63550 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 237 / Monday, December 11, 1995 / Notices

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

Administrative Law Judges Office,

Room 6321, 1900 E. Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20415.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the form(s) and instructions

should be directed to U.S. Office of

Personnel Management, Attn: John E.

Flannery, Room 6321, 1900 E Street

NW., Washington, DC 20415, Tel. (202)

606–0810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

invites the general public and other

Federal agencies to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections pursuant to the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–

13; 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). The

comments should address the accuracy

of the burden estimates and ways to

minimize the burden including the use

of automated collection techniques or

the use of other forms of information

technology, as well as other relevant

aspects of the information collection.

The comments that are submitted will

be summarized and included in the

Office’s request for Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

approval. All comments will become a

matter of public record. In this

document the Office is soliciting

comments concerning the following

information collection.

Title: Personal Reference Inquiry for

Administrative Law Judge Positions.

OMB Number: 3206–0043.

Form Number: OPM Form 192.

Abstract: OPM Form 192 is designed

to collect information about an

applicant’s qualifications in as simple a

manner as possible. It asks reference

givers to circle statements indicating

which of the behavioral statements

describing the behavior of an attorney or

a judge are most representative of the

applicant. This format takes less time to

complete and is less burdensome to the

reference giver than the more traditional

open-ended personal reference inquiry

which asks for written statements

assessing applicants’ job qualifications.

The circled marks on the returned form

are easily scored.

Current Actions: There are no changes

to the information collection. This

submission is being submitted to extend

the expiration date.

Type of Review: Extension (without

change).

Affected Public: Personal Reference

Inquiry forms are not sent to small

businesses or entities as such. However,

the person from whom information is

sought may be an employee or member

of a small business or law firm. As

explained in the above Abstract, the

form is designed in a brief, six-question

format which can be answered by

including responses. Thus, the

information collection burden on

respondents is minimal.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

Approximately 3,000 reference givers

respond each year.

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 10

minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 500 hours.

Legal Citations: Under the provisions

of the Administrative Procedures Act of

1946 in pertinent part, now 5 U.S.C.

553–559 and 3105, and 5 U.S.C. 1104

and 3304, the U.S. Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) is required to

identify through competitive

examination qualified applicants for

appointment to Administrative Law

Judge (ALJ) positions. Further, under 5

U.S.C. 1305, OPM is specifically

authorized to collect such information

and reports as it needs to carry out its

responsibility for examining applicants

for ALJ positions.

Dated: November 7, 1995.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Lorraine A. Green,

Deputy Director.

[FR Doc. 95–29881 Filed 12–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–36550; File No. SR–Amex–

95–47]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

American Stock Exchange, Inc.

Relating to Listing Standards for

Options on Equity Securities Issued in

a Reorganization Transaction Pursuant

to a Public Offering or a Rights

Distribution

December 4, 1995.

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 November

29, 1995, the American Stock Exchange,

Inc. (‘‘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

Commission is published 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 Amex proposes to amend its

listing standards in respect of options

on equity securities issued in a spin-off,

reorganization, recapitalization,

restructuring or similar transaction

where the issuance is made pursuant to

a public offering or a rights distribution.

The text of the proposed rule change

is available at the Office of the

Secretary, Amex, and at the

Commission.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission,

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

The purpose of the proposed rule

change is to amend the special listing

standards set forth in Amex Rule 915,

Commentary .05 that apply to options

on equity securities issued in certain

spin-offs, reorganizations,

recapitalizations, restructurings or

similar transactions (referred to herein

as ‘‘restructuring transactions’’) so as to

also include securities issued pursuant

to a public offering or a rights

distribution that is part of a

restructuring transaction.

The proposed amendment to Rule

915, Commentary .05 is intended to

facilitate the listing of options on equity

securities issued in restructuring

transactions (referred to as ‘‘Restructure

Securities’’) by permitting the Exchange

to base its determination as to the

satisfaction of certain of the listing

standards set forth in Exchange Rule

915 and Commentary .01 thereunder by

reference to (1) specified characteristics

of the ‘‘Original Security’’ in respect of

which the Restructure Security was

issued or distributed; (2) the trading

market of the Original Security; (3) the

number of shares of the Restructure

Security issued and outstanding; or (4)

to the listing standards of the exchange

on which the Restructure Security is
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 237 / Monday, December 11, 1995 / Notices 63551

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 36020

(July 24, 1995), 60 FR 39029 (July 31, 1995) (order

approving Commentary .05 to Amex Rule 915).

listed. Rule 915, Commentary .05 would

permit the Exchange to certify a

Restructure Security as options eligible

sooner than if it had to wait until it

could base its certification on

characteristics of the Restructure

Security itself, but only in

circumstances where the factors relied

upon make it reasonable to conclude

that the Restructure Security will in fact

satisfy applicable listing criteria.

