Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Notices 34493

1Prevention of Certain Unlawful Activities With

Respect To Registered Investment Companies,

Investment Company Act Release No. 11421 (Oct.

31, 1980) [45 FR 73915 (Nov. 7, 1980)].

2Personal Investment Activities of Investment

Company Personnel, Investment Company Act

Release No. 23958 (Aug. 20, 1999) [64 FR 46821–

01 (Aug. 27, 1999)].

3Rule 17j–1(a)(1) defines an ‘‘access person’’ as

‘‘any director, officer, general partner, or advisory

person of a fund or of a fund’s investment adviser’’

and as ‘‘any director, officer, or general partner of

a principal underwriter who, in the ordinary course

of business, makes, participates in or obtains

information regarding, the purchase or sale of

Covered Securities by the Fund for which the

principal underwriter acts, or whose functions or

duties in the ordinary course of business relate to

the making of any recommendation to the Fund

regarding the purchase or sale of Covered

Securities.’’

distribution limited to government

employees or agency contractors or

grantees; intra- or inter-agency use or

sharing of government information; and

responses to requests for agency records

under the Freedom of Information Act

(5 U.S.C. 552) or Privacy Act. This

definition also does not include

distribution limited to replies to

correspondence, and subpoenas or

judicial process.

[FR Doc. 01–16227 Filed 6–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3110–01–P

POSTAL SERVICE BOARD OF

GOVERNORS

Sunshine Act Meeting

TIMES AND DATES: 10 a.m., Monday, July

9, 2001; 9 a.m., Tuesday, July 10, 2001.

PLACE: Evansville, Indiana, at the Aztar

Hotel, 421 Northwest Riverside Drive, in

the Las Vegas and Atlantic City Rooms.

STATUS: July 9 (Closed); July 10 (Open).

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Monday, July 9–10 a.m. (Closed)

1. Financial Performance.

2. Fiscal Year 2002 Establish/Deploy

Report.

3. Fiscal Year 2002 EVA Pay for

Performance Program.

4. Fiscal Year 2002 Financial Outlook.

5. Rate Case Briefing.

6. EEO Feasibility Study.

7. Update on Five-Day Delivery Study.

8. Strategic Planning.

9. Comprehensive Issues.

10. Personnel Matters.

Tuesday, July 10—9 a.m. (Open)

1. Minutes of the Previous Meeting, June

4–5, 2001.

2. Remarks of the Postmaster General

and CEO.

3. Quarterly Report on Service

Performance.

4. Capital Investments.

a. Bethesda, West Bethesda Branch,

Maryland.

b. Fairfax, Virginia, Main Post Office.

5. Report on the Kentuckiana

Performance Cluster.

6. Tentative Agenda for the August 6,

and September 10–11, 2001,

meetings in Washington, DC.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

David G. Hunter, Secretary of the Board,

U.S. Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza,

SW., Washington, DC. 20260–1000.

Telephone (202) 268–4800.

David G. Hunter,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–16456 Filed 6–26–01; 2:06 pm]

BILLING CODE 7710–12–M

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Agency Forms Submitted for OMB

Review

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad

Retirement Board (RRB) has submitted

the following proposal(s) for the

collection of information to the Office of

Management and Budget for review and

approval.

Summary of Proposal(s)

(1) Collection title: Employer

Reporting.

(2) Form(s) submitted: AA–12, G–

88A.1, G–88A.2, Ba–6a.

(3) OMB Number: 3220–0005.

(4) Expiration date of current OMB

clearance: 11/30/2003.

(5) Type of request: Revision of a

currently approved collection.

(6) Respondents: Business or other for

profit, individuals or households.

(7) Estimated annual number of

respondents: 2,968.

(8) Total annual responses: 2,968.

(9) Total annual reporting hours: 474.

(10) Collection description: Under the

Railroad Retirement Act and the

Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act,

railroad employers are required to

report service and compensation for

employees needed to determine

eligibility to and amount of benefits

paid.

Additional Information or Comments

Copies of the forms and supporting

documents can be obtained from Chuck

Mierzwa, the agency clearance officer

(312–751–3363). Comments regarding

the information collection should be

addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad

Retirement Board, 844 North Rush

Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60611–2092

and the OMB reviewer, Joe Lackey (202–

395–7316), Office of Management and

Budget, Room 10230, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, D.C.

20503.

