Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 144 / Wednesday, July 29, 2009 / Notices 37759 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

10 In approving this proposed rule change, the 

Commission has considered the proposed rule’s 

impact on efficiency, competition, and capital 

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

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

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

13 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

membership or association with the 

member notwithstanding a statutory 

disqualification. When the Exchange 

exercises this waiver authority, Rule 

3.18.01 currently provides that the 

Exchange Department of Financial and 

Sales Practice Compliance shall 

determine whether the Exchange will 

concur in any the Exchange Act Rule 

19h–1 filing made by another SRO. The 

Exchange proposed to make two 

clarifying changes to this provision. 

First, the Exchange proposed to replace 

the reference to the ‘‘Department of 

Financial and Sales Practice 

Compliance’’ with the ‘‘Exchange’’ 

because the Exchange no longer has a 

department by that name. Second, the 

Exchange proposed to include the 

words ‘‘member or’’ in the last sentence 

of Rule 3.18.01 to clarify that the 

Exchange may concur in any Exchange 

Act Rule 19h–1 filing made by another 

SRO with respect to a member or an 

associated person. This change is 

consistent with the rest of Rule 3.18.01. 

III. Discussion 

The Commission has carefully 

reviewed the proposed rule change and 

finds that it is generally consistent with 

Section 6(b)9 of the Exchange Act and 

the rules and regulations thereunder 

applicable to a national securities 

exchange.10 In particular, the 

Commission finds that the proposal is 

consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the 

Exchange Act,11 which requires the 

rules of a national securities exchange 

to, among other things, be designed to 

remove impediments to and perfect the 

mechanism of a free and open market 

and, in general, to protect investor and 

the public interest. The Commission 

believes that the proposed rule change 

will enable CBOE to more efficiently 

administer its statutory disqualification 

program while at the same time 

protecting investors and the public 

interest by allowing CBOE to reallocate 

resources that would otherwise be spent 

on unnecessary statutory 

disqualification hearings. 

IV. Conclusion 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act,12

that the proposed rule change (SR– 

CBOE–2009–033) be, and hereby is, 

approved. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.13

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–17992 Filed 7–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Request for Comments Concerning 

Free Trade Agreement With the 

Republic of Colombia 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The United States Trade 

Representative (USTR) is conducting a 

review of labor-related issues in the 

context of the free trade agreement 

(FTA) between the United States and 

the Republic of Colombia (Colombia) 

signed on November 22, 2006, and 

amended on June 28, 2007. The FTA has 

not yet entered into effect. As part of 

that review, the interagency Trade 

Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) seeks 

comment from the public to assist the 

USTR in working with the Colombian 

government to secure continued 

progress in ensuring that Colombia’s 

workers can fully exercise their 

fundamental labor rights. 

DATES: Written comments are due by 

noon, September 15, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

submitted electronically via the Internet 

at http://www.regulations.gov. For 

alternatives to on-line submissions 

please contact Gloria Blue, Executive 

Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, 

at (202) 395–3475. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

procedural questions concerning written 

comments, contact Gloria Blue, 

Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff 

Committee, at (202) 395–3475. All other 

questions should be directed to Bennett 

Harman, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade 

Representative for Latin America, at 

(202) 395–9446. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 18, 2003, in accordance with 

section 2104(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 

2002, the USTR notified Congress of the 

President’s intent to enter into 

negotiations on an FTA with Colombia, 

identified specific objectives for the 

negotiations, and solicited comment 

from interested persons on matters 

relevant to the FTA. 69 FR 7532. On 

June 23, 2004, the U.S. Department of 

Labor with the USTR and U.S. 

