Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 23761 

22 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The Agreement includes and incorporates an 

exhibit designated as the By-Laws of the NASDAQ 

Exchange (the ‘‘By-Laws’’). Under applicable 

Delaware law, the By-Laws are considered part of 

the Agreement. 

4Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55293 

(February 14, 2007), 72 FR 8033 (February 22, 2007) 

(SR–NYSE–2006–120). 

5NYSE Group, Inc., the former public holding 

company of NYSE Euronext’s U.S. exchanges. 6New York Stock Exchange LLC (‘‘NYSE’’), a 

registered national securities exchange. 7NYSE Market, Inc., a subsidiary of NYSE to 

which it has delegated certain operational 

authority. 8NYSE Regulation, Inc., a subsidiary of NYSE to 

which it has delegated certain operational 

authority. 

9Archipelago Holdings, Inc., formerly the public 

holding company of the entities now known as 

NYSE Arca, Inc. and NYSE Arca Equities, Inc. 

10NYSE Arca, Inc., a registered national securities 

exchange. 

11NYSE Arca Equities, Inc., a subsidiary of NYSE 

Arca to which it has delegated certain operational 

authority. 

12 15 U.S.C. 78j–1(m). 

23), as modified by Amendment Nos. 1 

and 2, be, and it hereby is, approved. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.22

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–11739 Filed 5–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–59907 File No. SR– 

NASDAQ–2009–042] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; The 

NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of 

Filing of Proposed Rule Change To 

Amend Its Limited Liability Agreement 

May 12, 2009. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’ 

or ‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that, 

on April 29, 2009, The NASDAQ Stock 

Market LLC (‘‘NASDAQ Exchange’’ or 

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) the 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 NASDAQ Exchange is filing this 

proposed rule change with regard to 

proposed changes to its Limited 

Liability Company Agreement (the 

‘‘Agreement’’).3 The proposed rule 

change will be implemented as soon as 

practicable following approval by the 

Commission. The text of the proposed 

rule change is available at http:// 

www.cchwallstreet.com/nasdaq, at the 

NASDAQ Exchange’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 

NASDAQ 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 those 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

NASDAQ 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 the 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

On July 24, 2008, NASDAQ OMX 

acquired the Philadelphia Stock 

Exchange, Inc. (renamed NASDAQ 

OMX PHLX, Inc. (‘‘PHLX’’)), and on 

August 29, 2008, NASDAQ OMX 

acquired the Boston Stock Exchange, 

Incorporated (renamed NASDAQ OMX 

BX, Inc. (‘‘BX’’)). Following those 

acquisitions, the NASDAQ Exchange, 

PHLX, and BX have been evaluating 

means to realize synergies in the 

operations of these three exchanges 

while maintaining the separate identity 

and member representation structures of 

each. 

In making this evaluation, the 

NASDAQ Exchange and its sister 

exchanges have given consideration to 

the experiences of their respective 

boards and have reviewed the 

governance documents of other 

exchanges. In particular, the NASDAQ 

Exchange and the other exchanges have 

reviewed the board structures 

established by NYSE Euronext and its 

exchange subsidiaries. In Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 55293,4 the 

Commission approved a structure in 

which certain committees of the board 

of directors of NYSE Euronext, the 

public holding company, perform 

functions for exchange subsidiaries, 

which do not themselves have these 

committees. Specifically, the 

Commission’s approval order states that 

‘‘the NYSE Euronext board of directors 

will have an audit committee, a human 

resource and compensation committee, 

and a nominating and governance 

committee. Each of the audit committee, 

human resource and compensation 

committee, and nominating and 

governance committee of the NYSE 

Euronext board of directors will consist 

solely of directors meeting the 

independence requirements of NYSE 

Euronext. These committees also will 

perform relevant functions for NYSE 

Group,5 the Exchange,6 NYSE Market,7

NYSE Regulation,8 Archipelago,9 NYSE 

Arca,10 and NYSE Arca Equities,11 as 

well as other subsidiaries of NYSE 

Euronext, except that the board of 

directors of NYSE Regulation will 

continue to have its own compensation 

committee and nominating and 

governance committee.’’ 

