2462 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2015 / Notices 

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

16 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

confusion as to the applicability of this 

fee. 

The proposal provides for the 

equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 

fees and other charges among members 

and issuers and other persons using any 

facility or system which the Exchange 

operates or controls, and is consistent 

with the Act. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will result in 

any burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act, as amended. 

The proposed fees are applied 

uniformly among extranet providers, 

which are not compelled to establish a 

connection with the Exchange to offer 

access connectivity to market data feeds. 

For these reasons, any burden arising 

from the fees is necessary in the interest 

of promoting the equitable allocation of 

a reasonable fee. Additionally, firms 

make decisions on how much and what 

types of data to consume on the basis of 

the total cost of interacting with the 

Exchange or other exchanges and, of 

course, the Extranet Access Fee is but 

one factor in a total platform analysis. 

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. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of 

the Act,15 the Exchange has designated 

this proposal as establishing or changing 

a due, fee, or other charge imposed by 

the self-regulatory organization on any 

person, whether or not the person is a 

member of the self-regulatory 

organization, which renders the 

proposed rule change effective upon 

filing. 

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend 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. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or disapproved. 

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 email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

NASDAQ–2015–003 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–NASDAQ–2015–003. This 

file number should be included on the 

subject line if email 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 Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549 on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

offices of the Exchange. 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– 

NASDAQ–2015–003, and should be 

submitted on or before February 6, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.16

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00625 Filed 1–15–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74031; File No. SR–NYSE– 

2014–78] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; New 

York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change Amending Its 

Price List Relating to Fees for Bond 

Trading License Firms 

January 12, 2015. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3

notice is hereby given that on December 

29, 2014, New York Stock Exchange 

LLC (‘‘NYSE’’ 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 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 Exchange proposes to amend its 

Price List, effective January 1, 2015, to 

(i) waive new firm application fees for 

applicants seeking only to obtain a bond 

trading license (‘‘BTL’’) for 2015 and 

2016; (ii) establish a separate Regulatory 

Fee for member organizations that solely 

operate under a BTL; and (iii) waive the 

BTL fee for 2015 and 2016. The text of 

the proposed rule change is available on 

the Exchange’s Web site at 

www.nyse.com, at the principal office of 

the Exchange, and at the Commission’s 

Public Reference Room. 

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 

self-regulatory organization included 

statements concerning the purpose of, 

and basis for, the proposed rule change 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2015 / Notices 2463 

4The current Regulatory Fee is $0.12 per $1,000 

in Gross FOCUS revenue, subject to annual 

minimums for certain classes of member 

organizations. The Exchange proposes a nonsubstantive change to the Fee Schedule to delete the 

Regulatory Fee that was in effect before April 1, 

2013. 

5 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4), (5). 

and discussed any comments it received 

on the proposed rule change. The text 

of those statements may be examined at 

the places specified in Item IV below. 

The Exchange has prepared summaries, 

set forth in sections A, B, and C below, 

of the most significant parts of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend its 

Price List, effective January 1, 2015, to 

(i) waive new firm application fees for 

applicants seeking only to obtain a BTL 

for 2015 and 2016; (ii) establish a 

separate Regulatory Fee for member 

organizations that solely operate under 

a BTL; and (iii) waive the BTL fee for 

2015 and 2016. 

The Exchange proposes to waive the 

New Firm Fee for 2015 and 2016 for 

new member organization applicants 

that are seeking only to obtain a BTL 

and not trade equities at the Exchange. 

The Exchange currently charges a New 

Firm Fee ranging from $2,500 to 

$20,000, depending on the type of firm, 

that is charged per application for any 

broker-dealer that applies to be 

approved as an Exchange member 

organization. The proposed waiver of 

the New Firm Fee would be available 

only to applicants seeking approval as a 

new member organization, including 

carrying firms, introducing firms, or 

non-public organizations, that would be 

seeking to obtain a BTL at the Exchange 

and not trade equities. As further 

proposed, if new firm that is approved 

as a member organization and has had 

the New Firm Fee waived converts a 

BTL to a full trading license within one 

year of approval, the New Firm Fee 

would be charged retroactively. The 

Exchange believes that charging the 

New Firm Fee retroactively within a 

year of approval is appropriate because 

it would discourage applicants to claim 

that they are applying for a BTL solely 

to avoid New Firm Fees. 

