Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 249 / Thursday, December 28, 1995 / Notices 67145

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 35487,

International Series Release No. 792 (March 14,

1995), 60 FR 14984 (March 21, 1995)(Order

approving unbundling services for FCOs and Index

options).

4The tiers are as follows:

(1) For 1 device, the fee per device is $3.00;

(2) For 2–9 devices, the fee per device is $2.50;

(3) For 10–749 devices, the fee per device is

$2.00; and

(4) For 750 or more devices, the fee per device

is $1.50. 5 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(29).

1Securities Exchange Act Release No. 30556

(April 6, 1992), 57 FR 12534.

2On May 17, 1993, the Board reported to the

Commission on the initial phase of operation of the

CDI system regarding technical, policy and cost

issues and proposed enhancements to the system.

OPRA for access to last sale and

quotation information and related

information pertaining to FCOs. OPRA’s

existing subscriber fee currently covers

access to all securities options market

information emanating from OPRA’s

participant exchanges, including

information pertaining to FCOs. In

accordance with the OPRA Plan as

amended,3 OPRA is authorized to

impose separate fees for access to or for

the use of information pertaining solely

to FCOs, if the participants exchanges

that provide a market in FCOs

determine to impose separate FCO fees.

A subscriber to OPRA’s FCO service

will be subject to a monthly fee based

upon the number of electronic display

or interrogation devices maintained by

the subscriber that are capable of

displaying or reporting FCO

information. The proposed FCO

subscriber fee offers volume discounts

to larger subscribers by reducing the fee

per device as the total number of

devices maintained by a subscriber

increases. There are four pricing tiers

covering the range from one device to

750 or more devices per subscriber.4

The proposed FCO subscriber fee is

scheduled to take effect on January 1,

1996. Prior to that time, existing OPRA

subscribers will be given notice of the

new FCO fee, and an opportunity to

indicate whether they wish to continue

to receive FCO information and thereby

subject themselves to the FCO fee.

The PHLX, as the only exchange

currently providing a market in FCOs,

has duly authorized the proposed

subscriber fee in accordance with the

OPRA Plan. In addition, the PHLX has

notified all other OPRA participant

exchanges of the proposed fee change.

II. Solicitation of Comments

Pursuant to Rule 11Aa3–2(c)(3), the

amendment is effective upon filing with

the Commission. The Commission may

summarily abrogate the amendment

within 60 days of its filing and require

refiling and approval of the amendment

by Commission order pursuant to Rule

11Aa3–2(c)(2), if it appears to the

Commission that such action is

necessary or appropriate in the public

interest; for the protection of investors

and the maintenance of fair and orderly

markets; to remove impediments to, and

perfect the mechanisms of, a National

Market System; or otherwise in

furtherance of the purposes of the

Exchange Act.

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, and 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 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 the filing also will be available

at the principal offices of OPRA. All

submissions should refer to file number

SR–OPRA–95–5 and should be

submitted by January 22, 1995.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.5

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–31355 Filed 12–27–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[Release No. 34–36610; File No. SR–MSRB–

95–19]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness

of Proposed Rule Change by the

Municipal Securities Rulemaking

Board Relating to an Extension of the

Continuing Disclosure Information

(‘‘CDI’’) System From December 31,

1995 Through September 30, 1996

December 20, 1995.

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(‘‘Act’’), 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1), and Rule

19b–4 thereunder, notice is hereby

given that on November 28, 1995, the

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board

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

Securities and Exchange Commission

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

rule change (File No. SR–MSRB–95–19).

The proposed rule change is described

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

have been prepared by the Board. The

MSRB has designated this proposal as

concerned solely with the

administration of the Board under

Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act, which

renders the rule effective upon the

Commission’s receipt of this filing. 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 MSRB is filing a proposed rule

change to request an extension, from

December 31, 1995, through September

30, 1996, of its interim Continuing

Disclosure Information (‘‘CDI’’) system

of the Municipal Securities Information

Library (MSILTM) system. The Board

requests that the Commission set the

effective date for 30 days after filing.

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

Board included statements concerning

the purpose of and basis for the

proposed rule change and discussed any

comments is received on the proposed

rule change. The texts of these

statements may be examined at the

places specified in Item IV below. The

Board has prepared summaries, set forth

in Section 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

On April 6, 1992, the Commission

approved the CDI system for an 18-

month period.1 The CDI system began

operating on January 23, 1993, and

functions as part of the Board’s MSILTM

system. The CDI system accepts and

disseminates voluntary submissions of

official disclosure notices relating to

outstanding issues of municipal

securities, i.e., continuing disclosure

information. During its first phase of

operation, the system accepted

disclosure notices only from trustees.

On May 17, 1993, the system also began

accepting disclosure notices from

issuers.2

On November 10, 1994, the

Commission approved an amendment to

its Rule 15c2–12 which prohibits

dealers from underwriting issues of
67146 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 249 / Thursday, December 28, 1995 / Notices

3Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34961

(November 10, 1994), 59 FR 59590. This provision

of the Rule became effective on July 3, 1995. See

Securities Exchange Act Release No. 35911.