The NASDAQ Exchange and the other 

exchanges owned by NASDAQ OMX 

have also considered the experience of 

the NASDAQ Exchange in operating as 

a subsidiary of a public company since 

2006. During the period, the board of 

each of the NASDAQ Exchange and its 

parent corporation (currently NASDAQ 

OMX, and formerly The Nasdaq Stock 

Market, Inc.) has appointed its own 

audit committee and management 

compensation committee. However, 

these committees at the NASDAQ 

Exchange level have generally found 

themselves duplicating the work of 

other committees at the exchange or 

holding company level. The NASDAQ 

OMX audit committee has broad 

authority to review the financial 

information that will be provided to 

shareholders and others, systems of 

internal controls, and audit, financial 

reporting and legal and compliance 

processes. Because NASDAQ OMX’s 

financial statements are prepared on a 

consolidated basis that includes the 

financial results of NASDAQ OMX’s 

subsidiaries, including the NASDAQ 

Exchange and the other exchange 

subsidiaries, the NASDAQ OMX audit 

committee’s purview necessarily 

includes these subsidiaries. The 

committee is composed of four or five 

directors, all of whom must be 

independent under the standards 

established by Section 10A(m) of the 

Act 12 and Rule 4200(a) of the NASDAQ 

Exchange. All committee members must 

be able to read and understand financial 

statements, and at least one member 

must have past employment experience 

in finance or accounting, requisite 

professional certification in accounting, 

23762 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 

13Similarly, BX is proposing elimination of its 

audit committee (SR–BX–2009–021 (April 29, 

2009)). PHLX expects to file a similar proposed rule 

change in the near future. 

14See e-mail from John Yetter, Vice President and 

Deputy General Counsel, NASDAQ OMX Group, 

Inc., to Christopher W. Chow, Special Counsel, 

Commission, dated May 5, 2009. 

15Staff Directors are directors of the NASDAQ 

Exchange that are also serving as officers. Since the 

NASDAQ Exchange Board would not be responsible 

for setting the compensation of any Staff Directors 

who are also officers of NASDAQ OMX, they would 

be permitted to participate in discussions 

concerning compensation of NASDAQ Exchange 

employees, but would recuse themselves from a 

vote on the subject to allow the determination to be 

made by directors that are not officers or employees 

of the NASDAQ Exchange. If a Staff Director was 

not also an employee of NASDAQ OMX, that Staff 

Director would also absent himself or herself from 

any deliberations regarding his or her 

compensation. 

16The NASDAQ Exchange and FINRA are parties 

to a Regulatory Services Agreement (‘‘RSA’’) that is 

dated June 28, 2000 but that did not become 

operative until July 1, 2006, when the NASDAQ 

Exchange first began to operate as a national 

securities exchange. Under the RSA, FINRA 

provides a comprehensive dispute resolution 

program for NASDAQ members. Prior to July 1, 

2006, The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., which was 

the predecessor of the NASDAQ Exchange, operated 

a market as a facility of the National Association of 

Securities Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’), FINRA’s 

predecessor. Accordingly, neither the NASDAQ 

Exchange nor its predecessor market has ever 

operated a dispute resolution program that was not 

administered by FINRA or NASD. 

or any other comparable experience or 

background that results in the 

individual’s financial sophistication. 

By contrast, the audit committee of 

the NASDAQ Exchange has a more 

limited role, focused solely on the 

exchange entity and its subsidiaries that 

operate as facilities of the NASDAQ 

Exchange. As described in the current 

By-Laws, the primary functions of the 

audit committee are (i) oversight over 

financial reporting, (ii) oversight over 

the systems of internal controls 

established by management and the 

Board and the legal and compliance 

process, (iii) selection and evaluation of 

independent auditors, and (iv) direction 

and oversight of the internal audit 

function. However, to the extent that the 

committee reviews financial and 

accounting matters, its activities are 

duplicative of the activities of the 

NASDAQ OMX audit committee, which 

is also charged with providing oversight 

over financial reporting and 

independent auditor selection for 

NASDAQ OMX and all of its 

subsidiaries, including the NASDAQ 

Exchange, BX, and PHLX and their 

subsidiaries. Similarly, the NASDAQ 

OMX audit committee has general 

responsibility for oversight over internal 

controls and direction and oversight 

over the internal audit function for 

NASDAQ OMX and all of its 

subsidiaries. Thus, the responsibilities 

of the exchanges’ audit committees are 

fully duplicated by the responsibilities 

of the NASDAQ OMX audit committee. 

