55582 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Notices 

9 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

10 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

11For purposes of waiving the 30-day operative 

delay, the Commission has considered the 

proposal’s impact on efficiency, competition, and 

capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 

12 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2Securities Exchange Act Release No. 58353 

(August 13, 2008), 73 FR 48423. 

3Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55258 

(February 8, 2007), 72 FR 7701 (February 16, 2007). 

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 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not: (1) Significantly affect 

the protection of investors or the public 

interest; (2) impose any significant 

burden on competition; and (3) become 

operative for 30 days from the date of 

filing, or such shorter time as the 

Commission may designate if consistent 

with the protection of investors and the 

public interest, the proposed rule 

change has become effective pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 9 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.10

At any time within 60 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. 

NYSE Arca has requested the 

Commission to waive the 30-day 

operative delay. The Commission 

hereby grants NYSE Arca’s request.11

The Commission notes that the 

Exchange is proposing that certain of its 

rules relating to membership 

requirements be temporarily suspended 

so that BCI can be provisionally 

approved as an NYSE Arca OTP Holder. 

The proposed relief does not exempt 

BCI from Exchange rule requirements 

governing member organizations. BCI 

would have a 60-day grace period 

within which to apply for and be 

approved under relevant Exchange 

rules. Moreover, the Commission 

believes that immediate effectiveness is 

appropriate to ensure a smooth 

transition of the LBI businesses to 

another entity. In particular, with 

respect to BCI, time is of the essence as 

it has been announced that BCI may 

succeed to LBI’s assets as early as 

September 19, 2008. Therefore, the 

Commission believes that waiving the 

30-day operative delay is consistent 

with the protection of investors and the 

public interest and designates the 

proposed rule change as operative upon 

filing. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number SR–NYSEArca–2008–101 on 

the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSEArca–2008–101. This 

file number should be included on the 

subject line if e-mail is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). 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 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 

3 p.m. Copies of the filing will also be 

available for inspection and copying at 

NYSE Arca’s principal office and on its 

Internet Web site at http:// 

www.nyse.com. All comments received 

will be posted without change; the 

Commission does not edit personal 

identifying information from 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR– 

NYSEArca–2008–101 and should be 

submitted on or before October 16, 

2008. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.12

Jill M. Peterson, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–22504 Filed 9–24–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–58586; File No. SR–OCC– 

2008–16] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

Options Clearing Corporation; Order 

Granting Approval of a Proposed Rule 

Change Relating to the Cash Dividend 

Threshold 

September 18, 2008. 

I. Introduction 

On July 24, 2008, The Options 

Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) proposed 

rule change SR–OCC–2008–16 pursuant 

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

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’).1 Notice 

of the proposal was published in the 

Federal Register on August 19, 2008.2

No comment letters were received. For 

the reasons discussed below, the 

Commission is approving the proposed 

rule change. 

II. Description 

The purpose of the proposed rule 

change is to mitigate inconsistencies 

that may result under the current policy 

for adjusting stock option contracts. In 

February 2007, the Commission 

approved rule change SR–OCC–2006– 

01, which amended Section 11A of 

Article VI of the OCC By-Laws 

governing adjustments to options as a 

result of cash dividends or 

distributions.3 Under the new 

adjustment policy, cash dividends paid 

by a company other than pursuant to a 

policy or practice of paying dividends 

on a quarterly or other regular basis 

would be deemed ‘‘special’’ and would 

normally trigger a contract adjustment 

provided the value of the adjustment is 

at least $12.50 per option contract. This 

new adjustment policy will become 

effective for cash dividends announced 

on or after February 1, 2009. 

However, certain inconsistencies may 

result when the threshold of ‘‘$12.50 per 

option contract’’ is applied to all 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Notices 55583 

options on the affected underlying 

security. For example, if a $.10 special 

cash dividend is declared, the standardsize 100 share option would not be 

adjusted (because the value is less than 

$12.50). However, a previously adjusted 

150 share option (reflecting a 3 for 2 

split) would be adjusted (because the 

value is $15 per contract). Adjusting 

some but not all options of the same 

class in response to the same dividend 

event, especially if the 100 share option 

is not adjusted, could be confusing to 

investors. OCC’s Securities Committee 

(consisting of representatives of each of 

the options exchanges and OCC) 

determined that this potential confusion 

should be avoided. 

OCC considered modifying the 

threshold to specify $.125 per share 

instead of $12.50 per contract. This 

approach would address all standardsize (100 share) contracts that currently 

exist plus adjusted contracts that come 

into existence in response to splits, etc. 

However, exchanges have proposed to 

introduce ‘‘maxi’’ size contracts. 

