Document ID: SEC-2011-1829-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Self-Regulatory Organizations; Proposed Rule Changes: Options Price Reporting Authority
Posted Date: 2011-11-28T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 228 (Monday, November 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72993-72994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30427]

[[Page 72993]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-65796; File No. SR-OPRA-2011-05]

Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment to the Plan To Adopt a Policy Named 
``Policy With Respect to Disaster Recovery Facilities''

November 21, 2011.
    Pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on November 7, 2011, the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'') 
submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') an 
amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale 
Reports and Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The proposed 
amendment adopts a policy named ``Policy with respect to Disaster 
Recovery Facilities'' (the ``Policy''). The Commission is publishing 
this notice to solicit comments from interested persons on the proposed 
OPRA Plan amendment.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by 
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608 
thereunder (formerly Rule 11Aa3-2). See Securities Exchange Act 
Release No. 17638 (March 18, 1981), 22 S.E.C. Docket 484 (March 31, 
1981). The full text of the OPRA Plan is available at http://www.opradata.com.
     The OPRA Plan provides for the collection and dissemination of 
last sale and quotation information on options that are traded on 
the participant exchanges. The nine participants to the OPRA Plan 
are BATS Exchange, Inc., Chicago Board Options Exchange, 
Incorporated, C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated, International 
Securities Exchange, LLC, NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc., NASDAQ OMX PHLX, 
Inc., NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, NYSE Amex, Inc., and NYSE Arca, Inc.
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I. Description and Purpose of the Plan Amendment

    The purpose of OPRA's Policy with respect to Disaster Recovery 
Facilities is to address the fees that are payable to OPRA for a 
disaster recovery facility (a ``DR facility'') maintained by an OPRA 
Vendor or Professional Subscriber.
    The Policy states that a Vendor or Professional Subscriber that 
operates a DR facility at which it needs to have access to OPRA data 
should be certain that its agreements with OPRA accommodate the DR 
facility. The Policy states that, if a Vendor or Professional 
Subscriber operates multiple sites that act as ``hot'' back-up sites 
for each other, OPRA will consider the sites not to be DR facilities.
    The Policy states that, if a Vendor is operating a DR facility and 
uses OPRA data at the site for purposes solely associated with 
operating the DR facility in furtherance of the Vendor's activities as 
a Vendor, OPRA does not charge fees specifically for the DR facility, 
with one exception: If the Vendor has a live direct circuit connection 
to receive OPRA data from OPRA's processor at the DR facility, OPRA's 
Direct Access Fee is applicable.\4\
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    \4\ OPRA's base Direct Access Fee is currently, and for many 
years has been, $1000/month. (See the OPRA Fee Schedule, available 
on OPRA's Web site, http://www.opradata.com.) The base Direct Access 
Fee includes one backup circuit connection. OPRA's Direct Access Fee 
is payable by Vendors and Professional Subscribers that have direct 
circuit connections to OPRA's processor.
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    With respect to a Professional Subscriber, the Policy states that 
OPRA's standard Device-Based Fees will be applicable if a Professional 
Subscriber is operating a DR facility and has devices that are enabled 
to receive current OPRA data at the facility even when the site is not 
in actual use, but that these fees will not be applicable if devices at 
the site are not enabled to receive current OPRA data when the site is 
inactive. The Policy states that OPRA would not consider a device to be 
subject to fees if the device is temporarily enabled for current OPRA 
data solely for testing purposes. The Policy states that, as is the 
case for a Vendor that has a live direct circuit connection at its DR 
facility, if a Professional Subscriber has a live direct circuit 
connection at its DR facility, OPRA's Direct Access Fee will be 
applicable. Finally, the Policy states that, if devices at a DR 
facility are enabled to receive current OPRA data during an emergency, 
those devices will become fee-liable, but that OPRA will provide 
offsetting credits for devices that are unable to receive current OPRA 
data at the affected primary site as reasonably demonstrated by the 
Professional Subscriber to be appropriate in the circumstances.\5\
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    \5\ Footnote 3 of the Policy notes that many OPRA Professional 
Subscribers count ``User IDs'' that are enabled to receive OPRA 
information as a surrogate for counting ``devices,'' and pay Device-
based Fees on the basis of their ``User IDs'' rather than their 
``devices.'' (See OPRA's ``Policies with respect to Device-based 
Fees'' for more information about counting User IDs instead of 
devices; these Policies are also available on OPRA's Web site.) 
Footnote 3 of the Policy notes that a disaster would probably not 
affect a Professional Subscriber's User ID count, and therefore 
would not affect the Device-based Fees payable by a Professional 
Subscriber that counts User IDs.
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    The text of the proposed amendment to the OPRA Plan is available at 
OPRA, the Commission's Public Reference Room, on OPRA's Web site at 
http://opradata.com, and on the Commission's Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan Amendment

    OPRA designated this amendment as qualified to be put into effect 
upon filing with the Commission in accordance with clause (i) of 
paragraph (b)(3) of Rule 608 under the Act.\6\ The Policies describe 
and refine longstanding OPRA technical policies with respect to 
obligations of Vendors and Professional Subscribers to pay the fees 
described in OPRA's Fee Schedule with respect to their disaster 
recovery sites. Accordingly, OPRA will implement the Policies upon 
filing with the Commission.
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    \6\ 17 CFR 242.608(b)(3)(i).
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    The Commission may summarily abrogate the amendment within sixty 
days of its filing and require refiling and approval of the amendment 
by Commission order pursuant to Rule 608(b)(2) under the Act \7\ if it 
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate 
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or the 
maintenance of fair and orderly markets, to remove impediments to, and 
perfect the mechanisms of, a national market system, or otherwise in 
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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    \7\ 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2).
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III. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed OPRA 
Plan amendment 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 No. SR-OPRA-2011-05 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-OPRA-2011-05. 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

[[Page 72994]]

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 plan amendment that are filed with the 
Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed 
plan amendment 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 a.m. and 3 
p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available for inspection and 
copying at the principal office of OPRA. 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-OPRA-2011-05 and should be submitted on 
or before December 19, 2011.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\8\
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    \8\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-30427 Filed 11-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P