The Exchange also proposes to 

establish a separate Regulatory Fee for 

member organizations that operate 

solely under a BTL. Currently, all 

member organizations are subject to a 

monthly gross FOCUS revenue fee, 

which is calculated based on a firm’s 

gross FOCUS revenues. This fee is 

intended to cover the Exchange’s costs 

to regulate its members.4 Because 

member organizations with a BTL are 

only eligible to trade on the Exchange’s 

bond platform, the Exchange does not 

believe that the regulatory costs 

associated with this membership are as 

high as they are for member 

organizations that trade equities at the 

Exchange. Moreover, the Exchange 

notes that Exchange member 

organizations that do business with the 

public, including trading bonds, must 

be members of the Financial Industry 

Regulatory Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) 

and therefore are separately subject to 

regulation by FINRA. To more closely 

align the regulatory fee for BTLs with 

the Exchange’s associated regulatory 

cost, the Exchange proposes to set an 

annual regulatory fee for member 

organizations that solely operate under 

a BTL of $500.00. 

The Exchange currently charges a BTL 

fee of $1,000 per year. The Exchange 

proposes to amend the Price List to 

waive the BTL fee for 2015 and 2016. 

The Exchange also proposes a nonsubstantive change to the Price List to 

specify that the BTL fee is an annual fee. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed fee changes would provide 

increased incentives for bond trading 

firms that are not currently Exchange 

member organizations to apply for 

Exchange membership and a BTL. The 

Exchange believes that having more 

member organizations trading on the 

Exchange’s bond platform would benefit 

investors through the additional display 

of liquidity and increased execution 

opportunities in Exchange-traded bonds 

at the Exchange. 

The proposed change is not otherwise 

intended to address any other issues, 

and the Exchange is not aware of any 

problems that members and member 

organizations would have in complying 

with the proposed change. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

Section 6(b) of the Act,5 in general, and 

furthers the objectives of Sections 

6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,6 in 

particular, because it provides for the 

equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 

fees, and other charges among its 

members, issuers and other persons 

using its facilities and does not unfairly 

discriminate between customers, 

issuers, brokers or dealers. 

The Exchange believes that it is 

reasonable to waive the New Firm Fee 

and the annual BTL fee for 2015 and 

2016 to provide an incentive for bond 

trading firms to apply for Exchange 

membership and a BTL. The Exchange 

believes that providing an incentive for 

bond trading firms that are not currently 

Exchange member organizations to 

apply for membership and a BTL would 

encourage market participants to 

become members of the Exchange and 

bring additional liquidity to the only 

transparent bond market. The proposed 

waiver of the New Firm Fee and BTL fee 

is equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because it would be 

offered to all market participants that 

wish to trade at the Exchange the 

narrower class of debt securities only. 

To the extent the existing New Firm 

Fees or the BTL fee serves as a 

disincentive for bond trading firms to 

become Exchange member 

organizations, the Exchange believes 

that the proposed fee change could 

provide an incentive for additional 

bonds trading firms to apply for 

Exchange membership, and therefore is 

not unfairly discriminatory. The 

Exchange believes creating incentives 

for bond trading firms to trade bonds on 

the Exchange protects investors and the 

public interest by increasing the 

competition and liquidity on the only 

transparent market for bond trading. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed Regulatory Fee for member 

organizations that operate solely under 

a BTL is reasonable because the 

proposed change would more closely 

align the regulatory costs associated 

with member organizations that only 

trade bonds on the Exchange with the 

fee charged to such member 

organizations. In addition, the Exchange 

believes that the proposed Regulatory 

Fee for BTLs is reasonable because it is 

expected to generate revenues that will 

be less than or equal to the Exchange’s 

regulatory costs with respect to 

regulating member organizations that 

solely trade bonds at the Exchange. The 

Exchange believes that this is consistent 

with the Commission’s previously 

stated view that regulatory fees be used 

for regulatory purposes and not to 

support the Exchange’s business side. 