Accordingly, the NASDAQ Exchange is 

proposing to allow the elimination of its 

audit committee by amending Article 

III, Section 5 of the By-Laws.13

The NASDAQ Exchange believes, 

however, that even in light of the 

NASDAQ OMX audit committee’s 

overall responsibilities for internal 

controls and the internal audit function, 

it is nevertheless important for the 

NASDAQ Exchange Board to maintain 

its own independent oversight over the 

NASDAQ Exchange’s controls and 

internal audit matters relating to the 

NASDAQ Exchange’s operations. In this 

regard, the NASDAQ Exchange notes 

that its regulatory oversight committee 

currently has broad authority to oversee 

the adequacy and effectiveness of the 

NASDAQ Exchange’s regulatory and 

self-regulatory organization 

responsibilities, and is therefore able to 

maintain oversight over controls in 

tandem with the NASDAQ OMX audit 

committee’s overall control oversight 

responsibilities. Similarly, it is already 

the practice of NASDAQ OMX’s Internal 

Audit Department (‘‘Department’’),14

which performs internal audit functions 

for all NASDAQ OMX subsidiaries, to 

report to the NASDAQ Exchange 

regulatory oversight committee on all 

internal audit matters relating to the 

NASDAQ Exchange. This practice will 

be formally reflected in the 

Department’s written procedures. In 

addition, to ensure that the NASDAQ 

Exchange Board retains authority to 

direct the Department’s activities with 

respect to the NASDAQ Exchange, the 

Department’s written procedures will be 

amended to stipulate that the NASDAQ 

Exchange regulatory oversight 

committee may, at any time, direct the 

Department to conduct an audit of a 

matter of concern to it and report the 

results of the audit both to the NASDAQ 

Exchange regulatory oversight 

committee and the NASDAQ OMX audit 

committee. 

The NASDAQ Exchange also proposes 

to amend Section 4.13 of the By-Laws in 

order to follow the NYSE Euronext 

model with respect to allowing the 

elimination of its compensation 

committee and the performance of its 

function by the NASDAQ OMX 

compensation committee and/or 

subsidiary boards. The NASDAQ OMX 

By-Laws provide that its compensation 

committee considers and recommends 

compensation policies, programs, and 

practices for employees of NASDAQ 

OMX. Because many employees 

performing work for the NASDAQ 

Exchange are also employees of 

NASDAQ OMX, its compensation 

committee already performs these 

functions for such employees. 

Moreover, certain of its senior officers 

are also officers of NASDAQ OMX and 

other NASDAQ OMX subsidiaries 

because their responsibilities relate to 

multiple entities within the NASDAQ 

OMX corporate structure. Accordingly, 

NASDAQ OMX pays these individuals 

and establishes compensation policy for 

them. Most notably, the Chief Executive 

Officer of the NASDAQ Exchange is also 

an ‘‘executive officer’’ of NASDAQ 

OMX within the meaning of NASDAQ 

Exchange Rule 4350. Under that rule, 

the compensation of executive officers 

of an issuer of securities, such as the 

common stock of NASDAQ OMX, that 

is listed on the NASDAQ Exchange, 

must be determined by, or 

recommended to the board of directors 

for determination by, a majority of 

independent directors or a 

compensation committee comprised 

solely of independent directors. 

Accordingly, the NASDAQ OMX board 

of directors and/or its compensation 

committee is legally required to 

establish the compensation for this 

individual. 

To the extent that policies, programs, 

and practices must also be established 

for any NASDAQ Exchange officers or 

employees who are not also NASDAQ 

OMX officers or employees, the 

NASDAQ Exchange Board will perform 

such actions without the use of a 

compensation committee (but subject to 

the recusal of Staff Directors).15

Moreover, as already provided in the 

Agreement, the regulatory oversight 

committee of the BX Board must be 

informed about the compensation and 

promotion or termination of the BX 

chief regulatory officer and the reasons 

therefor, to allow it to provide oversight 

over decisions affecting this key officer. 

The NASDAQ Exchange is also 

proposing to amend Article III, Section 

6 to allow the NASDAQ Exchange Board 

to eliminate its arbitration and 

mediation committee, provided that, as 

is currently the case, the NASDAQ 

Exchange’s arbitration and mediation 

program is operated by the Financial 

Industry Regulatory Authority 

(‘‘FINRA’’) in accordance with FINRA 

rules pursuant to a regulatory services 

agreement.16 As provided in the 

Agreement, the arbitration and 

mediation committee is to advise the 

Board on the development and 

maintenance of an equitable and 

efficient system of dispute resolution 

that will equally serve the needs of 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 23763 

17Securities Exchange Act Release No. 58324 

(August 7, 2008), 73 FR 46936 (August 12, 2008) 

(SR–BSE–2008–02, –23, –25, SR–BSECC–2001–01). 