Department of State, issued a request for 

comments from the public regarding 

labor rights in Andean countries, 

including Colombia. 69 FR No. 120. On 

August 24, 2006, the President notified 

Congress of his intent to enter into an 

FTA with Colombia, and representatives 

of the two governments signed the FTA 

on November 22, 2006. On June 28, 

2007, the Parties amended the FTA to 

reflect the provisions of the May 10, 

2007 Congressional-Executive 

Agreement on Trade Policy. The full 

text of the FTA is available at http:// 

www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/freetrade-agreements/colombia-fta/finaltext. 

Issues have been raised about the 

extent to which Colombians are able to 

exercise their fundamental labor rights, 

as referenced in the FTA. In that light, 

the President has asked the USTR to 

assess what steps can be taken, along 

with the government of Colombia, to 

secure continued progress in ensuring 

that Colombia’s workers can exercise 

their fundamental labor rights. To assist 

the USTR in fulfilling this task, the 

Chairman of the TPSC invites interested 

persons to provide written comments on 

these questions and requests. Specific 

questions for comment are: 

(1) Are there gaps in Colombia’s labor 

law regime, including its enforcement 

mechanisms, with respect to providing 

for the fundamental labor rights of its 

citizens? If there are gaps, please 

identify them and provide specific 

suggestions for improvement. 

(2) Is the Colombian government 

taking adequate steps to protect 

Colombia’s workers from acts of 

intimidation or violence that impede the 

exercise of their fundamental labor 

rights? If there are gaps, please identify 

them and provide specific suggestions 

for improvement. 

(3) Has the government of Colombia 

made sufficient progress in its efforts to 

prosecute the perpetrators of violence 

and intimidation against unionists 

exercising their fundamental labor 

rights? If there are gaps, please identify 

them and provide specific suggestions 

for improvement. 

The public is also invited to comment 

on other issues they believe relevant to 

the FTA, including the potential 

benefits of the agreement. 

Interested persons may submit written 

comments by noon, September 15, 2009 

(see requirements for submission 

below). Written comments should be 

submitted in English and must state 

clearly the position taken and describe 

with particularity the supporting 

rationale. 

Public Comment: Requirements for 

Submissions: To ensure the most timely 

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37760 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 144 / Wednesday, July 29, 2009 / Notices 

and expeditious receipt and 

consideration of comments, USTR has 

arranged to accept on-line submissions 

via http://www.regulations.gov. To 

submit comments via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, enter docket 

number USTR–2009–0021 on the home 

page and click ‘‘go’’. The site will 

provide a search-results page listing all 

documents associated with this docket. 

Find a reference to this notice by 

selecting ‘‘Notice’’ under ‘‘Document 

Type’’ on the left side of the searchresults page, and click on the link 

entitled ‘‘Send a Comment or 

Submission.’’ (For further information 

on using the http://www.regulations.gov 

Web site, please consult the resources 

provided on the Web site by clicking on 

‘‘How to Use This Site’’ on the left side 

of the home page.) 

The http://www.regulations.gov Web 

site provides the option of making 

submissions by filling in a ‘‘General 

Comments’’ field, or by attaching a 

document. We expect that most 

submissions will be provided in an 

attached document. If a document is 

attached, it is sufficient to type ‘‘See 

attached’’ in the ‘‘General Comments’’ 

field. 

Submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) 

or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) are preferred. If 

you use an application other than those 

two, please identify the application in 

your submission. For any comments 

submitted electronically containing 

business confidential information, the 

file name of the business confidential 

version should begin with the characters 

‘‘BC’’. Any page containing business 

confidential information must be clearly 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ 

on the top of that page. If you file 

comments containing business 

confidential information you must also 

submit a public version of the 

comments. The file name of the public 

version should begin with the character 

‘‘P’’. The ‘‘BC’’ and ‘‘P’’ should be 

followed by the name of the person or 

entity submitting the comments. If you 

submit comments that contain no 

business confidential information, the 

file name should begin with the 

character ‘‘P’’, followed by the name of 

the person or entity submitting the 

comments. Electronic submissions 

should not attach separate cover letters; 

rather, information that might appear in 

a cover letter should be included in the 

comments you submit. Similarly, to the 

extent possible, please include any 

exhibits, annexes, or other attachments 

to a submission in the same file as the 

submission itself and not as separate 

files. 

