Document ID: SEC-2017-1395-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
Posted Date: 2017-08-17T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 158 (Thursday, August 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39142-39143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17405]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-495, OMB Control No. 3235-0553]

Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F St. NE., Washington, DC 
20549-2736

Extension:
    Rule 19b-7 and Form 19b-7

    Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ``PRA''), the Securities and 
Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') has submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') a request for approval of 
extension of the existing collection of information provided for in 
Rule 19b-7 (17 CFR 240.19b-7) and Form 19b-7-Filings with respect to 
proposed rule changes submitted pursuant to Section 19b(7) under the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) (``Exchange 
Act'').
    The Exchange Act provides a framework for self-regulation under 
which various entities involved in the securities business, 
including national securities exchanges and national securities 
associations (collectively, self-regulatory organizations or 
``SROs''), have primary responsibility for regulating their members 
or participants. The role of the Commission in this framework is 
primarily one of oversight; the Exchange Act charges the Commission 
with supervising the SROs and assuring that each complies with and 
advances the policies of the Exchange Act.
    The Exchange Act was amended by the Commodity Futures 
Modernization Act of 2000 (``CFMA''). Prior to the CFMA, federal law 
did not allow the trading of futures on individual stocks or on 
narrow-based stock indexes (collectively, ``security futures 
products''). The CFMA removed this restriction and provided that 
trading in security futures products would be regulated jointly by 
the Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission 
(``CFTC'').
    The Exchange Act requires all SROs to submit to the SEC any 
proposals to amend, add, or delete any of their rules. Certain 
entities (Security Futures Product Exchanges) would be notice 
registered national securities exchanges only because they trade 
security futures products. Similarly, certain entities (Limited 
Purpose National Securities Associations) would be limited purpose 
national securities associations only because their members trade 
security futures products. The Exchange Act, as amended by the CFMA, 
established a procedure for Security Futures Product Exchanges and 
Limited Purpose National Securities Associations to provide notice 
of proposed rule changes relating to certain matters.\1\ Rule 19b-7 
and Form 19b-7 implemented this procedure. Effective April 28, 2008, 
the SEC amended Rule 19b-7 and Form 19b-7 to require that Form 19b-7 
be submitted electronically.\2\
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    \1\ These matters are higher margin levels, fraud or 
manipulation, recordkeeping, reporting, listing standards, or 
decimal pricing for security futures products; sales practices for 
security futures products for persons who effect transactions in 
security futures products; or rules effectuating the obligation of 
Security Futures Product Exchanges and Limited Purpose National 
Securities Associations to enforce the securities laws. See 15 
U.S.C. 78s(b)(7)(A).
    \2\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57526 (March 19, 
2008), 73 FR 16179 (March 27, 2008).
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    The collection of information is designed to provide the 
Commission with the information necessary to determine, as required 
by the Exchange Act, whether the proposed rule change is consistent 
with the Exchange Act and the rules thereunder. The information is 
used to determine if the proposed rule change should remain in 
effect or abrogated.
    The respondents to the collection of information are SROs. Three 
respondents file an average total of approximately 3 responses per 
year.\3\ Each response takes approximately 12.5 hours to complete 
and each amendment takes approximately 3 hours to complete, which 
correspond to an estimated annual response burden of 37.5 hours ((3 
rule change proposals x 12.5 hours) + (0 amendments \4\ x 3 hours)). 
The average internal cost of compliance per response is $4,761 (11.5 
legal hours multiplied by an average hourly rate of $396 \5\ plus 1 
hour of paralegal work

[[Page 39143]]

multiplied by an average hourly rate of $207 \6\). The total 
resulting internal cost of compliance for a respondent is $14,283 
per year (3 responses x $4,761 per response).
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    \3\ There are currently four Security Futures Product Exchanges 
and one Limited Purpose National Securities Association, the 
National Futures Authority. However, two Security Futures Product 
Exchanges currently do not trade security futures products and, as a 
result, have not been filing proposed rule changes. Therefore, there 
are currently three respondents to Form 19b-7.
    \4\ SEC staff notes that even though no amendments were received 
in the previous three years and that staff does not anticipate the 
receipt of any amendments, calculation of amendments is a separate 
step in the calculation of the PRA burden and it is possible that 
amendments are filed in the future. Therefore, instead of removing 
the calculation altogether, staff has shown the calculation as 
anticipating zero amendments.
    \5\ The $396 per hour figure for an Attorney is from SIFMA's 
Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2013, 
modified by Commission staff to account for inflation and an 1800-
hour work-year and then multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, 
firm size, employee benefits, and overhead.
    \6\ The $207 per hour figure for a Paralegal is from SIFMA's 
Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2013, 
modified by Commission staff to account for inflation and an 1800-
hour work-year and then multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, 
firm size, employee benefits, and overhead.
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    In addition to filing its proposed rule changes, and any 
amendments thereto, with the Commission, a respondent is also 
required to post each of its proposals and any amendments thereto, 
on its Web site. This process takes approximately 0.5 hours to 
complete per proposal and 0.5 hours per amendment. Thus, for the 
approximately 3 responses and 0 amendments,\7\ the total annual 
reporting burden on a respondent to post these on its Web site is 
1.5 hours ((3 proposals per year x 0.5 hours per filing) + (0 
amendments x 0.5 hours)). Further, a respondent is required to 
update its rulebook, which it maintains on its Web site, to reflect 
the changes that it makes in each proposal and any amendment 
thereto. Thus, for all filings that were not withdrawn by a 
respondent (0 withdrawn filings in calendar years 2014-2016) or 
disapproved by the Commission (0 disapproved filings in calendar 
years 2014-2016), a respondent was required to update its online 
rulebook to reflect the effectiveness of 3 filings on average, each 
of which takes approximately 4 hours to complete per proposal. Thus, 
the total annual reporting burden for updating an online rulebook is 
12 hours ((3 filings per year--0 withdrawn filings--0 disapproved 
filings) x 4 hours).
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    \7\ See supra note 4.
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    Compliance with Rule 19b-7 is mandatory. Information received in 
response to Rule 19b-7 is not kept confidential; the information 
collected is public information.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information under the PRA 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    The public may view background documentation for this 
information collection at the following Web site: www.reginfo.gov. 
Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities 
and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive 
Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an email to: 
Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi 
Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549, or by sending 
an email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to OMB 
within 30 days of this notice.

    Dated: August 14, 2017.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-17405 Filed 8-16-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P