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 Commodity Futures Trading Commission
 AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
 ACTION: Establish the FY 2008 schedule of fees.
 SUMMARY: The Commission charges fees to designated contract markets and registered futures associations to recover the costs incurred by the Commission in the operation of its program of oversight of self-regulatory organization (SRO) rule enforcement programs (17 CFR part 1 Appendix B) (National Futures Association (NFA), a registered futures association, and the contract markets are referred to as SROs). The calculation of the fee amounts to be charged for FY 2008 is based upon an average of actual program costs incurred during FY 2005, 2006, and 2007, as explained below. The FY 2008 fee schedule is set forth in the 
                        **SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION**
                        .  Electronic payment of fees is required.
 DATES: *Effective Date:*
                         The FY 2008 fees for Commission oversight of each SRO rule enforcement program must be paid by each of the named SROs in the amount specified by no later than September 29, 2008.
 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacy Dean Yochum, Deputy Executive Director, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, (202) 418–5157, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581. For information on electronic payment, contact Angela Clark, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581, (202) 418–5178.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. General This notice relates to fees for the Commission's review of the rule enforcement programs at the registered futures associations [1]
                    
                     and designated contract markets (DCM), which are referred to as SROs, regulated by the Commission. II. Schedule of Fees Fees for the Commission's review of the rule enforcement programs at the registered futures associations and DCMs regulated by the Commission: Entity
Fee amountChicago Board of Trade
$146,077( print page 44708)Chicago Mercantile Exchange
124,734New York Mercantile Exchange
144,893Kansas City Board of Trade
11,119New York Board of Trade
37,662Minneapolis Grain Exchange
28,181HedgeStreet
10,194Chicago Climate Futures Exchange
8,306U.S. Futures Exchange
14,602OneChicago
15,836National Futures Association
450,419Total
992,022
 III. Background Information A. General The Commission recalculates the fees charged each year with the intention of recovering the costs of operating this Commission program.[2]
                    
                     All costs are accounted for by the Commission's Management Accounting Structure Codes (MASC) system, which records each employee's time for each pay period. The fees are set each year based on direct program costs, plus an overhead factor. B. Overhead Rate The fees charged by the Commission to the SROs are designed to recover program costs, including direct labor costs and overhead. The overhead rate is calculated by dividing total Commission-wide overhead direct program labor costs into the total amount of the Commission-wide overhead pool. For this purpose, direct program labor costs are the salary costs of personnel working in all Commission programs. Overhead costs consist generally of the following Commission-wide costs: indirect personnel costs (leave and benefits), rent, communications, contract services, utilities, equipment, and supplies. This formula has resulted in the following overhead rates for the most recent three years (rounded to the nearest whole percent): 109 percent for fiscal year 2005, 109 percent for fiscal year 2006, and 140 percent for fiscal year 2007. The increase in the overhead rate for FY 2007 is due to refinement in the agency's reporting capabilities. In past years, the overhead rate did not accurately reflect the cost of benefits. The implementation of a new financial system revealed the inaccuracy and the 2007 overhead rate reflects the correct benefits amount. These overhead rates are applied to the direct labor costs to calculate the costs of oversight of SRO rule enforcement programs. C. Conduct of SRO Rule Enforcement Reviews Under the formula adopted in 1993 (58 FR 42643, Aug. 11, 1993), which appears at 17 CFR part 1 Appendix B, the Commission calculates the fee to recover the costs of its rule enforcement reviews and examinations, based on the three-year average of the actual cost of performing such reviews and examinations at each SRO. The cost of operation of the Commission's SRO oversight program varies from SRO to SRO, according to the size and complexity of each SRO's program. The three-year averaging computation method is intended to smooth out year-to-year variations in cost. Timing of the Commission's reviews and examinations may affect costs—a review or examination may span two fiscal years and reviews and examinations are not conducted at each SRO each year. Adjustments to actual costs may be made to relieve the burden on an SRO with a disproportionately large share of program costs. The Commission's formula provides for a reduction in the assessed fee if an SRO has a smaller percentage of United States industry contract volume than its percentage of overall Commission oversight program costs. This adjustment reduces the costs so that, as a percentage of total Commission SRO oversight program costs, they are in line with the pro rata percentage for that SRO of United States industry-wide contract volume. The calculation is made as follows: The fee required to be paid to the Commission by each DCM is equal to the lesser of actual costs based on the three-year historical average of costs for that DCM or one-half of average costs incurred by the Commission for each DCM for the most recent three years, plus a pro rata share (based on average trading volume for the most recent three years) of the aggregate of average annual costs of all DCMs for the most recent three years. The formula for calculating the second factor is: 0.5a + 0.5 vt = current fee. In this formula, “a” equals the average annual costs, “v” equals the percentage of total volume across DCMs over the last three years, and “t” equals the average annual costs for all DCMs. NFA has no contracts traded; hence, its fee is based simply on costs for the most recent three fiscal years. This table summarizes the data used in the calculations and the resulting fee for each entity: 3-year 
                             average actual costs
3-year % of volume
2008 Fee (lesser of 
                             actual or  
                             calculated fee)Chicago Board of Trade
$146,077
32.4504
$146,077Chicago Mercantile Exchange
124,734
54.5543
124,734New York Mercantile Exchange
213,577
10.5981
144,893Kansas City Board of Trade
20,918
0.1834
11,119New York Board of Trade
62,615
1.7674
37,662Minneapolis Grain Exchange
55,903
0.0637
28,181HedgeStreet
20,293
0.0132
10,194Chicago Climate Futures Exchange
16,594
0.0026
8,306US Futures Exchange
28,692
0.0711
14,602OneChicago
29,684
0.2764
15,836Subtotal
719,088

