Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2017 / Notices 43415 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

Submission for Review: Reinstatement 

of a Previously Approved Information 

Collection Without Change, Standard 

Form 2812, 2812–A, and OPM Form 

1523 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for 

reinstatement. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) offers the general 

public and other federal agencies the 

opportunity to comment on a revised 

information collection request (ICR) for 

Standard Form 2812, 2812–A and OPM 

Form 1523. Reinstatement will allow 

continued use of the collection and an 

additional 180 days to complete the full 

Paperwork Reduction Act approval 

process. 

DATES: Comments are encouraged and 

will be accepted until October 16, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments on 

the proposed information collection to 

the U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management, Funds Management, 1900 

E Street NW., Washington, DC 20415– 

3500, Attention: Antoinette 

Cunningham or sent by email to 

Antoinette.Cunningham@opm.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A 

copy of this ICR, with applicable 

supporting documentation, may be 

obtained by contacting the U.S. Office of 

Personnel Management, Chief Financial 

Office, Financial Services, 1900 E Street 

NW., Room 5478, Washington, DC 

20415, Attention: Antoinette 

Cunningham, or sent by email to 

Antoinette.Cunningham@opm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995, (Pub. L. 104–13, 44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35) as amended by the ClingerCohen Act (Pub. L. 104–106), OPM is 

soliciting comments for this collection 

(OMB No. 3206–0262). The Middle 

Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 

2012 (Pub. L. 112–96, Section 5001), 

made two significant changes to the 

Federal Employees’ Retirement System 

(FERS). First, beginning in 2013, new 

employees (as designated in the statute) 

will have to pay significantly higher 

employee contributions, an increase of 

2.3 percent of salary. Second, new 

Members of Congress and Congressional 

employees, in addition to paying higher 

retirement contributions, will accrue 

retirement benefits at the same rate as 

regular employees. New employees 

affected by this law will be classified in 

a new retirement category; the Federal 

Employees’ Retirement System— 

Revised Annuity Employees (FERS– 

RAE). The current Standard Form 2812, 

Standard Form 2812–A, and OPM Form 

1523, have been changed to reflect this 

additional category. 

Reinstatement will allow continued 

use of the collection and an additional 

180 days to complete the full Paperwork 

Reduction Act approval process. The 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 

is particularly interested in comments 

that: 

1. Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

4. Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submissions 

of responses. 

Analysis 

Agency: Trust Fund Management of 

the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, 

Office of Personnel Management. 

Title: (1) Report of Withholdings and 

Contributions for Health Benefits, Life 

Insurance and Retirement (Standard 

Form 2812); (2) Report of Withholdings 

and Contributions for Health Benefits by 

Enrollment Code (Standard Form 2812– 

A); (3) Supplemental Semiannual 

Headcount Report (OPM Form 1523). 

OMB Number: 3206–0262. 

Frequency: Semiannually for OPM 

Form 1523 and once-per-pay-period for 

Standard Form 2812 and Standard Form 

2812–A. 

Affected Public: Public Entities with 

Federal Employees and Retirees. 

Number of Respondents: 100. 

Estimated Time per Respondent: 30 

Minutes. 

Total Burden Hours: 2,700. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Kathleen M. McGettigan, 

Acting Director. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19642 Filed 9–14–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–38–P 

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request 

Summary: In accordance with the 

requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

which provides opportunity for public 

comment on new or revised data 

collections, the Railroad Retirement 

Board (RRB) will publish periodic 

summaries of proposed data collections. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed information collection is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information has practical 

utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB’s 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of the information; (c) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden related to 

the collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Title and purpose of information 

collection: Application for Employee 

Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement 

Ac; OMB 3220–0002. 

Section 2(a) of the Railroad 

Retirement Act (RRA) provides for 

payments of age and service, disability, 

and supplemental annuities to qualified 

employees. An annuity cannot be paid 

until the employee stops working for a 

railroad employer. In addition, the age 

and service employee must relinquish 

any rights held to such jobs. A disabled 

employee does not need to relinquish 

employee rights until attaining Full 

Retirement Age, or if earlier, when their 

spouse is awarded a spouse annuity. 

Benefits become payable after the 

employee meets certain other 

requirements, which depend on the type 

of annuity payable. The requirements 

for obtaining the annuities are 

prescribed in 20 CFR 216 and 220. 

To collect the information needed to 

help determine an applicant’s 

entitlement to, and the amount of, an 

employee retirement annuity the RRB 

uses Forms AA–1, Application for 

Employee Annuity; AA–1d, Application 

for Determination of Employee 

Disability; G–204, Verification of 

Workers Compensation/Public Disability 

Benefit Information, and electronic 

Forms AA–1cert, Application Summary 

and Certification, and AA–1sum, 

Application Summary. 