The Exchange further believes that the 

proposed Regulatory Fee for member 

organizations that operate solely under 

a BTL is equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because it would be 

applied equally to all market 

participants that wish to trade at the 

Exchange the narrower class of debt 

securities only. In particular, the 

Exchange does not believe that it is 

unfairly discriminatory to charge 

member organizations that only trade 

bonds a different Regulatory Fee than 


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2464 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2015 / Notices 

7See SEC Report on the Municipal Securities 

Market, July 2012. http://www.sec.gov/news/

studies/2012/munireport073112.pdf; ‘‘SEC’s 

Gallagher Says Retail Bond Investors Fighting 

‘Headwinds’ ’’, Jesse Hamilton, Bloomberg News. 

Sep. 20, 2012. See http://www.bloomberg.com/

news/2012-09-19/sec-s-gallagher-says-retail-bondinvestors-fighting-headwinds-.html. 

8See Opening remarks of Chairman Mary Jo 

White at SEC Roundtable on Fixed Income Markets. 

http://www.sec.gov/News/Speech/Detail/Speech/

1365171515300. 9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8). 

10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

11 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

12 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 

what is charged to member 

organizations that trade equities at the 

Exchange because of the relatively low 

volume of trading on the bonds platform 

as compared to the volume of trading on 

the Exchange’s equities platform. The 

Exchange believes that the current 

Regulatory Fee for member 

organizations serves as a disincentive 

for broker-dealers that trade bonds, but 

do not trade equities at the Exchange, to 

become Exchange member organizations 

for purposes of trading bonds. The 

Exchange further notes that if a member 

organization that only has a BTL at the 

Exchange is conducting business with 

the public, that member organization 

must be a member of FINRA and 

therefore is separately subject to 

regulation by FINRA. 

Finally, recognizing the statements of 

Commissioners who have expressed 

concern about the state of the U.S. 

corporate and municipal bond markets 

as well as recommendations outlined in 

the Commission’s release of its Report 

on the Municipal Securities Market 

(Report), the Exchange believes that 

expanding the number of member 

organizations eligible to trade bonds at 

the Exchange would be an important 

element in the democratization of the 

fixed income market.7 As highlighted in 

SEC Chair White’s statement during the 

SEC’s 2013 Roundtable on Fixed Income 

Markets, the Report makes 

recommendations that include (1) 

improving pre- and post-trade 

transparency; (2) promoting the use of 

transparent and open trading venues, 

and (3) requiring dealers to seek ‘‘best 

execution’’ for customers and to provide 

customers with relevant pricing 

information in connection with their 

transactions.8 Achieving these 

recommendations and applying them to 

both the municipal and corporate bond 

markets would, in the Exchange’s view, 

assist in lowering the systemic risk that 

is anticipated to increase as interest 

rates rise and the closed network of 

bond trading comes under pressure as 

retirement and pension managers seek 

to adjust their positions. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of 

the Act,9 the Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change would not impose 

any burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. Debt 

securities typically trade in a 

decentralized over-the-counter (‘‘OTC’’) 

dealer market that is less liquid and 

transparent than the equities markets. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed change would increase 

competition with these OTC venues by 

reducing the cost of being approved as 

and operating as an Exchange member 

organization that solely trades bonds at 

the Exchange, which the Exchange 

believes will enhance market quality 

through the additional display of 

liquidity and increased execution 

opportunities in Exchange-traded bonds 

at the Exchange. 

The Exchange notes that it operates in 

a highly competitive market in which 

market participants can readily favor 

competing venues that are not 

transparent. In such an environment, 

the Exchange must continually review, 

and consider adjusting its fees and 

rebates to remain competitive with other 

exchanges as well as with alternative 

trading systems and other venues that 

are not required to comply with the 

statutory standards applicable to 

exchanges. Because competitors are free 

to modify their own fees and credits in 

response, and because market 

participants may readily adjust their 

order routing practices, the Exchange 

believes that the degree to which fee 

changes in this market may impose any 

burden on competition is extremely 

limited. As a result of all of these 

considerations, the Exchange does not 

believe that the proposed change will 

impair the ability of member 

organizations or competing order 

execution venues to maintain their 

competitive standing in the financial 

markets. 

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 

The foregoing rule change is effective 

upon filing pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) 10 of the Act and 

subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b–4 11

thereunder, because it establishes a due, 

fee, or other charge imposed by the 

Exchange. 

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of such proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend 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. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

under Section 19(b)(2)(B) 12 of the Act to 

determine whether the proposed rule 

change should be approved or 

disapproved. 

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 email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

NYSE–2014–78 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–NYSE–2014–78. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email 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 Web site viewing and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2015 / Notices 2465 

13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 15 U.S.C. 78q(f)(2). 