Chuck Mierzwa,

Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 01–16275 Filed 6–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Existing Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available

From: Securities and Exchange

Commission, Office of Filings and

Information Services, Washington,

D.C. 20549.

Extension:

Rule 17j–1, SEC File No. 270–239, OMB

Control No. 3235–0224

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), 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 (‘‘OMB’’) for

extension and approval.

Rule 17j–1 [17 CFR 270.17j–1] under

the Investment Company Act of 1940

(15 U.S.C. 80a) (the ‘‘Investment

Company Act’’), which the Commission

adopted in 1980 1 and amended in

1999,2 implements section 17(j) of the

Act, which makes it unlawful for

persons affiliated with a registered

investment company or with the

investment company’s investment

adviser or principal underwriter (each,

a ‘‘17j–1 organization’’), in connection

with the purchase or sale of securities

held or to be acquired by the investment

company, to engage in any fraudulent,

deceptive, or manipulative act or

practice in contravention of the

Commission’s rules and regulations.

Section 17(j) also authorizes the

Commission to promulgate rules

requiring the rule 17j–1 organizations to

adopt codes of ethics.

In order to implement section 17(j),

rule 17j–1 imposes certain requirements

on 17j–1 organizations and ‘‘Access

Persons’’ 3 of those organizations. The

rule prohibits fraudulent, deceptive or

manipulative acts by persons affiliated

with a rule 17j–1 organization in

connection with their personal

securities transactions in securities held

or to be acquired by the fund. The rule

requires each 17j–1 organization, unless

it is a money market fund or a fund that

34494 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Notices

4A ‘‘Covered Security’’ is any security that falls

within the definition in section 2(a)(36) of the Act,

except for direct obligations of the U.S.

Government, bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates

of deposit, commercial paper and high quality

short-term debt instruments, including repurchase

agreements, and shares issued by open-end funds.

Rule 17j–1(a)(4).

5Rule 17j–1(d)(2) exempts Access Persons from

reporting in five instances in which reporting

would be duplicative or would not serve the

purposes of the rule.

6Funds that are money market funds or that

invest only in securities excluded from the

definition of ‘‘security’’ in rule 17j–1, and any

investment advisers, principal underwriters, and

Access Persons to these funds, do not have to

comply with the rule’s requirements concerning

codes of ethics, quarterly transaction reports, and

initial holdings reports. The estimated number of

respondents reported in this section may therefore

overstate the number of entities actually required to

comply with the rule’s requirements.

7This estimate represents an increase from the

approximately 156,700 burden hours estimated in

connection with the Commission’s last request for

a PRA extension for rule 17j–1. The increase in

burden hours is attributable to updated information

about the number of affected respondents, and

revised estimates of the component parts of the

burden estimate in light of the industry’s

experience in implementing the recent amendments

to the rule.

does not invest in Covered Securities,4

to: (i) Adopt a written codes of ethics,

(ii) submit the code and any material

changes to the code, along with a

certification that it has adopted

procedures reasonably necessary to

prevent Access Persons from violating

the code of ethics, to the fund board for

approval, (iii) use reasonable diligence

and institute procedures reasonably

necessary to prevent violations of the

code, (iv) submit a written report to the

fund describing any issues arising under

the code and procedures and certifying

that the 17j–1 entity has adopted

procedures reasonably necessary to

prevent Access Persons from violating

the code, (v) identify Access Persons

and notify them of their reporting

obligations, and (vi) maintain and make

available to the Commission for review

certain records related to the code of

ethics and transaction reporting by

Access Persons.

The rule requires each Access Person

of a fund (other than a money market

fund or a fund that does not invest in

Covered Securities) and of an

investment adviser or principal

underwriter of the fund, who is not

subject to an exception,5 to file: (i)

Within ten days of becoming an Access

Person, a dated initial holdings report

that sets forth certain information with

respect to the access person’s securities

and accounts, (ii) within ten days of the

end of each calendar quarter, a dated

quarterly transaction report providing

certain information with respect to any

securities transactions during the

quarter and any account established by

the Access Person in which any

securities were held during the quarter,

and (iii) dated annual holding reports

providing information with respect to

each covered security the Access Person

beneficially owns and accounts in

which securities are held for his or her

benefit. In addition, rule 17j–1 requires

investment personnel of a fund or its

investment adviser, before acquiring

beneficial ownership in securities

through an initial public offering (IPO)

or in a private placement, to obtain

approval from the fund or the fund’s

investment adviser.

