[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 17 (Friday, January 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5542-5544]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01494]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-68700; File No. SR-FINRA-2013-002]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To Amend
FINRA Rule 2267 (Investor Education and Protection)

January 18, 2013.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on January 7, 2013, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
(``FINRA'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC''
or ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I,
II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by FINRA. The
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change

    FINRA is proposing to amend FINRA Rule 2267 (Investor Education and
Protection) to require that members include a prominent description of
and link to FINRA BrokerCheck, as prescribed by FINRA, on their Web
sites, social media pages and any comparable Internet presence and on
Web sites, social media pages and any comparable Internet presence
relating to a member's investment banking or securities business
maintained by or on behalf of any person associated with a member.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on FINRA's Web
site at http://www.finra.org, at the principal office of FINRA 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, FINRA 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 these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. FINRA 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
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    FINRA established BrokerCheck in 1988 (then known as the Public
Disclosure Program) to provide the public with information on the
professional background, business practices, and conduct of FINRA-
member firms and their associated persons. The information that FINRA
releases to the public through BrokerCheck is derived from the Central
Registration Depository (``CRD[supreg]''), the securities industry
online registration and licensing database. FINRA-member firms, their
associated persons and regulators report information to the CRD system
via the uniform registration forms. By making most of this information
publicly available, BrokerCheck, among other things, helps investors
make informed choices about the individuals and firms with which they
conduct business.
    In January 2011, Commission staff released its Study and
Recommendations on Improved Investor Access to Registration Information
About Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers (``Study''),\3\ in
furtherance of Section 919B of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Study contains
four recommendations for improving investor access to registration
information through BrokerCheck and the Commission's Investment Adviser
Public Disclosure (``IAPD'') database. In May 2012, FINRA implemented
the Study's three ``near-term'' recommendations.\4\ FINRA is currently
working on the Study's ``intermediate-term'' recommendation, which
involves analyzing the feasibility and advisability of expanding the
information available through BrokerCheck, as well as the method and
format that BrokerCheck information is displayed.
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    \3\ The Study is available online at http://www.sec.gov/news/studies/2011/919bstudy.pdf.
    \4\ These recommendations are to unify search returns for
BrokerCheck and IAPD, add the ability to search BrokerCheck by ZIP
code, and increase the educational content on BrokerCheck.
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    In light of the Study's ``intermediate-term'' recommendation and
FINRA's belief that regular evaluation of its BrokerCheck program is an
important part of its statutory obligation to make information
available to the public,\5\ FINRA has initiated a thorough review of
BrokerCheck. As part of this review, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 12-
10 requesting comment on ways to facilitate and increase investor use
of BrokerCheck information. In addition, FINRA engaged a market
research consultant that conducted focus groups and surveyed investors
throughout the country to obtain their opinions on the BrokerCheck
program.
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    \5\ See Section 15A(i) of the Act. 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(i). Since
establishing BrokerCheck, FINRA has regularly assessed the scope and
utility of the information it provides to the public and, as a
result, has made numerous changes to improve the program.
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    Participants in the focus groups were asked questions about a
variety of topics, including the financial markets, working with a
broker or investment adviser, and the BrokerCheck program. Many of the
participants stated that they had been unaware of the existence of
BrokerCheck prior to their participation in the focus groups.\6\ After
learning about BrokerCheck, the consensus among focus group
participants was that investors should use BrokerCheck when considering
whether to work with a new investment professional or firm and that it
therefore was important for BrokerCheck to be more widely known among
investors. Based on the focus group results and the comments received
in response to Regulatory