4The effective date of this provision of the Rule

is January 1, 1996.

5The Board also terminated the pilot phase of the

CDI System and filed its Report on the Conclusion

of the CDI Pilot of the Municipal Securities

Information LibraryTM System with the Commission

on August 25, 1995.

6Securities Exchange Act Release No. 35911

(June 28, 1995), 60 FR 35248.

1The proposed rule change was initially filed on

November 8, 1995, but was subsequently amended

on December 11, 1995, and again on December 15,

1995, in order to clarify that the proposed rule

change does not apply to limited partnership

securities that are traded on the Nasdaq Stock

Market or a registered national securities exchange.

municipal securities unless the issuer

commits, among other things, to provide

material events notices to the Board’s

CDI system or to all Nationally

Recognized Municipal Securities

Information Repositories (‘‘NRMSIRs’’)

and to the applicable state information

depository.3 In addition, the Rule

prohibits dealers from recommending

municipal securities without having a

system in place to receive material

events notices.4 To conform to the new

Commission requirements, the Board

revised the CDI system and

implemented an interim system

designed to accept material event

notices while a larger permanent system

is being designed.5 The Commission

approved operation of the interim

system through December 31, 1995.6

The Board is requesting an extension

for the interim system through

September 30, 1996, to gain additional

experience with the new disclosure

scheme of SEC Rule 15c2–12 while the

permanent system is being designed.

The amendments to SEC Rule 15c2–12

regarding material event notices were

effective in July 1995, and will not be

fully effective until January 1, 1996.

Issuers and their agents are still in the

process of adjusting to the amendments.

The current volume of material event

notices has been within the capacity of

the interim system. Additional

experience will allow the Board to

design the permanent system to more

efficiently accommodate the expected

volume of material event notices. In

addition, the permanent system is being

designed to accommodate longer

documents.

The Board believes that an extension

of the operation of the interim CDI

system through September 30, 1996,

will give it sufficient time to determine

the system changes needed, in

consultation with the Commission as

well as potential users of the system,

including NRMSIRs. Prior to that time,

the Board plans to ask the Commission

for approval of the permanent CDI

system, which will be described in a

filing with the Commission.

The Board believes the proposed rule

change is consistent with Section

15B(b)(2)(C) of the Act, which provides

that the Board’s rules:

Be designed to prevent fraudulent and

manipulative acts and practices, to promote

just and equitable principles of trade, to

foster cooperation and coordination with

persons engaged in regulating, clearing,

settling, processing information with respect

to, and facilitating transactions in municipal

securities, to remove impediments to and

perfect the mechanism of a free and open

market in municipal securities, and, in

general, to protect investors and the public

interest.

The MSILTM system is designed to

increase the integrity and efficiency of

the municipal securities market by,

among other things, helping to ensure

that the price charged for an issue in the

secondary market reflects all available

official information about that issue.

The Board will continue to operate the

output side of the CDI system to ensure

that the information is available to any

party who wishes to subscribe to the

service. As with all MSILTM system

services, this service is available, on

equal terms, to any party requesting the

service.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Board does not believe that the

proposed rule change will impose any

burden on competition not necessary or

appropriate in furtherance of the

purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received From

Members, Participants, or Others

Written comments were neither

solicited nor received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Because the foregoing proposed rule

change: (i) Does not significantly affect

the protection of investors or the public

interest; (ii) does not impose any

significant burden on competition; (iii)

was provided to the Commission for its

review at least five days prior to the

filing date; and (iv) does not become

operative for thirty days from the date

of its filing on November 28, 1995, the

proposed rule change has become

effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)

of the Act and Rule 19b-4(e)(6)

thereunder. In particular, the

Commission believes the proposed rule

change qualifies as a ‘‘non-controversial

filing’’ in that the proposed standards

do not significantly affect the protection

of investors or the public interest and do

not impose any significant burden on

competition. At any time within sixty

days of the filing of the proposed rule

change, the Commission may summarily

abrogate such rule change if it appears

to the Commission that such action is

necessary or appropriate in the public

interest, for the protection of investors,

or otherwise in furtherance of the

purposes of the Act.

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 NW.,

Washington, DC 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 the filing will also be

available for inspection and copying at

the Board’s principal offices. All

submissions should refer to File No.

SR–MSRB–95–19 and should be

submitted by January 18, 1996.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority, 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–31354 Filed 12–27–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[Release No. 34–36611; File No. SR–NASD–

95–53]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

National Association of Securities

Dealers, Inc. Requiring Members Who

Participate in the Transfer of Limited

Partnership Securities To Use

Standard Transfer Forms

December 20, 1995.

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(‘‘Act’’), 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1), notice is

hereby given that on December 15,

1994,1 the National Association of