The requirements that the

management of a rule 17j–1 organization

provide the fund’s board with new and

amended codes of ethics and an annual

issues and certification report are

intended to enhance board oversight of

personal investment policies applicable

to the fund and the personal investment

activities of access persons. The

requirements that Access Persons, who

are not subject to an exception, provide

initial holdings reports, quarterly

transaction reports, and annual holdings

reports and request approval for

purchases of securities through IPOs

and private placements are intended to

help fund compliance personnel and the

Commission’s examinations staff

monitor potential conflicts of interest

and detect potentially abusive activities.

The requirement that each rule 17j–1

organization maintain certain records is

intended to assist rule 17j–1

organizations and the Commission’s

examinations staff in determining

whether there have been violations of

rule 17j–1.

The Commission estimates that each

year a total of 80,706 Access Persons

and 17j–1 organizations are subject to

the rule’s reporting requirements.6

Respondents provide approximately

113,896 responses each year. Each

initial holdings report takes

approximately forty-two minutes for

each of the approximately 10,400 new

Access Person each year to prepare. We

estimate that each year Access Persons

file approximately 30,000 quarterly

transaction reports, each of which takes

approximately twenty minutes to

prepare. We estimate that each year

approximately 75,000 Access Persons

file annual holdings reports, each of

which takes approximately forty-two

minutes to prepare. We estimate that

Access Persons file approximately 680

requests for preapproval of purchases of

securities through initial public

offerings and private placements, each

of which takes approximately twentysix minutes to prepare. In the aggregate,

Access Persons spend approximately

70,000 hours per year complying with

the reporting requirements under the

rule.

We estimate that the industry spends

approximately 37,000 hours notifying

Access Persons of their reporting

obligations and overseeing the

reporting. We estimate that the industry

spends approximately 3,600 hours per

year preparing the annual reports

regarding issues under the code of

ethics and accompanying certifications

to fund boards. We estimate that the

industry spends approximately 2,500

hours a year preparing new codes of

ethics for presentation to fund boards

and approximately 1,200 hours per year

preparing amendments for presentation

to fund boards. We estimate that the

industry spends approximately 370

hours per year documenting its approval

of requests to purchase securities

through initial public offerings or

private placements. We estimate that the

industry spends approximately 146,500

hours each year maintaining rule 17j–1

records and 13,500 hours maintaining

and upgrading their electronic reporting

and recordkeeping systems related to

rule 17j–1. In the aggregate, 17j–1

organizations spend approximately

204,300 hours per year complying with

their reporting and recordkeeping

requirements under the rule and

ensuring that Access Persons fulfill their

reporting obligations. The total annual

burden of the rule’s paperwork

requirements is, therefore, estimated to

be approximately 274,300 hours.7

These burden hour estimates are

based upon the Commission staff’s

experience and discussions with the

fund industry. The estimates of average

burden hours are made solely for the

purposes of the Paperwork Reduction

Act. These estimates are not derived

from a comprehensive or even a

representative survey or study of the

costs of Commission rules.

Written comments are invited on: (a)

Whether the collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the Commission,

including whether the information has

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

Commission’s estimate of the burdens of

the collection of information; (c) ways to

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity

of the information collected; and (d)

ways to minimize the burdens 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 in

writing within 60 days for this

publication.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Notices 34495

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 44236

(April 30, 2001), 66 FR 23055 (May 7, 2001).

4 If the DPM determines that the trade is not valid,

e.g., if the trade was based on an erroneous print

in the underlying security, the order will be rebooked and the last sale canceled.

5 In approving this proposal, the Commission has

considered the proposed rule’s impact on

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15

U.S.C. 78(c)(f).

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).

7 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).

8 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) and 17 CFR 240.19b-4.

Please direct your written comments

to Michael E. Bartell, Associate

Executive Director, Office of

Information Technology, Securities and

Exchange Commission, Mail Stop 0–4,

450 5th Street, NW., Washington, DC

20549.

Dated: June 20, 2001.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–16254 Filed 6–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–44462; File No. SR–CBOE–

00–22]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Order

Granting Approval of Proposed Rule

Change by the Chicago Board Options

Exchange, Inc., Relating to the

Automatic Execution of Certain Orders

on the Exchange’s Electronic Limit

Order Book

June 21, 2001.