Notice 12-10, FINRA is proposing to amend Rule 2267.\7\
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    \6\ This is consistent with a 2009 study that found that only 15
percent of respondents said that they had checked a financial
advisor's background with a state or federal regulator. See
Financial Capability in the United States (FINRA Investor Education
Foundation, Dec. 1, 2009), available at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>    \7\ FINRA continues to consider other comments regarding changes
to BrokerCheck that were submitted in response to Regulatory Notice
12-10.
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    Subject to limited exceptions, FINRA Rule 2267(a) currently
requires members to annually provide in writing to each of their
customers the BrokerCheck hotline number, the FINRA Web site address,
and a notification of the availability of an investor brochure that
includes information describing BrokerCheck.\8\ To further increase
investor awareness and use of BrokerCheck, the proposed rule change
would amend Rule 2267 to require all members to include a prominent
description of and link to BrokerCheck, as prescribed by FINRA, on
their Web sites, social media pages and any comparable Internet
presence, as well as on the Web sites, social media pages and any
comparable Internet presence relating to the firm's investment banking
or securities business maintained by or on behalf of any person
associated with a member.
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    \8\ Any member whose contact with customers is limited to
introducing customer accounts to be held directly at an entity other
than a FINRA member and thereafter does not carry customer accounts
or hold customer funds and securities may furnish a customer with
such information at or prior to the time of the customer's initial
purchase, in lieu of once every calendar year. Any member that does
not have customers or is a party to a carrying agreement where the
carrying firm member furnishes a customer with such information is
exempt from the requirements of FINRA Rule 2267(a).
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    To ensure consistency and help with the implementation of the
proposed rule change, FINRA would provide members with the text
description and web address format for the link to BrokerCheck. The web
address provided by FINRA, which would include a firm's or individual's
CRD number, would be specific to each member or associated person. The
link would take the user to BrokerCheck's search results screen for the
subject firm or individual, which displays basic information, such as
CRD number, SEC number (for firms), registration status, and employing
firm (for individuals). Once the investor completes the challenge-
response test (used to make it more difficult for an automated
application to collect BrokerCheck information) and agrees to
BrokerCheck's terms and conditions, the investor will be able to obtain
a detailed BrokerCheck report on the subject firm or individual.
    FINRA believes that the proposed change will increase investor use
of BrokerCheck because the link provided on a firm's or individual's
Web site will take investors to that firm's or individual's specific
BrokerCheck search results screen rather than the BrokerCheck homepage.
Thus, investors will not be required to enter the name of the firm or
individual they are searching for or to select the correct broker or
firm from the search results.
    To further help with implementation of the proposed rule change,
FINRA will provide in the Regulatory Notice announcing the effective
date of the proposed rule change guidance regarding the prominence and
placement of the BrokerCheck description and link.
    FINRA will announce the effective date of the proposed rule change
in a Regulatory Notice to be published no later than 60 days following
Commission approval. The effective date will be no later than 180 days
following publication of the Regulatory Notice announcing Commission
approval.
2. Statutory Basis
    FINRA believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the
provisions of Section 15A(b)(6) of the Act,\9\ which requires, among
other things, that FINRA rules must be designed to prevent fraudulent
and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, and, in general, to protect investors and the
public interest. FINRA believes that the proposed rule change would
increase investor awareness and use of BrokerCheck, thereby helping
investors make informed choices about the individuals and firms with
which they conduct business. Specifically, FINRA believes that the
proposed description of BrokerCheck will alert investors to the
existence of the program and the link to the subject firm or individual
will make BrokerCheck even easier to use as a research tool.
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    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(6).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    FINRA 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.
    FINRA believes that the proposed rule change will enhance investor
protection by increasing the public's awareness and use of BrokerCheck.
FINRA expects that the inclusion of a prominent description of
BrokerCheck on a firm's or associated person's Web site will increase
the public's awareness of the program by alerting investors to the
existence of BrokerCheck while they are researching a firm or broker.
FINRA believes that the proposal will not result in a significant
burden on members or associated persons. In this regard, although FINRA
has not found any independent estimates relating to the cost of adding
a link to a Web site, FINRA anticipates that the costs to comply with
the proposed rule change to members and associated persons will be
limited, particularly for those firms that will make the changes with a
content management system,\10\ and will not significantly burden small
firms. In addition, FINRA will provide firms with the specific links
(in a user-friendly URL format) to be added to their Web sites, thereby
helping to contain the costs associated with the proposal.
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    \10\ In general, a content management system is a software
application that is used to manage text, images, audio and video
content for a Web site. FINRA recognizes that some firms may not use
a content management system and therefore may incur additional
development costs depending on how their Web sites are configured.
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    The proposed rule change was published for comment by FINRA in
Regulatory Notice 12-10 (February 2012). A copy of the Regulatory
Notice is attached as Exhibit 2a.\11\ The comment period expired on
April 27, 2012. FINRA received 71 comment letters in response to the
Regulatory Notice. A list of the comment letters received in response
to the Regulatory Notice is attached as Exhibit 2b.\12\ Eleven of the
71 comment letters received addressed proposed changes to Rule
2267.\13\ Of these 11 comment letters, 10 were in favor of an increase
in the communication by firms to their customers about the existence of
BrokerCheck and one was opposed.
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    \11\ The Commission notes that Exhibit 2a is attached to the
filing, not to this Notice.
    \12\ The Commission notes that Exhibit 2b is attached to the
filing, not to this Notice. All references to the commenters under
this Item are to the commenters as listed in Exhibit 2b.
    \13\ ARM, CFA, CFP, Davis, Dickenson, Dorsey, Foresters, Kelly,
McCraken, PIRC, and Podolak.
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    Several commenters expressed the view that firms should include a
link to BrokerCheck on their Web sites to help increase investor
awareness of the program.\14\ Some of these commenters also suggested
that firms be required to include the BrokerCheck Web site address in
various other locations such as public communications, new account
documents, and monthly statements.\15\
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    \14\ CFA, CFP, Davis, Foresters, Kelly, McCracken, and PIRC.
    \15\ ARM, CFA, CFP, PIRC, and Podolak.
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    FINRA appreciates the commenters' suggestions on additional ways to
increase investor awareness of

BrokerCheck and will consider them in the future. When considering the
commenters' suggestions, FINRA will examine, among other things,
whether the inclusion of the BrokerCheck Web site address on materials
such as public communications, new account documents, and monthly
statements would materially increase investor awareness or use of
BrokerCheck, as well as the potential additional costs that the
suggested changes would impose on members and their associated persons.
    One commenter suggested that no changes be made to Rule 2267.\16\
As previously mentioned, FINRA believes that the proposed rule change
will benefit investors by increasing the awareness and use of
BrokerCheck.
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    \16\ Dorsey.
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III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action

    Within 45 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 or disapprove such 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:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an email to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Please include
File Number SR-FINRA-2013-002 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-FINRA-2013-002. 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 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 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
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such filing also will be available
for inspection and copying at the principal office of FINRA. 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-FINRA-2013-002 and should be
submitted on or before February 15, 2013.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\17\
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    \17\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-01494 Filed 1-24-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 157 (Monday, August 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 54178]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19408]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

RTCA SC-230 Plenary #9 Meeting Call Notice: WG-95 ``Inflight Ice
Long Range Awareness Systems'' Meeting #5

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: RTCA SC-230 Plenary #9 Meeting Call Notice: WG-95 ``Inflight
Ice Long Range Awareness Systems'' Meeting #5.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a
meeting of RTCA SC-230 Plenary #9 Meeting Call Notice: WG-95 ``Inflight
Ice Long Range Awareness Systems'' Meeting #5.

DATES: The meeting will be held October 4-6, 2016, 08:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, 08:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Wednesday, 08:45 a.m.-15:00 p.m.
Thursday.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at: Airbus France SAS, 316 route de
Bayonne, 31060 Toulouse, Saint-Martin, France.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karan Hofmann at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>or
(202) 330-0680, Adrian Cioranu at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>or +33 1
40 92 79 31, or The RTCA Secretariat, 1150 18th Street NW., Suite 910,
Washington, DC 20036, or by telephone at<PHONE_NUMBER>, fax at (202)
833-9434, or Web site at http://www.rtca.org.
    If you plan to attend please email by September 16, 2016: Luke
Tschacher at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>and Camille Caruhel at
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 5 U.S.C., App.), notice is
hereby given for a meeting of the RTCA SC-230 Plenary #9 Meeting Call
Notice: WG-95 ``Inflight Ice Long Range Awareness Systems'' Meeting #5.
The agenda will include the following:

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

08:30-08:50 Arrive at the Airbus Saint-Martin main entrance for badges
and transfer to the conference room
09:00-10:15 Airbus presentation (by Gilles CESCON, Head of Manage
Flight domain: MRM-TO-M63-1-SALLE 4)
10:15-11:00 Plenary session with WG95 main group (Building M67,
Conference Room S126)
11:00-12:00 Introduction for the WG95-SG and Action Item Review
12:00-13:00 Lunch break @ Airbus
13:00-17:00 Review of the actions answers. Close discussion on HMI and
write down the guidelines