Applying the same per share threshold 

to a 1,000 and 100 share option could 

sometimes result in significant value 

being left on the table in the case of the 

1,000 share option. Taking the same 

example of a $.10 per share special 

dividend, neither option would be 

adjusted if the threshold were $.125 per 

share. This would result in a loss of 

only $10 per contract for the 100 share 

option, but the loss would be $100 per 

contract for the 1,000 share option. For 

this reason, a per share threshold is not 

being proposed. 

Greater consistency across contracts 

of varying sizes can be achieved by 

retaining the $12.50 per contract 

threshold in all cases but adding a 

qualification specifying that if a 

corresponding standard-size contract 

exists on the underlying security, 

previously adjusted contracts will be 

adjusted only if the corresponding 

standard-size contract is also adjusted. 

For example, if a 100 share option and 

a 150 share option (previously adjusted 

for a 3 for 2 split) exist, the 150 share 

option would be adjusted for a special 

cash dividend only if the 100 share 

standard option would also be adjusted 

for that dividend. Stated differently, 

OCC will refer back to the 

preadjustment standard-size option (if 

any exist) in deciding whether or not to 

adjust a previously adjusted option. 

Thus a 150 share option that was 

derived from a 100 share option as a 

result of a 3 for 2 split will be referred 

back to the 100 share option. A 1,500 

share option (previously adjusted for a 

3 for 2 split) will be referred back to the 

1,000 share option (the ‘‘standard’’ size 

option for a ‘‘maxi’’ contract). Thus, the 

qualification specifies ‘‘only if the 

corresponding standard-size option 

contract is also adjusted.’’ 

This qualification achieves greater 

consistency because in most cases all 

contracts on the same underlying 

security would be adjusted if the 100 

share contract is adjusted. The 

qualification also would allow a 1,000 

share ‘‘standard’’ contract to be adjusted 

independently of a 100 share contract. 

Also, it could happen that an adjusted 

contract exists but not the 

corresponding standard contract, or a 

contract calling for delivery of fewer 

than 100 shares may exist (e.g., as a 

result of a spinoff adjustment). In these 

cases, the qualification would be 

inapplicable and a straightforward 

application of the $12.50 threshold 

would determine whether an 

adjustment would be made. The 

following are examples of the 

qualification to the $12.50 per contract 

threshold. 

(A) If a corresponding standard size 

contract exists: 

Shares Contract $.09 dividend 

($value) Adjust? $.13 dividend ($value) Adjust? 

100 ............................................................................................ Standard ...... 9.00 NO ................ 13.00 YES. 

133 ............................................................................................ 4/3 split ........ 11.97 NO ................ 17.29 YES. 

150 ............................................................................................ 3/2 split ........ 13.50 NO ................ 19.50 YES. 

10 .............................................................................................. Spinoff .......... 0.90 NO ................ 1.30 NO. 

177 ............................................................................................ Merger .......... 15.93 NO ................ 23.01 YES. 

1000 .......................................................................................... Standard ...... 90.00 YES .............. 130.00 YES. 

1500 .......................................................................................... 3/2 split ........ 135.00 YES .............. 195 YES. 

Shares Contract $.02 dividend 

($value) Adjust? $.01 dividend ($value) Adjust? 

100 ............................................................................................ Standard ...... 2.00 NO ................ 1.00 NO. 

133 ............................................................................................ 4/3 split ........ 2.66 NO ................ 1.33 NO. 

150 ............................................................................................ 3/2 split ........ 3.00 NO ................ 1.50 NO. 

10 .............................................................................................. Spinoff .......... 0.20 NO ................ 0.10 NO. 

177 ............................................................................................ Merger .......... 3.54 NO ................ 1.77 NO. 

1000 .......................................................................................... Standard ...... 20.00 YES .............. 10.00 NO. 

1500 .......................................................................................... 3/2 split ........ 30.00 YES .............. 15.00 NO. 

(B) If the 100 share standard size 

contract does not exist: 

Shares Option $.09 dividend 

($value) Adjust? $.13 dividend ($value) Adjust? 

133 ............................................................................................ 4/3 split ........ 11.97 NO ................ 17.29 YES. 

150 ............................................................................................ 3/2 split ........ 13.50 YES .............. 19.50 YES. 

10 .............................................................................................. Spinoff .......... 0.90 NO ................ 1.30 NO. 

177 ............................................................................................ Merger .......... 15.93 YES .............. 23.01 YES. 

1000 .......................................................................................... Standard ...... 90.00 YES .............. 130.00 YES. 

1500 .......................................................................................... 3/2 split ........ 135.00 YES .............. 195 YES. 