We strongly urge submitters to use 

electronic filing. If an on-line 

submission is impossible, alternative 

arrangements must be made with Ms. 

Blue prior to delivery for the receipt of 

such submissions. Ms. Blue may be 

contacted at (202) 395–3475. General 

information concerning the Office of the 

United States Trade Representative may 

be obtained by accessing its Internet 

Web site (http://www.ustr.gov). 

Carmen Suro-Bredie, 

Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee. 

[FR Doc. E9–17798 Filed 7–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3190–W9–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[Docket Number: FTA–2009–0036] 

Additional Proposed Guidance for New 

Starts/Small Starts Policies and 

Procedures and Request for 

Comments for 2009 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT. 

ACTION: Proposed guidance; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice includes, and 

requests comments on, additional 

Proposed Guidance on New Starts/ 

Small Starts Policies and Procedures. 

This guidance continues FTA’s efforts to 

streamline and simplify the New and 

Small Starts programs. The notice: (1) 

Proposes modifications to the 

evaluation and rating process; (2) 

clarifies existing policies; and (3) 

solicits public feedback on potential 

changes to FTA’s internal practices for 

the New and Small Starts programs. 

Please note this guidance is in addition 

to, and distinct from, the guidance on 

New Starts/Small Starts Policies and 

Procedures published concurrently in 

this issue of the Federal Register. 

DATES: Comments on the additional 

Proposed Guidance on New Starts/ 

Small Starts Policies and Procedures 

must be received by August 18, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit 

comments—identified by the docket 

number FTA–2009–0036—by any of the 

following methods: 

Web site: http://regulations.gov. 

Follow the instructions for submitting 

comments on the DOT electronic docket 

site. 

Fax: 202–493–2251. 

Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 8:30 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: You must include the 

agency name (Federal Transit 

Administration) and the docket number 

(FTA–2009–0036). You should submit 

two copies of your comments if you 

submit them by mail. If you wish to 

receive confirmation that FTA received 

your comments, you must include a 

self-addressed stamped postcard. Note 

that all comments received will be 

posted without change to the Federal 

Government Web site located at http:// 

regulations.gov. This means that if your 

comment includes any personal 

identifying information, such 

information will be made available to 

users of the Web site. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Day, Office of Planning and 

Environment, telephone (202) 366–5159 

and Christopher Van Wyk, Office of 

Chief Counsel, telephone (202) 366– 

1733. FTA is located at 1200 New Jersey 

Ave., SE., East Building, Washington, 

DC 20590. Office hours are from 8:30 

a.m. to 5 p.m., EST, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice includes, and requests comments 

on, additional Proposed Guidance on 

New Starts/Small Starts Policies and 

Procedures. This guidance continues 

FTA’s efforts to streamline and simplify 

the New and Small Starts programs. 

This guidance is in addition to, and 

distinct from, the Final Guidance on 

New Starts/Small Starts Policies and 

Procedures published concurrently in 

this issue of the Federal Register. After 

reviewing and considering public 

comment on the guidance proposed 

below, FTA intends to publish 

Supplemental Final Guidance on New 

Starts/Small Starts Policies and 

Procedures, which will take effect 

immediately upon publication. Projects 

approved into final design within 30 

days of issuance of the Supplemental 

Final Guidance or prior to its issuance 

will not be affected in accordance with 

the policy established by FTA in 2006 

so as to provide more stability for New 

Starts projects far along in the project 

development process. 

Organization 

This notice covers three topic areas: 

(1) Proposed policy changes; (2) 

clarification of existing policies and 

procedures; and (3) potential changes to 

FTA internal practices for managing the 

New Starts and Small Starts program. 

This notice fully articulates the 

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