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

08:45-09:00 Arrive at the Airbus Saint-Martin main entrance for badges
and transfer to the conference room (Building M67, Conference Room
S384)
09:00-12:00 Review of the whole document and closure of all comments
12:00-13:00 Lunch break @ Airbus
13:00-15:00 Review of the whole document and closure of all comments

Thursday, October 6, 2016

08:45-09:00 Arrive at the Airbus Saint-Martin main entrance for badges
and transfer to the conference room (Building M67, Conference Room
S052)
09:00-12:00 Review of the whole document and closure of all comments
12:00-13:00 Lunch break @Airbus
13:00-15:00 Review of the whole document and closure of all comments
15:00-17:00 Wrap up of discussion, open discussion items, and
conclusions

    Attendance is open to the interested public but limited to space
availability. With the approval of the chairman, members of the public
may present oral statements at the meeting. Persons wishing to present
statements or obtain information should contact the person listed in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. Members of the public may
present a written statement to the committee at any time.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 9, 2016.
Mohannad Dawoud,
Management & Program Analyst, Partnership Contracts Branch, ANG-A17,
NextGen, Procurement Services Division, Federal Aviation
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-19408 Filed 8-12-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 73 (Friday, April 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21347-21349]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9190]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-1046; FRL-8869-9]

Proposed Pesticide Program's Pilot Fragrance Notification
Program; Notice of Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is publishing for
comment a proposed Pilot Fragrance Notification Program (PFNP) for
registrants seeking to add new or modify existing fragrances in new or
currently registered pesticide products. The Agency intends to
implement the proposed PFNP for two years as a process improvement
effort to streamline the current 90-day process used to amend
registrations to a 30-day notification process when fragrance
ingredients are added, removed, or modified.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 16, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-1046, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P),
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket Facility's normal hours of operation (8:30
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays).
Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed
information. The Docket Facility telephone number is<PHONE_NUMBER>.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2010-1046. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-
mail. The regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov,
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part
of the comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index
available at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly
available docket materials are available either in the electronic
docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard
copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac
Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of
operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone
number is<PHONE_NUMBER>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: SanYvette Williams, Antimicrobials
Division (7510P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax number:<PHONE_NUMBER>; e-
mail address<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    You may be potentially affected by this action if you are a
registrant wishing to add or modify fragrances in registered products
or fragrance suppliers. If you have any questions regarding the
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
    i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.

II. What action is the agency taking?

    The Agency is taking this action as a follow up to the 2007
Fragrance Notification Pilot Program and it is very similar in conduct.
The proposed PFNP incorporates the ability to self certify and rely on
the Fragrance Ingredient List (FIL). The FIL is comprised of more than
1,500 fragrance component ingredients contained in pesticide products
previously reviewed and registered by the Agency and have undergone an
evaluation to determine their suitability for safe use as components of
fragrances used in nonfood use pesticide product formulations. Only
fragrances in which all of the components in the fragrance are on the
FIL are eligible to participate in the proposed PFNP.
    The objectives of the current pilot are to improve public
transparency, reduce the amount of paperwork required of registrants
and decrease tracking. The number of fragrance documents needing to be
tracked would be decreased because they would be submitted twice a year
versus with every application. These efficiencies will allow resources
to be focused on other regulatory work without compromise to public
health or the environment.
    This is a voluntary program where interested entities have an
opportunity to participate. The Agency is publishing this for comment
by registrants as part of process improvement. Comments on the proposed
process for this pilot are welcomed.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection.

    Dated: April 8, 2011.
Steven Bradbury,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2011-9190 Filed 4-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15533-15538]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05559]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-88373; File No. SR-NYSE-2020-14]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC;
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To
Extend the Transition Period for Member Organizations To Transition to
the Utilization of Ports That Connect to the Exchange Using Pillar
Technology

March 12, 2020.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby
given that, on March 2, 2020, New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' or
the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I,
II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the self-
regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to
solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend its Price List to (1) extend the
Transition Period for member organizations to transition to the
utilization of ports that connect to the Exchange using Pillar
technology; (2) shorten the Decommission Period from six to four
months; (3) extend the effective date that the Exchange would prorate
the monthly fee for ports activated on or after July 1, 2019; and (4)
revise the fees charged for legacy port connections during the
Decommission Period. The Exchange proposes to implement these changes
to its Price List effective March 2, 2020. The proposed rule change is
available on the Exchange's website at www.nyse.com, at the principal
office of