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55584 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 187 / Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Notices 

4 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

5 In approving the proposed rule change, the 

Commission considered the proposal’s impact on 

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15 

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

6 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

The new adjustment policy approved 

in File No. SR–OCC–2006–01 will take 

effect beginning with dividends 

announced on and after February 1, 

2009. OCC intends this proposed rule 

change to take effect at the same time, 

but these changes will not be 

implemented until the exchanges have 

conducted appropriate educational 

efforts and definitive copies of an 

appropriate supplement to the options 

disclosure document, Characteristics 

and Risks of Standardized Options, are 

available for distribution. 

III. Discussion 

Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act 

requires, among other things, that the 

rules of a clearing agency be designed to 

promote the prompt and accurate 

clearance and settlement of securities 

transactions.4 The Commission finds the 

proposed rule change to be consistent 

with this requirement because it should 

reduce inconsistencies in the 

adjustment of stock option contracts. As 

a result, OCC’s proposed rule change 

should promote the prompt and 

accurate clearance and settlement of 

securities transactions. 

IV. Conclusion 

On the basis of the foregoing, the 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

requirements of the Act and in 

particular Section 17A of the Act and 

the rules and regulations thereunder. 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

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

proposed rule change (File No. SR– 

OCC–2008–16) be and hereby is 

approved.5

For the Commission by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.6

J. Lynn Talyor, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–22488 Filed 9–24–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

[Disaster Declaration #11434] 

Maine Disaster #ME–00014 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This is a Notice of the 

Presidential declaration of a major 

disaster for Public Assistance Only for 

the State of Maine ( FEMA–1788–DR), 

dated 09/09/2008. 

Incident: Severe Storms, Flooding, 

and Tornadoes. 

Incident Period: 07/18/2008 through 

08/16/2008. 

DATES: Effective Date: 09/09/2008. 

Physical Loan Application Deadline 

Date: 11/10/2008. 

Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan 

Application Deadline Date: 06/10/2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan 

applications to: U.S. Small Business 

Administration, Processing and 

Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport 

Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. 

Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance, 

U.S. Small Business Administration, 

409 3rd Street, SW., Suite 6050, 

Washington, DC 20416. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that as a result of the 

President’s major disaster declaration on 

09/09/2008, Private Non-Profit 

organizations that provide essential 

services of governmental nature may file 

disaster loan applications at the address 

listed above or other locally announced 

locations. 

The following areas have been 

determined to be adversely affected by 

the disaster: 

Primary Counties: Androscoggin, 

Cumberland, York. 

Contiguous Counties (Economic Injury 

Loans Only): 

Maine: Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, 

Sagadahoc. 

New Hampshire: Carroll, Strafford. 

The Interest Rates are: 

Percent 

Other (Including Non-Profit Organizations) with Credit Available 

Elsewhere ................................... 5.250 

Businesses and Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available 

Elsewhere ................................... 4.000 

The number assigned to this disaster 

for physical damage and for economic 

injury is 11434. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Numbers 59002 and 59008) 

James E. Rivera, 

Acting Associate Administrator for Disaster 

Assistance. 

[FR Doc. E8–22520 Filed 9–24–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Request 

The Social Security Administration 

(SSA) publishes a list of information 

collection packages requiring clearance 

by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) in compliance with 

Public Law (Pub. L.) 104–13, the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

effective October 1, 1995. This notice 

includes a revision to an OMB-approved 

information collection. 

SSA is soliciting comments on the 

accuracy of the agency’s burden 

estimate; the need for the information; 

its practical utility; ways to enhance its 

quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to 

minimize the burden on respondents, 

including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. Mail, e-mail, or 

fax your comments and 

recommendations on the information 

collection(s) to the OMB Desk Officer 

and the SSA Reports Clearance Officer 

to the addresses or fax numbers listed 

below. 

(OMB), Office of Management and 

Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 

Fax: 202–395–6974, E-mail address: 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov . 

(SSA), Social Security Administration, 

DCBFM, Attn: Reports Clearance 

Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 

Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, 

Fax: 410–965–6400, E-mail address: 

OPLM.RCO@ssa.gov. 

The information collection below is 

pending at SSA. SSA will submit it to 

OMB within 60 days from the date of 

this notice. Therefore, your comments 

would be most helpful if you submit 

them to SSA within 60 days from the 

date of this publication. Individuals can 

obtain copies of the collection 

instrument by calling the SSA Reports 

Clearance Officer at 410–965–0454 or by 

writing to the e-mail address listed 

above. 

1. Accelerated Benefits Demonstration 

Project—0960–0747 

Background 

In early 2007, SSA obtained OMB 

approval for the Accelerated Benefits 

Demonstration Project. This multi-phase 

study, conducted by SSA’s research 

contractors and health care experts, will 

assess if providing new Social Security 

Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients 

with health care and other benefits 

would stabilize or improve their health 

and help them return to work early. In 

this long-term study, SSA’s contractor 

divided new SSDI recipients into three 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES