5600 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 20 / Wednesday, January 30, 2008 / Notices
Analyses of programs with terms
different from those presented above
may use a linear interpolation. For
example, a four-year project can be
evaluated with a rate equal to the
average of the three-year and five-year
rates. Programs with durations longer
than 30 years may use the 30-year
interest rate.
[FR Doc. 08–416 Filed 1–29–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110–01–M
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
FY 2007 Pilot Program for Alternative
Approaches to Performance and
Accountability Reporting Open Forum
AGENCY: Office of Management and
Budget (OMB).
ACTION: Notice of open forum.
SUMMARY: An open forum on the FY
2007 Performance and Accountability
Report (PAR) pilot will be held at the
National Academy of Public
Administration (NAPA) on April 14,
2008 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The PAR
pilot allows agencies to explore
different formats to enhance the
presentation of financial and
performance information and make this
information more meaningful and
transparent to the public. As an
alternative to the traditional PAR,
agencies that participated in the pilot
had to prepare and submit to OMB three
component documents. The component
documents included an Agency
Financial Report (AFR), an Annual
Performance Report (APR), and a
Highlights document that presents
performance and financial information
in a summary fashion. The purpose of
the forum is to obtain feedback from
individual users and stakeholders
regarding the results of the pilot. Those
interested in participating should
respond to the questions listed below by
e-mail to either Regina Kearney at
rkearney@omb.eop.gov, or Pat Harris at
pharris@omb.eop.gov by close of
business March 28, 2008.
• Do the PAR pilot component
documents (Annual Financial Report,
Annual Performance Report, and
Highlights):
Æ Provide an enhanced presentation
of the financial and performance
information in a more transparent way
(i.e., information is presented in a
manner that is user friendly and easy
enough for a novice reader to
understand)?
Æ Report financial and performance
information more meaningfully (i.e.,
financial and performance data is
reliable, relevant, and include
measurable results linked to strategic
goals)?
Æ Tailor financial and performance
information to meet stakeholder needs?
Æ Report performance and financial
results candidly and clearly articulate
remedies to performance or financial
shortfalls?
• Are the PAR pilot component
documents easily accessible via the web
and are they easy to use?
• Did the development of the PAR
pilot component documents:
Æ Improve internal and external
communications?
Æ Increase/decrease the burden on
preparers?
• What are individuals’
recommendations for improving
performance and financial reporting?
DATED: April 14, 2008 from 10 a.m. to
12 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The forum will be held in
the National Academy of Public
Administration (NAPA) building
located at 900 7th Street, NW., Suite
600, Washington, DC 20001.
Due to potential delays in OMB’s
receipt and processing of mail sent
through the U.S. Postal Service, we
encourage respondents to submit
comments electronically to ensure
timely receipt. We cannot guarantee that
comments mailed will be received
before the forum date. Electronic mail
comments may be submitted to:
rkearney@omb.eop.gov or
pharris@omb.eop.gov. Please include
‘‘PAR Pilot Open Forum’’ in the subject
line and put the full body of your
comments in the text of the electronic
message and as an attachment. Please
include your name, title, organization,
postal address, telephone number, and
e-mail address in the text of the
message. Comments may also be
submitted by mail at 725 17th St, NW.,
Room 6025, Washington, DC 20503.
Please advise also if you will require
any special accommodations in order to
participate in the forum.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Regina Kearney, OMB Office of Federal
Financial Management, 202–395–3993
or E-mail: rkearney@omb.eop.gov. Pat
Harris OMB Office of Performance and
Personnel Management, at 202–395–
5018 or pharris@omb.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Performance and Accountability Reports
provide the public with agency financial
and performance information. PARs are
transparent tools Congress and the
public can use to hold agencies
accountable for their program
performance and financial results.
The FY 2007 PAR pilot, conducted
from May 2007 to February 2008, was
established so that agencies could
explore different formats and
timeframes for presenting financial and
performance information and make this
information more meaningful and
transparent to the public. The pilot
adjusted the timing for more detailed
performance reporting, allowing the
APR to coincide with the release of the
President’s Budget. The pilot further
required participating agencies to
produce a Highlights document, which
summarized key financial and
performance information from the AFR
and APR.
Agencies who participated in the pilot
include the Department of Health and
Human Services, Department of
Defense, Small Business
Administration, Department of State,
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Department of
Homeland Security, National Science
Foundation, Department of Energy,
Denali Commission, Corporation for
National Community Service and U.S.
Agency for International Development.
Dustin Brown,
Deputy Assistant Director for Management.
[FR Doc. E8–1573 Filed 1–29–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request
Upon Written Request, Copies Available
From: U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, Office of Investor
Education and Advocacy,
Washington, DC 20549–0213.
Extension:
Rule 611; OMB Control No. 3238–0600;
SEC File No. 270–540.
Notice is hereby given that pursuant
to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments
on the collection of information
summarized below. The Commission
plans to submit this existing collection
of information to the Office of
Management and Budget for extension
and approval.
• (Rule 611 (17 CFR 242.611)—Order
Protection Rule
On June 9, 2005, effective August 29,
2005 (see 70 FR 37496, June 29, 2005),
the Commission adopted Rule 611 of
Regulation NMS under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et
seq.) to require any national securities
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 20 / Wednesday, January 30, 2008 / Notices 5601
1This estimate includes nine national securities
exchanges and one national securities association
that trade NMS stocks. The estimate also includes
the approximately 731 firms that were registered
equity market makers or specialists at year-end
2006, as well as automated trading systems that
operate trading systems that trade NMS stocks.
2The one-time hour burden associated with
developing the required policies and procedures is
no longer applicable.