the Exchange, 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 self-regulatory organization
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 Exchange has prepared
summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most
significant parts of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    Effective July 3, 2019, the Exchange introduced transition pricing
designed to provide member organizations an extended transition period
to connect to the Exchange using Pillar technology with no fee
increase. Specifically, the Exchange (1) adopted a cap on monthly fees
for the use of certain ports connecting to the Exchange for the billing
months July 2019 through March 2020 (the ``Transition Period''); (2)
adopted a Decommission Extension Fee applicable for the billing months
April 2020 through September 2020 (the ``Decommission Period'') for
legacy port connections; and (3) prorated the monthly fee for certain
ports activated after July 1, 2019, effective April 1, 2020.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 86360 (July 11,
2019), 84 FR 34210 (SR-NYSE-2019-39).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange proposes to
     extend the end of the Transition Period from March 2020 to
August 2020 for member organizations to transition to the utilization
of ports that connect to the Exchange using Pillar technology;
     shorten the Decommission Period that begins once the
transition period ends from six months (April 2020-September 2020) to
four months (September-December 2020);
     extend the effective date that the Exchange would prorate
the monthly fee for certain ports activated on or after July 1, 2019
from April 1, 2020 to September 1, 2020; and
     revise the fees charged for legacy port connections during
the Decommission Period.
    The purpose of this filing is to provide additional time for member
organizations to transition from older to newer and more efficient
Pillar technology. The Exchange is not proposing to adjust the amount
of the port fees, which will remain at the current level for all market
participants. The Exchange would continue to provide a cap on how much
member organizations would be charged for ports during the proposed
extra five months of the Transition Period so that they would not incur
additional charges during the transition to Pillar communication
protocols. Moreover, the Exchange proposes to shorten the period during
which the few firms that do not transition during the proposed longer
Transition Period would be charged fees to offset the Exchange's
continuing costs of supporting legacy ports, and proposes to increase
those fees to account for the overall longer time period that the
Exchange would need to support legacy ports.
    The Exchange proposes to implement these changes to its Price List
effective March 2, 2020.
Competitive Environment
    The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market. The
Commission has repeatedly expressed its preference for competition over
regulatory intervention in determining prices, products, and services
in the securities markets. Specifically, in Regulation NMS, the
Commission highlighted the importance of market forces in determining
prices and SRO revenues and, also, recognized that current regulation
of the market system ``has been remarkably successful in promoting
market competition in its broader forms that are most important to
investors and listed companies.'' \5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9,
2005), 70 FR 37495, 37499 (June 29, 2005) (S7-10-04) (``Regulation
NMS'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As the Commission itself recognized, the market for trading
services in NMS stocks has become ``more fragmented and competitive.''
\6\ Indeed, equity trading is currently dispersed across 13
exchanges,\7\ 31 alternative trading systems,\8\ and numerous broker-
dealer internalizers and wholesalers. Based on publicly-available
information, no single exchange has more than 20% of the market share
of executed volume of equity trades (whether excluding or including
auction volume).\9\ The Exchange believes that the ever-shifting market
share among the exchanges from month to month demonstrates that market
participants can shift order flow, or discontinue or reduce use of
certain categories of products, including ports, in response to fee
changes. Accordingly, the Exchange's fees, including port fees, are
reasonably constrained by competitive alternatives and market
participants can readily trade on competing venues if they deem pricing
levels at those other venues to be more favorable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808, 84 FR 5202,
5253 (February 20, 2019) (File No. S7-05-18) (Transaction Fee Pilot
for NMS Stocks Final Rule) (``Transaction Fee Pilot'').
    \7\ See Cboe Global Markets, U.S. Equities Market Volume
Summary, available at http://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/market_share/. See generally https://www.sec.gov/fast-answers/divisionsmarketregmrexchangesshtml.html.
    \8\ See FINRA ATS Transparency Data, available at https://otctransparency.finra.org/otctransparency/AtsIssueData. A list of
alternative trading systems registered with the Commission is
available at https://www.sec.gov/foia/docs/atslist.htm.
    \9\ See Cboe Global Markets U.S. Equities Market Volume Summary,
available at http://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/market_share/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange is proposing these changes in the context of a
competitive environment in which market participants can and do shift
order flow, or discontinue or reduce use of certain categories of
products, in response to fee changes. Because ports are used by member
organizations to trade electronically on the Exchange, fees associated
with ports are subject to these same competitive forces. The Exchange
believes that the proposal represents a reasonable attempt to provide
member organizations with additional time to effect an orderly
transition to upgraded technology without incurring additional costs.
If a member organization is unable to complete this transition within
the proposed longer period, the proposed pricing is designed to offset
the Exchange's continuing costs of supporting legacy ports for a longer
period of time.
Proposed Rule Change
    Member organizations enter orders and order instructions, and
receive information from the Exchange, by establishing a connection to
a gateway that uses communication protocols that map to the order types
and modifiers described in Exchange rules. These gateway connections,
also known as logical port connections, are referred to as ``ports'' on
the Exchange's Price List. Legacy ports connect with the Exchange via a
Common Customer Gateway (known as ``CCG'') that accesses its equity
trading systems (``Phase I ports''). Beginning July 1, 2019, the
Exchange began to make available ports using Pillar gateways to its
member organizations (``Phase II ports'').
Extension of the Date To Prorate Ports
    The Exchange currently makes available ports that provide
connectivity

to the Exchange's trading systems (i.e., ports for entry of orders and/
or quotes (``order/quote entry ports'')) and charges $550 per port per
month. Designated Market Makers (``DMMs'') are not charged for the
first 12 ports per month that connect to the Exchange.\10\ The Exchange
also currently makes ports available for drop copies and charges $550
per port per month,\11\ except that DMMs are not charged for drop copy
ports that connect to the Exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ DMMs completed the transition to Phase II ports last year.
    \11\ Only one fee per drop copy port applies, even if receiving
drop copies from multiple order/quote entry ports.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    During the ongoing first phase of the Exchange's transition
pricing, the fees charged for both order/quote entry and drop copy
ports are, with certain exceptions, capped at--and thus not charged for
more than--the total number of both order/quote entry and drop copy
ports that the member organization has activated as of its June 2019
invoice.
    Effective April 1, 2020, the Exchange will prorate fees for order/
quote entry and drop copy ports activated after July 1, 2019, to the
number of trading days that a port is eligible for production trading
with the Exchange, including any scheduled early closing days.
    The Exchange proposes to extend the effective date for the
prorating of order/quote entry and drop copy ports to September 1, 2020
to coincide with the end of the proposed extended Transition Period in
August 2020, discussed below.
Extension of the Transition Period
    Currently, during the billing months of July 2019 through March
2020 (the ``Transition Period''), the total number of ports charged per
member organization is capped at the total number of ports that the
member organization activated as of the June 2019 invoice, which was
the last full month prior to the introduction of the new gateways (the
``Transition Cap''). Transition Cap pricing is available until the
earlier of (1) the end of the Transition Period, i.e., March 2020, or
(2) the billing month during which a member organization fully
transitions to using only ports that communicate using Pillar phase II
protocols. If during the Transition Period, a member organization
increases the number of Phase I ports above the Transition Cap, those
ports would be charged at the current rates for order/quote entry ports
and drop copy ports. Finally, if during the Transition Period a member
organization has a total number of ports below the Transition Cap, the
Exchange would charge a member organization for their actual number of
ports.
    The Exchange proposes to extend the Transition Period by five
months to August 2020. As proposed, the charge per port (order/quote
entry and drop copy) would remain at $550 per port per month. DMMs
would continue not to be charged for drop copy ports and for their
first 12 order/quote entry ports per month that connect to the Exchange
and then charged $550 per order/quote entry port that connects to the
Exchange per month thereafter.
    The purpose of Transition Period pricing is to cap port fees to
allow member organizations additional time to implement technology
changes necessary to connect to the Exchange using the Phase II ports
without incurring additional Exchange fees. As of January 2020, only
42% of Phase I ports have been cancelled. Based on the Exchange's
experience to date, the Exchange believes that an additional five
months will be necessary to provide sufficient time for all member
organizations, regardless of size, to be able to complete the necessary
changes and transition fully to the Phase II ports.
Extension of the Decommission Period and New Decommission Extension Fee
    Currently, member organizations that have not transitioned to Phase
II ports and are still utilizing Phase I ports during the billing
months of April 2020 through September 2020 (i.e., the Decommission
Period), would, in addition to the current port fees, be charged a
Decommission Extension Fee of $500 per port per month, increasing by
$500 per port for each month for any ports that communicate using
Pillar phase I protocols. As per the Price List, ports using Pillar
phase I protocols would no longer be available beginning October 1,
2020.
    The Exchange proposes that the Decommission Period would begin in
September 2020, after the end of the proposed longer Transition Period,
and shortened to four months. As proposed, the Decommission Period
would commence in September 2020 and end in December 2020. As a result,
the Price List would also be amended to provide that ports using Pillar
phase I protocols would no longer be available beginning January 1,
2021. The Exchange further proposes to increase the Decommission
Extension Fee to $1,000 per port per month and increasing by $1,000 per
port for each month for any ports that communicate using Pillar phase I
protocols.
    For example, in January 2020, Firm A has 10 Phase I ports and a
Transition Cap of 10 ports. By September 2020, the first month of the
proposed Decommission Period, Firm A still has two Phase I ports. In
this scenario, Firm A would be charged the standard port rate for two
Phase I ports plus $1,000 per port for the Decommission Extension Fee.
    If Firm A has the same two Phase I ports in October 2020, Firm A
would be charged the standard port rate for the two Phase I ports plus
$2,000 per port for the Decommission Extension Fee.
    If Firm A retains the two Phase I ports until December 2020, the
final month of the proposed enlarged Decommission Period, Firm A would
be charged the standard port rate for the two Phase I ports plus $4,000
per port for the Decommission Extension Fee.
    As noted above, the Exchange believes that a longer Transition
Period would provide sufficient time for member organizations to fully
transition to Phase II ports and eliminate their use of Phase I ports.
To the extent that member organizations do not complete the transition
during the Transition Period, the Exchange will offer member
organizations the ability to choose to continue using Phase I ports
until December 2020. To cover the costs associated with maintaining and
supporting both Phase I ports and Phase II ports beyond the longer
Transition Period, and to provide an added incentive for member
organizations to migrate to Phase II ports before the end of the
Transition Period, the Exchange proposes to increase the costs for the
expected very small number of member organizations that would need
longer to transition than the 14-month Transition Period. Specifically,
to support the continued availability of the Phase I ports, the
Exchange would have to maintain additional hardware and devote
technology resources to maintain and operate those ports, which is a
cost to the Exchange. While these costs cannot be specifically
quantified and it is unknown how many (if any) member organizations
would need to continue to access the Exchange using Phase I ports after
the Transition Period, the Exchange believes that the proposed
increased Decommission Extension Fee would, in part, cover the costs
associated with continuing to support the Phase I port infrastructure
for use by a dwindling number of member organizations. The Exchange
believes that the proposed additional five months will provide more
than sufficient time for the transition and that fewer member
organizations will choose to pay the proposed Decommission Fee because
they do not transition within the extended Transition Period.

    The proposed changes are not otherwise intended to address any
other issues, and the Exchange is not aware of any problems that member
organizations would have in complying with the proposed change.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\12\ in general, and furthers the
objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\13\ in
particular, because it provides for the equitable allocation of
reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its members, issuers and
other persons using its facilities and does not unfairly discriminate
between customers, issuers, brokers or dealers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) & (5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Proposed Changes Are Reasonable
    The Exchange operates in a highly competitive market. The
Commission has repeatedly expressed its preference for competition over
regulatory intervention in determining prices, products, and services
in the securities markets. Specifically, in Regulation NMS, the
Commission highlighted the importance of market forces in determining
prices and SRO revenues and, also, recognized that current regulation
of the market system ``has been remarkably successful in promoting
market competition in its broader forms that are most important to
investors and listed companies.'' \14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ See Regulation NMS, 70 FR at 37499.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As the Commission itself recognized, the market for trading
services in NMS stocks has become ``more fragmented and competitive.''
\15\ Indeed, equity trading is currently dispersed across 13
exchanges,\16\ 31 alternative trading systems,\17\ and numerous broker-
dealer internalizers and wholesalers. Based on publicly-available
information, no single exchange has more than 20% of the market share
of executed volume of equity trades (whether excluding or including
auction volume).\18\ The Exchange believes that the ever-shifting
market share among the exchanges from month to month demonstrates that
market participants can shift order flow, or discontinue or reduce use
of certain categories of products, including ports, in response to fee
changes. Accordingly, the Exchange's fees, including port fees, are
reasonably constrained by competitive alternatives and market
participants can readily trade on competing venues if they deem pricing
levels at those other venues to be more favorable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ See Transaction Fee Pilot, 84 FR at 5253.
    \16\ See Cboe Global Markets, U.S. Equities Market Volume,
available at http://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/market_share/. See
generally https://www.sec.gov/fast-answers/divisionsmarketregmrexchangesshtml.html.
    \17\ See FINRA ATS Transparency Data, available at https://otctransparency.finra.org/otctransparency/AtsIssueData. A list of
alternative trading systems registered with the Commission is
available at https://www.sec.gov/foia/docs/atslist.htm.
    \18\ See Cboe Global Markets U.S. Equities Market Volume
Summary, available at http://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/market_share/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If a particular exchange charges excessive fees for connectivity,
impacted members and non-members may opt to terminate their
connectivity arrangements with that exchange, and adopt a possible
range of alternative strategies, including routing to the applicable
exchange through another participant or market center or taking that
exchange's data indirectly. Accordingly, if the Exchange charges
excessive fees, it would stand to lose not only connectivity revenues
but also revenues associated with the execution of orders routed to it,
and, to the extent applicable, market data revenues. The Exchange
believes that this competitive dynamic imposes powerful restraints on
the ability of any exchange to charge unreasonable fees for
connectivity.
    Given this competitive environment, the proposal represents a fair
and reasonable attempt to provide member organizations with additional
time to make an orderly transition to upgraded technology without
increasing their costs. As noted, more than half of legacy ports have
not been cancelled. If a member organization is unable to complete this
transition within the additional five months of the extended Transition
Period, the pricing is designed so that only those few member
organizations that may not transition within that time period would pay
for the Exchange to continue to support their Phase I ports.
Additionally, the Exchange believes that the revised Decommission
Extension Fee for member organizations that choose to continue to
connect to the Exchange through the use of Phase I ports following the
end of the Transition Period is reasonable because the Exchange would
continue to incur ongoing costs in maintaining Phase I ports for a
longer period of time.
The Proposal Is an Equitable Allocation of Fees
    The Exchange believes its proposal equitably allocates its fees
among its market participants. The Exchange is not proposing to adjust
the amount of the port fees, which will remain at the current level for
all market participants. Rather, the proposal would revise the
Decommission Extension Fee for those few member organizations that
choose not to transition to Phase II ports during the extended
Transition Period.
    The Exchange believes that the proposal constitutes an equitable
allocation of fees because all similarly situated member organizations
and other market participants eligible for the Decommission Extension
Fee would be charged the same rates. Specifically, the proposed revised
Decommission Extension Fee would apply equally to all member
organizations that choose to connect to the Exchange through the use of
Phase I ports during the Decommission Period. Moreover, as noted above,
the Exchange proposes a longer transition period which the Exchange
expects should be more than sufficient for all member organizations,
regardless of size, to transition to Phase II ports before the proposed
revised Decommission Fee goes into effect.
    The proposal to pro-rate port fees beginning September 1, 2020, is
also an equitable allocation of fees since it would apply equally to
all member organizations that connect to the Exchange, who would
equally receive the benefit of being charged only for the connectivity
utilized during any trading month beginning in September 1, 2020. As
noted above, to the extent a member organization continues to use ports
activated before July 1, 2019 to connect to the Exchange during the new
September 1, 2020 date and any subsequent months, the Exchange believes
it is fair and equitable to continue to charge flat fees for such ports
until such time that connection to the Exchange through the use of
Phase I ports is no longer available beginning January 1, 2021.
The Proposal Is Not Unfairly Discriminatory
    The Exchange believes that the proposal is not unfairly
discriminatory. In the prevailing competitive environment, member
organizations are free to disfavor the Exchange's pricing if they
believe that alternatives offer them better value, and are free to
discontinue to connect to the Exchange through its ports. As noted, the
Exchange is offering upgraded connections in an effort to keep pace
with changes in the industry and evolving customer needs as new
technologies emerge and products continue to develop and change.
    The proposal neither targets nor will it have a disparate impact on
any particular category of market participant. The Exchange believes
that the proposal does not permit unfair discrimination because the
proposal would be applied to all similarly

situated member organizations and other market participants would be
charged the same rates.
    The Exchange believes that the proposal does not permit unfair
discrimination because the Exchange will be making available both the
Phase I and Phase II ports available to all member organizations during
the extended Transition Period on an equal basis. Accordingly, no
member organization already operating on the Exchange would be
disadvantaged by this allocation of fees. For the same reasons, the
Exchange believes that the proposal would not permit unfair
discrimination between member organizations.
    Similarly, the proposal does not permit unfair discrimination
between member organizations because the proposed revised Decommission
Extension Fee would apply equally to all member organizations that
choose to connect to the Exchange through the use of such ports during
the proposed Decommission Period. If a member organizations becomes
subject to the Decommission Fee, it would only be because such firm
chose not to complete its transition to the Phase II ports by the end
of the longer Transition Period. While the Exchange cannot predict with
certainty whether any firms would be subject to the Decommission Fee,
and if so, which ones, the Exchange anticipates that it would be a
limited set of member organizations that would incur such fees.
Moreover, the Exchange believes that increasing the Decommission
Extension Fee for each month for ports that communicate using Pillar
phase I protocols once the new Decommission Period begins would also
apply equally to all member organizations that continue to choose to
connect to the Exchange utilizing legacy ports.
    The Exchange believes that the proposal to pro-rate port fees does
not permit unfair discrimination because it would apply equally to all
member organizations that connect to the Exchange, who would equally
receive the benefit of being charged only for the connectivity utilized
during any trading month beginning September 1, 2020. As noted, to the
extent a member organization continues to use ports activated before
July 1, 2019 to connect to the Exchange during September 1, 2020 and
any subsequent months, the Exchange believes it is fair, equitable and
not unfairly discriminatory to continue to charge flat fees for such
ports until such time that connection to the Exchange through the use
of old ports is no longer available beginning January 1, 2021.
    Finally, the Exchange believes that it is subject to significant
competitive forces, as described below in the Exchange's statement
regarding the burden on competition.
    For the foregoing reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposal
is consistent with the Act.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\19\ the Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change would not impose any burden on
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act. Instead, as discussed above, the Exchange believes
that the proposed changes would provide additional time for member
organizations to transition from older to newer and more efficient
Pillar technology with no fee increase and offset the Exchange's
continuing costs of supporting the Phase I ports for the few firms that
do not transition to the new ports during the longer transition period
without any change to the fees currently charged by the Exchange for
the use of ports to connect to the Exchange's trading systems.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intramarket Competition. The Exchange does not believe the proposed
rule change would impose any burden on intramarket competition that is
not necessary or appropriate because it would apply to all member
organizations equally that connect to the Exchange. All member
organizations, regardless of size, will be eligible for the transition
pricing through the extended Transition Period ending August 2020 and
will be eligible to connect via either Phase I or Phase II ports during
this period. In addition, all member organizations will be subject to
the proposed Decommission Fee on an equal basis if they do complete the
transition to Phase II ports by the end of the new August 2020 date. As
noted, the Exchange anticipates that a low percentage of member
organizations would be subject to the proposed Decommission Fee, and
the firms likely to be subject to such fee would be larger firms that
could more easily absorb the cost of that fee. The Exchange further
believes that by extending the Transition Period and providing six
months' notice of the revised Decommission Fee, all member
organizations have an equal opportunity to timely transition to Phase
II ports before the new Decommission Fee would take effect.
    Intermarket Competition. The Exchange does not believe the proposed
rule change would impose any burden on intermarket competition that is
not necessary or appropriate because the Exchange operates in a highly
competitive market in which market participants can readily choose to
send their orders to other exchange and off-exchange venues if they
deem fee levels at those other venues to be more favorable. The
Exchange believes that fees for connectivity are constrained by the
robust competition for order flow among exchanges and non-exchange
markets.
    As noted, the no single exchange has more than 20% of the market
share of executed volume of equity trades (whether excluding or
including auction volume).\20\ The Exchange believes that the ever-
shifting market share among the exchanges from month to month
demonstrates that market participants can shift order flow, or
discontinue or reduce use of certain categories of products, including
ports, in response to fee changes. Accordingly, the Exchange's fees,
including port fees, are reasonably constrained by competitive
alternatives and market participants can readily trade on competing
venues if they deem pricing levels at those other venues to be more
favorable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ See Cboe Global Markets U.S. Equities Market Volume
Summary, available at http://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/market_share/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Exchange is proposing these changes in the context of a
competitive environment in which market participants can and do shift
order flow, or discontinue or reduce use of certain categories of
products, in response to fee changes. Because ports are used by member
organizations to trade electronically on the Exchange, fees associated
with ports are subject to these same competitive forces. The Exchange
therefore believes that the proposal would not impose an undue burden
on intermarket competition because the purpose of this filing is not to
change the rates charged for ports but rather to provide member
organizations with more time to effect an orderly transition to
upgraded technology without needing to incur any additional costs. If a
member organization is unable to complete this transition within the
proposed longer period, the pricing is designed to offset the
Exchange's continuing costs of supporting legacy ports for a shorter
period of time.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the
proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action

