35294 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Notices

4Telephone conversation between John Rudolph,

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board,

and Chris Concannon, Division of Market

Regulation, Commission (June 28, 1996).

5 17 CFR 200.30 3(a)(12) (1995).

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.

3The Commission notes that, according to PHLX,

equity trading between 1:00 and 1:15 p.m. will be

pursuant to PHLX Rule 101.02 which facilitates

‘‘PPS’’ and ‘‘GTX’’ designated orders. Telephone

Conversation between Murray L. Ross, Secretary,

PHLX, and Elizabeth Prout Lefler, SEC, on June 26,

1996.

4The Commission notes that, according to the

PHLX, the New York Stock Exchange will conduct

its normal after-hours session between 1:00 and

1:30 P.M. Id.

arrangement with WCDTC thus allowing

WCDTC to continue to settle without

any disruption securities transactions

between U.S. broker-dealers and

Canadian broker-dealers.

The Commission is granting

temporary approval of the proposed rule

change through December 31, 1996, so

that Philadep and the Commission can

continue to monitor and analyze the

development of WCDTC as a

correspondent depository before

granting permanent approval. During

this period, the Commission will

continue to monitor and correspondent

depository arrangement between

Philadep and WCDTC to ensure that

proper risk management procedures are

in place. Furthermore, Philadep will

continue to be required to file monthly

reports analyzing activity in WCDTC’s

omnibus account and subaccounts. For

these reasons, the Commission is

temporarily approving the proposed

rule change through December 31, 1996.

The staff of the Board of Governors of

the Federal Reserve System have

concurred with the Commission’s

granting of accelerated approval.4

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

Room, 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 Philadep. All submissions

should refer to the file number SR–

Philadep–96–09 and should be

submitted by July 26, 1996.

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to

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

proposed rule change (File No. SR–

Philadep–96–09) be, and hereby is,

approved through December 31, 1996.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.5

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–17148 Filed 7–3–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[Release No. 34–37378; File No. SR–PHLX–

96–24]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing and Order Granting

Accelerated Approval of Proposed

Rule Change by the Philadelphia Stock

Exchange, Inc. To Amend Its Holiday

Schedule Respecting the Early Closure

of Its Equity Trading Floor at 1:15 p.m.,

Equity and Index Options Trading

Floor at 1:10 and 1:15 p.m.

Respectively, and its Currency Options

at 1:00 p.m. on Friday July 5, 1996

June 27, 1996.

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 June 24,

1996, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange,

Inc. (‘‘PHLX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with

the Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)

the proposed rule change as described

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

have been prepared by the selfregulatory organization. The

Commission is approving this proposal

on an accelerated basis.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Change

The PHLX, pursuant to Rule 19b–4 of

the Act, proposes to amend its holiday

schedule respecting the early closure of

the PHLX equity trading floor at 1:15

p.m.,3 equity and index options trading

floor at 1:10 and 1:15 p.m. respectively,

and PHLX currency options at 1:00 p.m.

on Friday July 5, 1996.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement Regarding the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission, the

self-regulatory organization 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 III below.

The self-regulatory organization 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

1. Purpose

The PHLX, under its previously

adopted holiday schedule, had planned

to be open for a full day of trading on

Friday, July 5, 1996. However, the

registered national securities exchanges

are planning an early closure of equity

trading at 1:00 P.M.4 on Friday, July 5,

1996, in part due to fact that the

exchanges do not anticipate that there

will be significant trading volume on

the day after the Fourth of July,

Independence Day, our national

holiday. Therefore, the PHLX proposes

the early closure of its equity trading

floor at 1:15, the equity and index

options trading floor at 1:10 P.M. and

1:15 P.M. respectively, and PHLX

currency options at 1:00 P.M. on Friday,

July 5, 1996.

The PHLX requests accelerated

effectiveness of this proposed rule

change pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) in

order to provide member firms and

customers with sufficient notice and

lead time to prepare for closing on July

5, 1996.

2. Statutory Basis

The basis under the Act for the

proposed rule change is the requirement

under Section 6(b)(5) that an exchange

have rules that are designed 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 securities, to

remove impediments to protect and

perfect the mechanism of a free and

open market and a national market

system, and in general, to protect

investors and the public interest.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The PHLX does not believe that the

proposed rule change will impose any

inappropriate burden on competition.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Notices 35295

5 15 U.S.C. § 78s(b)(2) (1988).

6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12) (1995).

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received from

Members, Participants or Others

No written comments were either

solicited or received.