3The total cost of compliance for the annual hour
burden has been revised to reflect updated
estimated cost figures for an in-house attorney and
an assistant compliance director. These figures are
from SIFMA’s Management & Professional Earnings
in the Securities Industry 2007, adjusted by the SEC
staff for an 1800 hour work year and multiplied by
5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee
benefits and overhead. See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 50870 (Dec. 16, 2004), 69 FR 77424
(Dec. 27, 2004) at notes 427, 428 and accompanying
text.
exchange, national securities
association, alternative trading system,
exchange market maker, over-thecounter market maker and any other
broker-dealer that executes orders
internally by trading as principal or
crossing orders as agent, to establish,
maintain, and enforce policies and
procedures reasonably designed to
prevent the execution of a transaction in
its market at a price that is inferior to
a bid or offer displayed in another
market at the time of execution (a
‘‘trade-though’’), absent an applicable
exception and, if relying on an
exception, that are reasonably designed
to assure compliance with the terms of
the exception. Without this collection of
information, respondents would not
have a means to enforce compliance
with the Commission’s intention to
prevent trade-throughs pursuant to the
rule.
There are approximately 788
respondents1 per year that will require
an aggregate total of 36,540 hours to
comply with this rule.2 It is anticipated
that each respondent will continue to
expend approximately 60 hours
annually: Two hours per month of
internal legal time and three hours per
month of internal compliance time to
ensure that its written policies and
procedures are up-to-date and remain in
compliance with Rule 611. The
estimated cost for an in-house attorney
is $295 per hour and the estimated cost
for an assistant compliance director in
the securities industry is $301 per hour.
Therefore the estimated total cost of
compliance for the annual hour burden
is as follows: [(2 legal hours × 12 months
× $295) × 788] + [(3 compliance hours
× 12 months × $301) × 788] =
$14,117,808.3 There are no longer startup costs associated with Rule 611.
Written comments are invited on: (a)
Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the Commission’s
estimates of the burden of the proposed
collection of information; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Consideration will be given to
comments and suggestions submitted in
writing within 60 days of this
publication.
Comments should be directed to: R.
Corey Booth, Director/Chief Information
Officer, Securities and Exchange
Commission, C/O Shirley Martinson,
6432 General Green Way, Alexandria,
Virginia 22312 or send an e-mail to:
PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must
be submitted within 60 days of this
notice.
Dated: January 23, 2008.
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–1617 Filed 1–29–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Proposed Collection; Comment
Request
Upon Written Request, Copies Available
From: Securities and Exchange
Commission, Office of Investor
Education and Advocacy,
Washington, DC 20549–0213.
Extension:
Rule 27d–1 and Form N–27D–1; SEC File
No. 270–499; OMB Control No. 3235–
0560.
Notice is hereby given that, pursuant
to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 350l et seq.), the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the
‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments
on the collections of information under
the Investment Company Act of 1940
(‘‘Act’’) summarized below. The
Commission plans to submit these
collections of information to the Office
of Management and Budget for
approval.
Rule 27d–1 (17 CFR 270.27d–1) is
entitled ‘‘Reserve Requirements for
Principal Underwriters and Depositors
To Carry Out The Obligations To
Refund Charges Required by Section
27(d) and Section 27(f) of the Act.’’
Form N–27D–1 (17 CFR 274.127d–1) is
entitled ‘‘Accounting of Segregated
Trust Account.’’ Rule 27d–2 (17 CFR
270.27d–2) is entitled ‘‘Insurance
Company Undertaking in Lieu of
Segregated Trust Account.’’ Rule 27d–1
requires the depositor or principal
underwriter for an issuer to deposit
funds into a segregated trust account to
provide assurance of its ability to fulfill
its refund obligations under sections
27(d) and 27(f). The rule sets forth
minimum reserve amounts and
guidelines for the management and
disbursement of the assets in the
account. A single account may be used
for the periodic payment plans of
multiple investment companies. Rule
27d–1(j) directs depositors and
principal underwriters to make an
accounting of their segregated trust
accounts on Form N–27D–1, which is
intended to facilitate the Commission’s
oversight of compliance with the reserve
requirements set forth in rule 27d–1.
The form requires depositors and
principal underwriters to report
deposits to a segregated trust account,
including those made pursuant to
paragraphs (c) and (e) of the rule.
Withdrawals pursuant to paragraph (f)
of the rule also must be reported. In
addition, the form solicits information
regarding the minimum amount
required to be maintained under
paragraphs (d) and (e) of rule 27d–1.
Depositors and principal underwriters
must file the form once a year on or
before January 31 of the year following
the year for which information is
presented.
Instead of relying on rule 27d–1 and
filing Form N–27D–1, depositors or
principal underwriters for the issuers of
periodic payment plans may rely on the
exemption afforded by rule 27d–2. In
order to comply with the rule: (i) The
depositor or principal underwriter must
secure from an insurance company a
written guarantee of the refund
requirements, (ii) the insurance
company must satisfy certain financial
criteria, and (iii) the depositor or
principal underwriter must file as an
exhibit to the issuer’s registration
statement, a copy of the written
undertaking, an annual statement that
the insurance company has met the
requisite financial criteria on a monthly
basis, and an annual audited balance
sheet.
Rules 27d–1 and 27d–2, which were
explicitly authorized by statute, provide
assurance that depositors and principal
underwriters of issuers have access to
sufficient cash to meet the demands of
certificate holders who reconsider their
decisions to invest in a periodic
payment plan. The information
collection requirements in rules 27d–1
and 27d–2 enable the Commission to
monitor compliance with reserve rules.
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