    The foregoing rule change is effective upon filing pursuant to
Section 19(b)(3)(A) \21\ of the Act and subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule
19b-4 \22\ thereunder, because it establishes a due, fee, or other
charge imposed by the Exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \22\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission
takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings under
Section 19(b)(2)(B) \23\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \23\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an email to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Please include
File Number SR-NYSE-2020-14 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2020-14. 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 internet website (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 website 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 10:00 a.m. and
3:00 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. Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying
information from comment submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2020-14 and should be submitted on
or before April 8, 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\24\
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-05559 Filed 3-17-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 18584]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06994]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. ER13-1101-000]

Spectrum Nevada Solar, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial
Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204
Authorization

    This is a supplemental notice in the above-referenced proceeding,
of Spectrum Nevada Solar, LLC's application for market-based rate
authority, with an accompanying rate schedule, noting that such
application includes a request for blanket authorization, under 18 CFR
part 34, of future issuances of securities and assumptions of
liability.
    Any person desiring to intervene or to protest should file with the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington,
DC 20426, in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission's
Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214). Anyone
filing a motion to intervene or protest must serve a copy of that
document on the Applicant.
    Notice is hereby given that the deadline for filing protests with
regard to the applicant's request for blanket authorization, under 18
CFR part 34, of future issuances of securities and assumptions of
liability is April 10, 2013.
    The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and
interventions in lieu of paper, using the FERC Online links at http://www.ferc.gov. To facilitate electronic service, persons with Internet
access who will eFile a document and/or be listed as a contact for an
intervenor must create and validate an eRegistration account using the
eRegistration link. Select the eFiling link to log on and submit the
intervention or protests.
    Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and
5 copies of the intervention or protest to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    The filings in the above-referenced proceeding(s) are accessible in
the Commission's eLibrary system by clicking on the appropriate link in
the above list. They are also available for review in the Commission's
Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an eSubscription link
on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive email notification
when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with
any FERC Online service, please email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>or
call<PHONE_NUMBER> (toll free). For TTY, call<PHONE_NUMBER>.

    Dated: March 21, 2013.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-06994 Filed 3-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


[Federal Register: December 5, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 233)]
[Notices]
[Page 70575-70577]
[DOCID:fr05de06-88]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-54837; File No. SR-NYSE-2006-102]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC;
Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change
Relating to the Inclusion of an Additional Security in the Pilot to Put
Into Operation Certain Rule Changes Pending Before the Securities and
Exchange Commission to Coincide With the Exchange's Implementation of
Phase 3 of the NYSE HYBRID MARKETSM and the Substitution of
the Name and Trading Symbol of a Security Operating in the Pilot A

November 29, 2006.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on November 28, 2006, the New York Stock Exchange LLC (``NYSE'' 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 substantially prepared by the
Exchange. NYSE filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \3\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder,\4\ which
renders the proposal effective upon filing with the Commission. The
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange is proposing to include an additional security to
participate in the Exchange's current pilot (``Pilot'') program which
puts into operation certain rule changes pending before the Commission
to coincide with the Exchange's implementation of NYSE HYBRID
MARKETSM (``Hybrid Market'') \5\ Phase 3. The Exchange
further seeks to change the name of a security currently operating
under the Pilot and substitute the name and trading symbol of its
successor entity. The relevant securities are identified in Exhibit 3
to the filing, which is available on the NYSE's Web site (http://www.nyse.com
), at the principal office of the NYSE, and at the