On June 1, 2000, the Chicago Board

Options Exchange, Inc. (‘‘CBOE’’ or

‘‘Exchange’’), filed with the Securities

and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘SEC’’), 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 relating to the automatic

execution of certain orders on the

Exchange’s electronic limit order book.

Notice of the proposed rule change and

Amendment Nos. 1 and 2 thereto were

published for comment in the Federal

Register on May 7, 2001.3 No comments

were received on the proposed rule

change, as amended.

The Exchange proposes to amend its

rules governing the operation of its

Retail Automatic Execution System

(‘‘RAES’’) to provide for the automatic

execution, under certain circumstances,

of orders in the Exchange’s electronic

limit order book when they become

marketable. The Exchange proposes to

implement a system enhancement

called ‘‘Autoquote Triggered EBook

Execution’’ (‘‘Trigger’’) to particular

option classes, as determined by the

appropriate Floor Procedure Committee.

Trigger will allow orders resting in the

book to be automatically executed

where the bid or offer for a series of

options generated by the Exchange’s

Autoquote system (or any Exchangeapproved proprietary quote generation

system used in lieu of Autoquote) is

equal to or crosses the Exchange’s best

bid or offer for that series as established

by a booked order. Only series in which

Autoquote (or any Exchange-approved

quote generation system) is employed

are eligible for Trigger.

Where Trigger has been activated, as

Autoquote changes and the quote

generated by Autoquote either touches

or crosses an order in the book, the

booked order(s) will be automatically

executed up to the applicable RAES

contract limit. The booked order then

will be immediately taken out of the

book and a last sale will be

disseminated. A ticket will be printed

on the book printer notifying the book

clerk that a trade has been executed and

an endorsement is required. After the

book clerk verifies with the Designated

Primary Market-Maker (‘‘DPM’’) that the

trade is valid based on movements in

the underlying security, the trade will

be endorsed by the book clerk.4 In most

instances, it will be endorsed to the

RAES ‘‘wheel’’ up to the applicable

RAES contract limit. However, the

Trigger system will have the

functionality to allow the trade to be

endorsed manually (as is done today)

when appropriate.

If the number of contracts in the book

is greater than the applicable RAES

contract limit, the trading crowd will

manually execute the remainder. In the

limited circumstance where contracts

remain in the book after a Trigger

execution and a disseminated quote

remains locked or crossed, orders in

RAES for options of that series will be

‘‘kicked-out’’ of RAES, and immediately

and automatically routed to the crowd

Public Automated Routing (‘‘PAR’’)

terminal (absent contrary instructions of

the firm), where they will be

represented by the broker and, if

executable, will ordinarily be executed

immediately. Because these orders

remain RAES eligible, they will be

entitled to receive firm quote treatment

when represented in the crowd.

The Commission finds that the

proposed rule change is consistent with

the requirements of the Act and the

rules and regulations thereunder

applicable to a national securities

exchange.5 In particular, the

Commission believes that the proposal

is consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the

Act,6 which requires, among other

things, that the rules of an exchange be

designed to promote just and equitable

principles of trade, to remove

impediments to and perfect the

mechanism of a free and open market,

and to protect investors and the public

interest. The proposed rule change

should help provide faster execution of

customer orders, while reducing the

burden on the Exchange’s DPMs with

respect to manual execution of booked

orders, limiting the number of book

trade-throughs, and eliminating a large

number of RAES kick-outs.

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,7 that the

proposed rule change (File No. SR–

CBOE–00–22) be, and it hereby is,

approved.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.8

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–16206 Filed 6–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–44458; File No. SR–

MSRB–2001–03]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

the Municipal Securities Rulemaking

Board Relating to the Establishment of

an Optional Procedure for Electronic

Submissions of Required Materials

Under Rule G–36, on Delivery of

Official Statements, Advance

Refunding Documents and Forms G–

36(OS) and G–36(ARD) to the MSRB

June 20, 2001.

Pursuant to section 19(b) of the

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

and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,1 notice is

hereby given that on June 7, 2001, the

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board

(‘‘MSRB’’ or ‘‘Board’’) filed with the

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) a proposed

rule change (File No. SR–MSRB–2001–

03) (‘‘proposed rule change’’) described

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

have been prepared by the MSRB. The

Commission is publishing this notice to

solicit comments on the proposed rule

change from interested persons.