old-age,

survivors, or disability insurance; and to

serve as a source of information

regarding problem areas in the RSI/DI

programs. Form SSA–4659 is used to

evaluate and determine the effectiveness

of the annual earnings test and to use

the results in developing ongoing

improvements in the process. The

respondents are beneficiaries and

representative payees for beneficiaries

receiving old age, survivors, or

disability insurance.

Respondents Frequency of

response

Average burden per responseEstimated annual burden

(hours)

SSA–2930 ........................................................................................................ 3,000 1 30 1,500

SSA–2931 ........................................................................................................ 1,500 1 30 750

SSA–2932 ........................................................................................................ 650 1 20 217

SSA–4659 ........................................................................................................ 325 1 10 54

Total Burden ............................................................................................. ........................ ........................ ........................ 2,521

3. Request for Change in Time/Place

of Disability Hearing—0960–0348. The

information on Form SSA–769 is used

by SSA and the State Disability

Determination Services to provide

claimants with a structured format to

exercise their right to request a change

in the time or place of a scheduled

disability hearing. The information is be

used as a basis for granting or denying

requests for changes and for

rescheduling hearings. The respondents

are claimants who wish to request a

change in the time or place of their

disability hearing.

Number of Respondents: 7,483.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 8

minutes.

Estimated Annual Burden: 998 hours.

4. Request for Reconsideration—

Disability Cessation—0960—0349. The

information collected on form SSA–789

is used by SSA to schedule hearings,

and to develop additional evidence for

claimants who have received an initial

or revised determination that a

disability did not exist or has ceased.

The collected information also indicates

whether an interpreter is needed. The

respondents are disability beneficiaries

who file a claim for reconsideration.

Number of Respondents: 49,000.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Average Burden Per Response: 12

minutes.