Commission's Public Reference Room.
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    \5\ The Hybrid Market was approved on March 22, 2006. See
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53539 (March 22, 2006), 71 FR
16353 (March 31, 2006).
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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 Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The 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
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    On October 5, 2006, the Commission approved an Exchange Pilot \6\
to, among other things, put into operation certain proposed
modifications to Exchange Rules that are currently pending \7\ before
the Commission to coincide with the Exchange's implementation of the
Hybrid Market Phase 3. The Pilot commenced on October 6, 2006 \8\ and
is scheduled to terminate on the close of business November 30, 2006
\9\ or the earlier of Commission approval of the Omnibus Filing,\10\
Stabilization Filing and the Block Cross Filing while the Commission
continues to review the aforementioned pending filings. The Pilot
applies to a group of securities, known as Phase 3 Pilot securities
(``Pilot securities'').\11\
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    \6\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 54578, 71 FR 60216
(October 12, 2006) and 54610 (October 16, 2006), 71 FR 62142
(October 23, 2006).
    \7\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 54520 (September
27, 2006), 71 FR 57590 (September 29, 2006) (SR-NYSE-2006-65 and the
Amendments thereto proposing to amend several Exchange Rules to
clarify certain definitions and systemic processes (``Omnibus
Filing'')); 54504 (September 26, 2006), 71 FR 57011 (September 28,
2006) (SR-NYSE 2006-76 proposing to amend the specialist
stabilization requirements set forth in Exchange Rule 104.10
(``Stabilization Filing'')); and SR-NYSE-2006-73 (filed on September
13, 2006) and Amendment No. 2 thereto (filed on October 13, 2006)
(proposing to amend Exchange Rule 127 which governs the execution of
a block cross transaction at a price outside the prevailing NYSE
quotation (``Block Cross Filing''). The Commission notes that it
approved the Omnibus Filing on November 27, 2006. See Securities
Exchange Act Release No. 54820.
    \8\ The changes related to stop orders and stop limit orders
proposed in the Omnibus Filing were implemented on October 16, 2006
in order to give customers and member organizations sufficient time
to make any changes necessary as a result of the elimination of stop
limit orders.
    \9\ On October 31, 2006 the Exchange filed to extend the Pilot
until November 30, 2006. See Securities Exchange Act Release No.
54675 (October 31, 2006), 71 FR 65019 (November 6, 2006). The
extension made clear that approval of any one of the pending filings
would act to terminate the operation of the rules associated with
the approved filing from the Pilot. Accordingly, the changes
approved in the Omnibus Filing are no longer part of the Pilot. The
Pilot shall not terminate in its entirety unless and until all
pending filings are approved or November 30, 2006.
    \10\ See note 7 supra.
    \11\ Phase 3 Pilot Securities are posted on the Exchange's Web
site. The securities posted on the Exchange's Web site include
securities added to operate under the Pilot pursuant to Securities
Exchange Act Release No. 54685 (November 1, 2006), 71 FR 65559
(November 8, 2006).
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    The Exchange is currently in the process of phasing in the
securities operating under the Pilot. As expected, the Pilot is
operating with minimal problems and the benefits are proving
invaluable. The Pilot is providing the Exchange with the opportunity to
identify and address any system problems. Moreover, the Exchange has
the ability to identify and incorporate beneficial system changes that
become apparent as a result of usage in real time and under real market
conditions.

    The Exchange further has the ability to have real time user
interface which is proving very useful to the Exchange. In addition to
its usefulness to the Exchange, the Pilot is providing the current
users with essential practical experience with the new systems and
processes in a well-modulated way, in real time and under real market
conditions that cannot be completely replicated in the mock-trading
environment.
    As of Tuesday November 28, 2006, the Exchange will complete the
phasing in of all Banc of America Specialists allocated securities
approved to operate under the Pilot. In order to continue increasing
the users that may benefit from the enhanced educational and
supervisory training experience that the Pilot provides, the Exchange
seeks through this filing to include an additional security handled by
Banc of America Specialists for participation in the Pilot.
Specifically, the Exchange seeks to include the security traded under
the symbol GE (General Electric Company).
    The Exchange believes that the addition of this security will
continue to provide an increased number of individual specialists with
the educational opportunity of real time experience under real market
conditions that cannot be completely replicated in the mock-trading
environment. It will further provide an increased number of the firm's
supervisory personnel with additional opportunities for supervisory
training in real time and under real market conditions.
    In addition to including GE in the Pilot, the Exchange seeks to
substitute the trading symbol for Lucent Technologies which is
currently operating in the Pilot under the trading symbol LU with the
symbol ALU to reflect the December 1, 2006 business combination of
Lucent Technologies with Alcatel. The Exchange therefore seeks to
change the trading symbol LU to ALU in order to accurately reflect the
successor entity which is now Alcatel-Lucent.
    Accordingly, the Exchange believes that the inclusion of this
additional security will only further the Exchange's ability to
identify and address any system problems and to identify and
incorporate beneficial system changes while providing the new users
with real time education.
    The securities proposed for inclusion in the Pilot are identified
in Exhibit 3 to the filing.
2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with the requirement under Section 6(b)(5) \12\ of the Act \13\ that an
Exchange have rules that are designed 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. The proposed
rule change also is designed to support the principles of Section
11A(a)(1) \14\ in that it seeks to assure economically efficient
execution of securities transactions.
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    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \14\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1(a)(1).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose 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

    The Exchange has neither solicited nor received written comments on
the proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action

    The proposed rule change is filed pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)
\15\ of the Act and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) \16\ thereunder.
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    \15\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
    \16\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
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    This proposed rule change does not significantly affect the
protection of investors or the public interest and does not impose any
significant burden on competition. Accordingly, the Exchange believes
that this amendment is non-controversial.
    In connection with the filing being made under Section 19(b)(3)(A)
of the Act, the Exchange requests that the Commission waive the 30-day
delayed operative date and five-day pre-filing period of Rule 19b-
4(f)(6)(iii).
    A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b-4(f)(6) normally may
not become operative prior to 30 days after the date of filing.
However, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) \17\ permits the Commission to designate
a shorter time if such action is consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest. The Exchange has requested that the
Commission waive the 30-day operative delay and designate the proposed
rule change immediately operative upon filing. The Commission is
exercising authority to waive the five-day pre-filing requirement and
believes that waiver of the 30-day operative delay is consistent with
the protection of investors and the public interest. Specifically, the
Commission believes that the proposal could allow Banc of America
Specialists to provide more of its personnel with the educational
opportunity of real-time experience with real market conditions under
the Pilot. In addition, the Commission believes that replacing LU with
ALU is appropriate so that the successor security to LU would continue
to trade in a similar manner on the Exchange. Accordingly, the
Commission designates the proposal to be effective and operative upon
filing with the Commission.\18\
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    \17\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
    \18\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay,
the Commission has considered the proposed rule's impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
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    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule
change, the Commission may summarily abrogate such rule change if it
appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or appropriate
in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or otherwise
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

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:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml.
); or     Send an e-mail to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Please include

File Number SR-NYSE-2006-102 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2006-102. 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. Copies of such 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-
NYSE-2006-102 and should be submitted on or before December 26, 2006.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation,
pursuant to delegated authority.\19\
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    \19\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-20517 Filed 12-4-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P