As recently approved by the

Commission, Amex Rule 915,

Commentary .05 does not extend to

restructuring transactions involving the

issuance of a Restructure Security in a

public offering or a rights distribution.3

The questions raised by the proposed

extension of Commentary .05 to Amex

Rule 915 to reorganization transactions

involving public offerings or rights

distributions reflect that when a

Restructure Security is issued in a

public offering or pursuant to a rights

distribution, it cannot automatically be

assumed that the shareholder

population of the Restructure Security

and the Original Security will be the

same. Instead the holders of a

Restructure Security issued in a public

offering will be those persons who

subscribed for and purchased the

security in the offering, and the holders

of a Restructure Security issued in a

rights distribution will be those persons

who elected to exercise their rights.

Even in the case of a distribution of

nontransferable rights to shareholders of

the Original Security, not all such

shareholders may choose to exercise

their rights. As a result, it cannot be

assumed that the Restructure Security

will necessarily satisfy listing criteria

pertaining to minimum number of

holders, minimum public float and

trading volume simply because the

Original Security satisfied these criteria.

On the other hand, the Exchange

believes that the same reasons for

wanting to make an options market

available without delay to holders of

securities issued in reorganizations that

do not involve public offerings or rights

distributions apply with equal force to

securities issued in reorganizations that

do involve public offerings or rights

distributions, so long as there can be

reasonable assurance that the securities

satisfy applicable options listing

standards. That is, holders of an

Original Security who utilize options to

manage the risks of their stock positions

may well find themselves to be holders

of both the Original Security and the

Restructure Security following a

reorganization because they chose to

purchase the Restructure Security in a

public offering or to exercise rights in

order to maintain the same investment

position they had prior to the

reorganization. Such holders may want

to continue to use options to manage the

risks of their combined stock position

after the reorganization, but they can do

so only if options on the Restructure

Security are available. The Exchange

believes that it is important to avoid any

undue delay in the introduction of

options trading in such a Restructure

Security in circumstances where there is

sound reason to believe that the

Restructure Security does in fact satisfy

options listing standards.

Accordingly, the Amex proposes to

add new paragraph (d) to Commentary

.05 of Rule 915, to address situations

where a Restructure Security is issued

pursuant to a public offering or rights

distribution. Pursuant to the proposed

rule change, the Exchange may certify

the Restructure Security as satisfying

minimum shareholder and minimum

public float requirements on the basis

provided for in approved Commentary

.05(c), only after at least five days of

‘‘regular way’’ trading. Moreover, after

due diligence, the Exchange must have

no reason to believe that the Restructure

Security does not satisfy these

requirements. Additionally, in order to

base certification on Commentary .05 of

Rule 915, the closing prices of the

Restructure Security on each of the five

or more trading days prior to the

selection date must be at least $7.50.

Finally, as is required for all underlying

securities selected for options trading,

trading volume in the Restructure

Security must be at lease 2,400,000

shares during a period of twelve months

or less up to the time the security is so

selected.

The effect of the proposed rule change

is that a Restructure Security issued

pursuant to a public offering or a rights

distribution that is part of a

reorganization will be eligible for

options trading only if it satisfies all of

the existing standards applicable to the

selection of underlying securities

generally, except that (A) the Exchange

may assume the satisfaction of the

minimum public ownership

requirement of 7,000,000 shares and the

minimum 2,000 shareholders

requirement if (i) either the percentage

of value tests of subparagraph (a)(1) of

Commentary .05 are met or the aggregate

market value represented by the

Restructure Security is at least

$500,000,000; and if (ii) the Restructure

Security is listed on an exchange of an

automatic quotation system having

equivalent listing requirements or at

least 40,000,000 shares of the

Restructure Security are issued and

outstanding, and if (iii) after the

Restructure Security has traded ‘‘regular

way’’ for at least five trading days and

after having conducted due diligence in

the matter, the Exchange has no reason

to believe that these requirements are

not met, and (B) subject to the same

percentage of value or aggregate market

value requirements, the Restructure

Security may be deemed to satisfy the

minimum market price per share

requirement if it has a closing market

price per share of at least $7.50 during

each of the five or more trading days

preceding the date of selection, instead

of having to satisfy this requirement

over a majority of days over a period of

three months. (In the event the

Restructure Security has a closing price

that is less than $7.50 on any of the

trading days preceding its selection, it

will have to satisfy this requirement on

a majority of trading days over a period

of three months before it can be certified

as eligible for options trading.) For any

Restructure Security issued in a public

offering or a rights distribution that does

satisfy these requirements, the effect of

the proposed rule change will be to

permit its certification for options

trading to take place as early as on the

sixth day after trading in the stock

commences, instead of having to wait

for three months of trading.