The AA–1 application process obtains 

information from an applicant about 

their marital history, work history, 

military service, benefits from other 

governmental agencies, railroad 

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43416 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 178 / Friday, September 15, 2017 / Notices 

pensions and Medicare entitlement for 

either an age and service or disability 

annuity. An RRB representative 

interviews the applicant either at a field 

office, an itinerant point, or by 

telephone. During the interview, the 

RRB representative enters the 

information obtained into an on-line 

information system. Upon completion of 

the interview, the on-line information 

system generates Form AA–1cert, 

Application Summary and Certification, 

or Form AA–1sum, Application 

Summary, a summary of the information 

that was provided for the applicant to 

review and approve. Form AA–1cert 

documents approval using the 

traditional pen and ink ‘‘wet’’ signature, 

and Form AA–1sum documents 

approval using the alternative signature 

method called Attestation. When the 

RRB representative is unable to contact 

the applicant in person or by telephone, 

for example, the applicant lives in 

another country, a manual version of 

Form AA–1 is used. 

Form AA–1d, Application for 

Determination of Employee’s Disability, 

is completed by an employee who is 

filing for a disability annuity under the 

RRA, or a disability freeze under the 

Social Security Act, for early Medicare 

based on a disability. Form G–204, 

Verification of Worker’s Compensation/ 

Public Disability Benefit Information, is 

used to obtain and verify information 

concerning a worker’s compensation or 

a public disability benefit that is or will 

be paid by a public agency to a disabled 

railroad employee. 

The RRB proposes to add the 

following two new items—‘‘Are you 

expecting a newborn?’’ and its possible 

‘‘Yes’’ response—‘‘Expected Date’’ to 

Form AA–1. A comparable revision will 

be made to the electronic equivalent 

forms (AA–1, AA–1cert and AA–1sum). 

This information will help determine if 

the applicant can potentially receive an 

additional benefit amount. The RRB also 

proposes the implementation of an 

Internet equivalent version of Form AA– 

1 that can be completed by the applicant 

and submitted through the RRB’s Web 

site at www.rrb.gov. The RRB proposes 

no changes to Forms AA–1d or G–204. 

One response is requested of each 

respondent. Completion of the forms is 

required to obtain/retain a benefit. 

ESTIMATE OF ANNUAL RESPONDENT BURDEN

Form No. Annual 

responses 

Time 

(minutes) 

Burden 

(hours) 

AA–1 (without assistance) ........................................................................................................... 35 62 36 

AA–1cert (with assistance) .......................................................................................................... 7,050 30 3,525 

AA–1sum (with assistance) ......................................................................................................... 2,415 29 1,167 

AA–1 (Internet) (without assistance) ........................................................................................... 3,220 45 2,415 

AA–1d (with assistance) .............................................................................................................. 2,600 60 2,600 

AA–1d (without assistance) ......................................................................................................... 5 85 7 

G–204 .......................................................................................................................................... 20 15 5 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 15,345 ........................ 9,755 

Additional Information or Comments: 

To request more information or to 

obtain a copy of the information 

collection justification, forms, and/or 

supporting material, contact Dana 

Hickman at (312) 751–4981 or 

Dana.Hickman@RRB.GOV. Comments 

regarding the information collection 

should be addressed to Brian Foster, 

Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North 

Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611– 

1275 or emailed to Brian.Foster@rrb.gov. 

Written comments should be received 

within 60 days of this notice. 

Brian D. Foster, 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19629 Filed 9–14–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7905–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–325, OMB Control No. 

3235–0385] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: U.S. Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 

20549–2736 

Extension: 

Rule 15g–9 

Notice is hereby given that pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(‘‘OMB’’) a request for extension of the 

previously approved collection of 

information discussed below. 

Section 15(c)(2) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et 

seq.) (the ‘‘Exchange Act’’) authorizes 

the Commission to promulgate rules 

that prescribe means reasonably 

designed to prevent fraudulent, 

deceptive, or manipulative practices in 

connection with over-the-counter 

(‘‘OTC’’) securities transactions. 

Pursuant to this authority, the 

Commission in 1989 adopted Rule 15a– 

6, which was subsequently redesignated 

as Rule 15g–9, 17 CFR 240.15g–9 (the 

‘‘Rule’’). The Rule requires brokerdealers to produce a written suitability 

determination for, and to obtain a 

written customer agreement to, certain 

recommended transactions in penny 

stocks that are not registered on a 

national securities exchange, and whose 

issuers do not meet certain minimum 

financial standards. The Rule is 

intended to prevent the indiscriminate 

use by broker-dealers of fraudulent, high 

pressure telephone sales campaigns to 

sell penny stocks to unsophisticated 

customers. 

The Commission staff estimates that 

there are approximately 198 brokerdealers subject to the Rule. The burden 

of the Rule on a respondent varies 

widely depending on the frequency 

with which new customers are solicited. 

On the average for all respondents, the 

staff has estimated that respondents 

process three new customers per week, 

or approximately 156 new customer 

suitability determinations per year. We 

also estimate that a broker-dealer would 

expend approximately one-half hour per 

new customer in obtaining, reviewing, 

and processing (including transmitting 

to the customer) the information 

required by Rule 15g–9, and each 

respondent would consequently spend 

78 hours annually (156 customers × .5 

hours) obtaining the information 

required in the rule. We determined, 

based on the estimate of 198 brokerdealer respondents, that the current 

annual burden of Rule 15g–9 is 15,444 

hours (198 respondents × 78 hours). 

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