18See Preamble, Signature Page, and Schedule A 

and B of the Agreement; Article I of the By-Laws. 

19See Article I of the By-Laws. 

20See Preamble and Signature Page of the 

Agreement; Preamble of the By-Laws. 

21 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

22 15 U.S.C. 78(b)(1). 

23 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

public investors and NASDAQ 

Exchange members, to monitor rules 

and procedures governing the conduct 

of dispute resolution, and to have such 

other powers and authority as are 

necessary to effectuate the purposes of 

the NASDAQ Exchange rules. However, 

because the NASDAQ Exchange’s 

arbitration and mediation program is 

operated by FINRA in accordance with 

FINRA rules, there is no meaningful role 

for a committee to advise the Board with 

respect to the operation of the program 

or the development of rules, nor have 

the NASDAQ Exchange rules provided 

the committee with any specific 

administrative power or authority. 

Rather, any information needed by the 

Board or NASDAQ Exchange staff to 

evaluate the effectiveness of FINRA’s 

administration of the program is 

obtained through the NASDAQ 

Exchange’s oversight of FINRA’s 

performance through its authority under 

its regulatory services agreement to 

obtain reports from FINRA and to 

conduct audits. Accordingly, the 

NASDAQ Exchange has concluded that 

the committee may reasonably be 

eliminated. However, the Agreement 

will continue to provide for the 

establishment of such a committee in 

the event that the NASDAQ Exchange 

later opts to establish an arbitration or 

mediation program that is not operated 

by FINRA in accordance with FINRA 

rules. In such an event, the committee 

would play a role in advising the Board 

in the manner currently described in the 

Agreement. 

The NASDAQ Exchange is also 

proposing to make minor changes to its 

rules governing the selection of Member 

Representative Directors. Under the 

Agreement, twenty percent of the 

NASDAQ Exchange’s directors are 

selected through a process in which the 

NASDAQ Exchange member nominating 

committee nominates a slate of 

candidates but members also have the 

opportunity to nominate alternative 

candidates. If no alternative candidates 

are duly nominated by members, the 

candidates recommended by the 

member nominating committee are 

elected. Alternatively, if alternative 

candidates are nominated, there is a 

‘‘Contested Election’’ in which members 

cast ballots in order to determine who 

fills the vacancies. In connection with 

its acquisition by NASDAQ OMX, BX 

recently adopted a similar process.17

When Commission staff reviewed the 

applicable BX filing, staff required that 

BX adopt a provision providing that a 

member, either alone or together with 

its affiliates, may not cast votes 

representing more than twenty percent 

of the votes cast for a candidate, and any 

votes cast by the member, either alone 

or together with its affiliates, in excess 

of the twenty percent limit shall be 

disregarded. The NASDAQ Exchange 

proposes to amend Article II, Section 2 

of the By-Laws to adopt a similar 

limitation. Similarly, Commission staff 

suggested that BX adopt clarifications to 

the definition of ‘‘Voting Date,’’ which 

is analogous to the definition of 

‘‘Election Date’’ in the Agreement. The 

NASDAQ Exchange is now amending 

Article I of the By-Laws to provide that 

an Election Date is selected by the Board 

on an annual basis, but that members 

only cast votes on such date if there is 

a Contested Election. 

Finally, the NASDAQ Exchange is 

updating the Agreement to reflect the 

name change of The Nasdaq Stock 

Market, Inc. to The NASDAQ OMX 

Group, Inc.;18 the name change of 

National Association of Securities 

Dealers, Inc. to FINRA;19 to correct 

typographical errors in the definition of 

‘‘Industry member’’ in Article I of the 

By-Laws and in Section 6 of the 

Agreement; and to redesignate the 

Agreement as the ‘‘Second Amended 

Limited Liability Company Agreement 

of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC.’’ 20

2. Statutory Basis 

The NASDAQ Exchange believes that 

its proposal is consistent with Section 

6(b) of the Act 21 in general, and furthers 

the objectives of: (1) Section 6(b)(1) of 

the Act,22 which requires a national 

securities exchange to be so organized 

and have the capacity to carry out 

purposes of the Act and to enforce 

compliance by its members and persons 

associated with its members with the 

provisions of the Act; and (2) Section 

6(b)(5) of the Act,23 in that it is 

designed, among other things, 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. Specifically, the 