III. 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, 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

Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,

Washington, DC 20549. Copies of such

filing will also be available for

inspection and copying at the principal

office of the PHLX. All submissions

should refer to File No. SR–PHLX–96–

24 and should be submitted by July 26,

1996.

IV. Commission’s Findings and Order

Granting Accelerated Approval of

Proposed Rule Change

The Commission finds that the

PHLX’s proposal to amend its holiday

schedule respecting the early closure of

the PHLX equity trading floor at 1:15

P.M., equity and index options trading

floor at 1:10 and 1:15 P.M. respectively,

and PHLX currency options at 1:00 P.M.

on Friday, July 5, 1996, is consistent

with the requirements of the Act and the

rules and regulations thereunder

applicable to a national securities

exchange.

The Commission believes that,

because the registered national

securities exchanges are planning an

early closure of equity trading at 1:00

P.M. on Friday, July 5, 1996, in part due

to fact that the exchanges do not

anticipate that there will be significant

trading volume on the day after the

Fourth of July, Independence Day, our

national holiday, it is appropriate to

grant the request of the PHLX to modify

its previously adopted holiday

schedule. Because the PHLX had

planned to be open for a full day of

trading on Friday, July 5, 1996,

accelerated approval will permit the

PHLX to provide member firms and

customers with sufficient notice and

lead time to prepare for closing early on

July 5, 1996.

Based on the above, the Commission

finds that there is good cause, consistent

with Section 6(b)(5) of the Act, to

accelerate approval of the amended

proposed rule change in that it will

promote just and equitable principles of

trade and remove impediments to a free

and open market by providing the

Exchange with the basis for notifying its

members and customers of the

scheduled change, thus ensuring the

protection of investors and the public.

The Commission finds good cause for

approving the proposed rule change

prior to the thirtieth day after the date

of publication of notice of filing thereof

in the Federal Register. Accelerating

approval of this proposal will provide

the Exchange with sufficient time to

notify member firms, and customers of

the schedule change and allow such

persons and entities to consider their

trading strategies in light of the

amended holiday schedule. The

Commission believes that granting

accelerated approval of the proposed

rule change is appropriate and

consistent with Sections 6(b)(5) and

19(b)(2) of the Act.

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,5 that the

proposed rule change (SR–PHLX–96–

24) is approved.

For the Commission by the Division of

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated

authority.6

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–17068 Filed 7–3–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection

Request

Normally on Fridays, the Social

Security Administration publishes a list

of information collection packages that

will require submission to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance in compliance with P.L. 104–

13 effective October 1, 1995, The

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Since

the last list was published in the

Federal Register on June 14, the

information collections listed below

have been proposed or will require

extension of the current OMB approvals.

(Call the SSA Reports Clearance Officer

on (410) 965–4125 for a copy of the

form(s) or package(s), or write to her at

the address listed below the information

collections.)

1. Application for Wife’s or Husband’s

Insurance Benefits—0960–0008. The

information collected on form SSA–2 is

needed by the Social Security

Administration to determine an

applicant’s eligibility to wife’s or

husband’s benefits. The respondents are

individuals who wish to file for those

types of benefits.

Number of Respondents: 700,000

Frequency of Response: 1

Average Burden Per Response: 10

minutes

Estimated Annual Burden: 116,667

hours

2. Statement of Marital Relationship

(By One of the Parties)—0960–0038. The

information collected on form SSA–754

is used by the Social Security

Administration to prove or disapprove

the existence of a valid common-law

marriage. The respondents are

individuals who allege a common-law

marriage to someone entitled to Social

Security benefits.

Number of Respondents: 30,000

Frequency of Response: 1

Average Burden Per Response: 30

minutes

Estimated Annual Burden: 15,000 hours

3. Worker’s Compensation/Public

Disability Benefit Questionnaire—0960–

0247. The information collected on form

SSA–546 is used by the Social Security

Administration to help determine if

receipt of a workmen’s compensation or

public disability benefit by an

individual will cause a reduction in his

or her Social Security disability

benefits. The respondents are applicants

for Social Security Title II disability

benefits.

Number of Respondents: 100,000

Frequency of Response: 1

Average Burden Per Response: 15

minutes

Estimated Annual Burden: 25,000 hours

4. Voluntary Customer Surveys In

Accordance with E.O. 12862 Within the

Social Security Administration—0960–

0526. These voluntary customer surveys

will be used to ascertain customer

satisfaction with the Social Security

Administration in terms of timeliness,

appropriateness, access, and other

measures of quality service. Surveys

will involve individuals that are the

direct or indirect beneficiaries of SSA

services. The average burden per

response for these activities is estimated

to range from 5 minutes for a simple

comment card to 2 hours for

participation in a focus group.