541,603National Futures Association
450,419

450,419Total
1,169,507

992,022
 An example of how the fee is calculated for one exchange, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, is set forth here: a. Actual three-year average costs equal $55,903.
                    ( print page 44709) b. The alternative computation is:  (.5) ($55,903) + (.5) (.000637) ($719,088) = $28,181. c. The fee is the lesser of a or b; in this case $28,181. As noted above, the alternative calculation based on contracts traded is not applicable to NFA because it is not a DCM and has no contracts traded. The Commission's average annual cost for conducting oversight review of the NFA rule enforcement program during fiscal years 2005 through 2007 was $450,419 (one-third of $1,351,256). The fee to be paid by the NFA for the current fiscal year is $450,419. Payment Method The Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA) requires deposits of fees owed to the government by electronic transfer of funds (See 31 U.S.C. 3720). For information about electronic payments, please contact Angela Clark at (202) 418–5178 or 
                    *aclark@cftc.gov,*
                     or see the CFTC Web site at 
                    *http://www.cftc.gov,*
                     specifically, 
                    *http://www.cftc.gov/​cftc/​cftcelectronicpayments.htm.* Regulatory Flexibility Act The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, 
                    *et seq.*, requires agencies to consider the impact of rules on small business. The fees implemented in this release affect contract markets and registered futures associations. The Commission has previously determined that contract markets and registered futures associations are not “small entities” for purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Accordingly, the Acting Chairman, on behalf of the Commission, certifies pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that the fees implemented here will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Issued in Washington, DC,  on July 24, 2008, by the Commission. David Stawick, Secretary of the Commission.


# Footnotes

1.
    
                         NFA is the only registered futures association. Back to Citation
 2.
    
                         See Section 237 of the Futures Trading Act of 1982, 7 U.S.C. 16a and 31 U.S.C. 9701. For a broader discussion of the history of Commission Fees, see 52 FR 46070 (Dec. 4, 1987). Back to Citation


[FR Doc. E8–17531 Filed 7–30–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6351–01–P