proposed rule change will allow the 

elimination of two Board committees 

whose roles are limited by the NASDAQ 

Exchange’s status as a wholly owned 

subsidiary of NASDAQ OMX, thereby 

allowing directors to focus greater 

attention on matters falling directly 

within the purview of the Board, 

including regulatory quality, market 

structure, new product initiatives, and 

review of proposed rule changes. The 

filing also allows the elimination of the 

NASDAQ Exchange arbitration and 

mediation committee, whose role is 

considerably limited by the NASDAQ 

Exchange’s use of FINRA to manage its 

arbitration and mediation program. The 

filing also adopts improvements to the 

process for selection of Member 

Representative Directors, to limit the 

influence of a group of affiliated 

members over an election. Finally, the 

filing adopts clarifications, updates 

terminology, and corrects typographical 

errors in several provisions of the 

Agreement. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The NASDAQ 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. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on 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 

Within 35 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period (i) 

as the Commission may designate up to 

90 days of such date if it finds such 

longer period to be appropriate and 

publishes its reasons for so finding or 

(ii) as to which the self-regulatory 

organization consents, the Commission 

will: 

(A) By order approve the proposed 

rule change, or 

(B) Institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule change 

should be 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: 

23764 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 

24 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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–NASDAQ–2009–042 on the 

subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NASDAQ–2009–042. 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, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, 

DC 20549, on official business days 

between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. 

Copies of the filing also will be available 

for inspection and copying at the 

principal office 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–2009–042 and 

should be submitted on or before June 

10, 2009. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.24

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–11740 Filed 5–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Request and 

Comment 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 revisions and extensions of 

OMB-approved information collections 

and a new 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 shown 

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, 

1332 Annex Building, 

6401 Security Blvd., 

Baltimore, MD 21235, 

Fax: 410–965–6400, 

E-mail address: OPLM.RCO@ssa.gov. 

I. The information collection below is 

pending at SSA. SSA will submit it to 

OMB within 60 days from the date of 

this notice. To be sure we consider your 

comments, we must receive them no 

later than July 20, 2009. Individuals can 

obtain copies of the collection 

instrument by calling the SSA Reports 

Clearance Officer at 410–965–3758 or by 

writing to the e-mail address we list 

above. 

1. Questionnaire about Special 

Veterans Benefits—0960–NEW. SSA 

will use the information collected on 

the SSA–2010 to determine continuing 

eligibility for Special Veterans Benefits 

and to determine how much (if any) of 

a foreign pension may be used to reduce 

or increase the amount of Social 

Security Special Veterans retirement 

benefits. The respondents will complete 

the SSA–2010 biannually so SSA can 

determine if benefits should be 

increased, decreased, suspended, or 

terminated, based on the data collected. 

The respondents are beneficiaries 

receiving Social Security Special 

Veterans retirement benefits. 

Type of Request: Request for a new 

information collection. 

Number of Respondents: 2,500. 

Frequency of Response: 1. 

Average Burden per Response: 20 

minutes. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 833 hours. 

2. Request for Reconsideration— 

Disability Cessation—20 CFR 404.909, 

416.1409—0960–0349. Claimants or 

their representatives use Form SSA– 

789–U4 to request that SSA reconsider 

a determination and to indicate whether 

they wish to appear at a disability 

hearing. The claimants can also use this 

form to submit any additional 

information/evidence for use in the 

reconsidered determination and to 

indicate if they will need an interpreter 

for the hearing. SSA will use the 

information on the completed form 

either to arrange for a hearing or to 

prepare a decision based on the 

evidence of record. The respondents are 

applicants or claimants for Social 

Security benefits or Supplemental 

Security Income (SSI) payments. 

Type of Request: Extension of an 

OMB-approved information collection. 

Number of Respondents: 30,000. 

Frequency of Response: 1. 

Average Burden per Response: 13 

minutes. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 6,500 

hours. 

3. Function Report Adult—Third 

Party—20 CFR 404.1512 & 416.912— 

0960–0635. Disability Determination 

Services (DDS) use the information from 

the SSA–3380–BK to determine 

eligibility for SSI and Social Security 

Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims. The 

information is an evidentiary source 

DDSs evaluators use to determine 

eligibility for SSI and SSDI claims. The 

respondents are third parties familiar 

with the functional limitations (or lack 

thereof) of claimants who apply for 

Social Security benefits and SSI 

disability payments. 

Type of Request: Revision of an OMBapproved information collection.