The Exchange believes that the

proposed rule change is consistent with

Section 6(b) of the Securities Exchange

Act of 1934 in general, and furthers the

objectives of Section 6(b)(5) in

particular, by removing impediments to

a free and open market in options

covering securities issued in public

offerings or pursuant to rights

distributions as part of restructuring

transactions and other similar corporate

reorganizations.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that

the proposed rule change will impose

any burden on competition.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received From

Members, Participants or Others

No written comments were solicited

or received with respect to 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)
63552 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 237 / Monday, December 11, 1995 / Notices

4 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) (1988).

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4 (1994).

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 36331

(October 3, 1995), 60 FR 53440.

4The Exchange previously filed a proposal

concerning its OEX trading post telephone policy

that became effective upon filing pursuant to

Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act. Securities Exchange

Act Release No. 35725 (May 17, 1995), 60 FR 27575.

The Commission received one comment letter

objecting to the prohibition on the use of telephones

at the OEX post to receive orders. Letter from David

C. Bohan, Jenner & Block, to Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary, Commission, dated June 14, 1995. The

Commission published the CBOE’s current proposal

for a full 21 day comment period, and has received

no comments.

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 33701

(March 2, 1994), 59 FR 11336.

6The telephone policy also allows members to

use the floor telephones to provide quotations on

OEX options. In using the telephones for this

purpose, members may only provide quotations that

have been publicly disseminated pursuant to CBOE

Rule 6.43.

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.

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

Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such

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–

95–47 and should be submitted by

January 2, 1996.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.4

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–30068 Filed 12–8–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[Release No. 34–36546; File No. SR–CBOE–

95–49]

Self-Regulatory Organizations;

Chicago Board Options Exchange,

Inc.; Order Approving a Proposed Rule

Change Relating to Telephone on the

Floor of the Exchange

December 1, 1995.

I. Introduction

On August 25, 1995, 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 proposal regarding

the adoption of a Regulatory Circular

governing the use of member-owned or

Exchange-owned telephones located at

the trading post where options on the

Standard & Poor’s 100 Stock Index

(‘‘OEX’’) options are traded. The

proposed rule change was published for

comment and appeared in the Federal

Register on October 13, 1995.3 No

comments were received regarding the

proposal.4 This order approves the

proposal.

II. Description of the Proposal

The purpose of the Regulatory

Circular is to permit telephones located

at the OEX trading post on the floor of

the Exchange to provide members and

clerks with access to outside lines for

outgoing calls, subject to the conditions

set forth in the Regulatory Circular.

With the exception of the prohibition on

the use of telephones at the OEX trading

post to receive incoming calls, these

conditions are the same as those the

Commission previously approved

governing the use of telephones at the

equity option trading posts on the floor

of CBOE.5 Because there are no

restrictions on where a member may

place an outgoing call, telephones at the

OEX trading post may be used to place

orders in equity or futures markets.6

Exchange Rule 6.23 prohibits

members from establishing or

maintaining any telephone or other wire

communications between their offices

and the Exchange floor without prior

Exchange approval, and it authorizes

the Exchange to direct the

discontinuance of any communication

facility terminating on the Exchange

floor. Pursuant to this rule, the

Exchange adopted the Regulatory

Circular to permit the installation of

outside telephone lines at the OEX

trading post, and to adopt conditions

governing their use.

The proposed rule change also

imposes user fees on members who are

approved to use Exchange-installed

telephones located at the OEX trading

post. The Exchange is adopting these

fees pursuant to Exchange Rule 2.22,

which permits the Exchange to impose

fees on members for the rule of

Exchange facilities or for any services or

privileges granted by the Exchange.

The conditions imposed by the

Regulatory Circular on the use of

telephones at the OEX trading post are

as follows:

1. The telephones may not be used to

receive orders, but may be used to

provide quotes that have been publicly

disseminated pursuant to Rule 6.43.

2. Members may give their clerks their

PIN access code. Although both

members and clerks may use the

telephones, members will have priority.

Each member will be responsible for all

calls made using that member’s PIN

access code.

3. Headsets will not be permitted on

the telephones in the post pit. Portable

or cellular phones also will not be

permitted.

4. Clerks will not be permitted to

establish a base of operation utilizing

telephones at the OEX post.

5. Members and their clerks using the

telephones are required to consent to

recording of conversations on

telephones at the OEX post.

6. The telephones are to be used for

voice service only. Data services CPC’s,

fax, etc.) will remain subject to

Exchange consent under a separate

program.

7. Only outgoing calls may be made

on the telephones; incoming calls are

not permitted.

The Exchange intends to enforce these

conditions as rules of the Exchange, and

has advised members that violations

may lead to formal disciplinary

proceedings.

The Exchange’s proposal is limited to

outgoing calls only. The Exchange has

stated that telephones at the OEX

trading post should not be used to

receive customer order until it has given

further consideration to relevant

regulatory issues, including how to

provide customers with access to the

trading floor on a fair and nondiscriminatory basis, how to assure that

persons on the floor are qualified to

receive orders directly from customers,