4 15 U.S.C. 78q(f)(2). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72600 

(July 11, 2014) 79 FR 41717 (July 17, 2014) (SR– 

MIAX–2014–38). 

6 15 U.S.C. 78q(f)(2). 

7 15 U.S.C. 78q(f)(2). 

8See Rule 807(a). 

9See 15 U.S.C. 78q(f)(2). 

10 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

11 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Section, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing will also be available for Web site 

viewing and printing at the NYSE’s 

principal office and on its Internet Web 

site at 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–NYSE– 

2014–78 and should be submitted on or 

before February 6, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.13

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00575 Filed 1–15–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–74034; File No. SR–MIAX– 

2014–71] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations: The 

Miami International Securities 

Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Exchange 

Rule 807 

January 12, 2015. 

Pursuant to the provisions of 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 December 30, 2014, Miami 

International Securities Exchange LLC 

(‘‘MIAX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change 

as described in Items I, II, and III below, 

which Items have been prepared by the 

Exchange. 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 Exchange is filing a proposal to 

amend Rule 807 to correspond with 

Section 17(f)(2) of the Act.3

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s Web site 

at http://www.miaxoptions.com/filter/

wotitle/rule_filing, at MIAX’s principal 

office, and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

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 

Exchange 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 

Exchange 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 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Rule 807 (Fingerprint-Based 

Background Checks of Exchange 

Employees and Independent 

Contractors) in order to mirror the 

language of Section 17(f)(2) of the Act.4

Section 17(f)(2) of the Act explicitly 

directs the Attorney General of the 

United States (i.e., the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation) to provide SROs 

designated by the Commission with 

access to criminal history record 

information. Access to the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation’s (‘‘FBI’’) (the 

fingerprint processing arm of the Office 

of the Attorney General of the United 

States) database of fingerprint-based 

records is permitted only when 

authorized by law. The Exchange 

recently changed its procedure with 

regard to Rule 807, replacing manual 

fingerprinting via fingerprinting cards 

with a Live-Scan electronic 

fingerprinting system.5 As part of this 

transition and at the specific request of 

the FBI, the Exchange now seeks to 

amend the language of Rule 807 to 

mirror Section 17(f)(2) of the Act.6

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Rule 807 to apply to all partners, 

directors, officers, and employees of the 

Exchange in order to more closely align 

with the requirements for national 

securities exchanges as provided in 

Section 17(f)(2) of the Act.7 Currently, 

Rule 807(a) applies to (1) all prospective 

and current Exchange employees, (2) all 

prospective and current independent 

contractors who have or are anticipated 

to have access to the facilities of the 

Exchange for ten (10) business days or 

longer, and (3) all prospective and 

current temporary employees who have 

or are anticipated to have access to 

facilities of the Exchange for ten (10) 

business days or longer.8 Section 

17(f)(2) of the Act does not specifically 

apply to independent contractors nor 

temporary employees, but instead 

references ‘‘partners, directors, officers, 

and employees’’ of the Exchange. Thus, 

the Exchange proposes to amend Rule 

807 to delete references to independent 

contractors and temporary employees in 

order to mirror the requirements of 

Section 17(f)(2) of the Act.9 In addition, 

in order to enhance the physical 

security of the facilities, systems, data, 

and information of the Exchange, it 

shall be the policy of the Exchange, 

outside of Rule 807, to conduct a nonfingerprint-based background check of 

all prospective and current independent 

contractors and all prospective and 

current temporary employees who have 

or are anticipated to have access to the 

facilities of the Exchange for ten (10) 

business days or longer. The Exchange 

further proposes related technical 

changes to Rule 807(c) and 807(d). 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) 10 and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to the Exchange 

and, in particular, the requirements of 

Section 6(b) of the Act. Specifically, the 

Exchange believes the proposed change 

to Rule 807 is consistent with the 

Section 6(b)(5) 11 requirements that the 

rules of an exchange be designed to 

prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, to promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, to remove 

impediments to 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. 

In particular, the Exchange believes 

the proposed change to Rule 807 is 

consistent with the foregoing 

requirements of Section 6(b)(5) in that it 

will allow MIAX to remain compliant 

with applicable federal law— 

specifically, Section 17(f)(2) of the 


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