[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 1, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10939-10943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4747]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

17 CFR Part 4


Commodity Pool Operators; Exclusion for Certain Otherwise 
Regulated Persons From the Definition of the Term ``Commodity Pool 
Operator''

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

[[Page 10940]]


ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or 
``CFTC'') is proposing to amend Rule 4.5 by adding a plan defined as a 
church plan in Section 3(33) of Title I of the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 (``ERISA'') \1\ (``Church Plan'') to the 
employee benefit plans that the rule currently provides shall not be 
construed to be commodity pools. The CFTC also is proposing certain 
technical conforming amendments to the existing paragraphs under Rule 
4.5 to which this amendment would be added.
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    \1\ 29 U.S.C. 1002(33)(1994).

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule change must be received by March 
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31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed rule should be sent to Jean A. 
Webb, Secretary, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette 
Center, 1155 21st Street, N.W., Washington, DC, 20581. Comments may be 
sent by facsimile transmission to (202) 418-5528, or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. Reference should be made to ``Proposed Amendment to 
Rule 4.5 for Church Plans.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara S. Gold, Assistant Chief 
Counsel, or Christopher W. Cummings, Special Counsel, Division of 
Trading and Markets, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three 
Lafayette Center, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC, 20581. 
Telephone: (202) 418-5450.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

A. Section 4.5

    The term ``commodity pool operator'' (``CPO'') is defined in 
section 1a(4) of the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, (the ``Act'') 
\2\ to mean:
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    \2\ 7 U.S.C. 1a(4) (1994).

    Any person engaged in a business that is of the nature of an 
investment trust, syndicate, or similar form of enterprise, and who, 
in connection therewith, solicits, accepts, or receives from others, 
funds, securities, or property, either directly or through capital 
contributions, the sale of stock or other forms of securities, or 
otherwise, for the purpose of trading in any commodity for future 
delivery on or subject to the rules of any contract market, except 
that the term does not include such persons not within the intent of 
the definition of the term as the Commission may specify by rule, 
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regulation, or order.

    Section 4m(1) of the Act \3\ makes it unlawful for any person to 
engage in business as a CPO without being registered as such. Part 4 of 
the Commission's regulations \4\ governs the operations and activities 
of CPOs, through specific operational, disclosure, reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements set forth in Subpart B thereof.\5\ In 
particular, Rule 4.10(d)(1) defines the term ``pool'' to mean ``any 
investment trust, syndicate or similar form of enterprise operated for 
the purpose of trading commodity interests.'' \6\
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    \3\ 7 U.S.C. 6m(1) (1994).
    \4\ 17 CFR Ch. I, Part 4 (1999).
    \5\ See Rules 4.20 through 4.26. Part 4 similarly governs the 
operations and activities of commodity trading advisors (``CTAs''). 
See Rules 4.30 through 4.36.
    \6\ The term ``commodity interest'' is defined in Rule 4.10(a) 
to mean:
    (1) Any contract for the purchase or sale of a commodity for 
future delivery; and
    (2) Any contract, agreement or transactions subject to 
Commission regulation under section 4c or 19 of the Act.
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    In connection with the adoption of the Futures Trading Act of 
1982,\7\ the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
(the ``Committee'') considered an amendment to the Act that would have 
exempted certain persons from the CPO definition. In lieu of adopting 
such an amendment to the CPO definition, the Committee directed the 
Commission to issue regulations that would have the effect of providing 
relief from regulation as a CPO for certain otherwise regulated 
persons.\8\ Pursuant to this directive, in 1985 the Commission adopted 
Rule 4.5.\9\
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    \7\ Pub. L. No. 97-444, 96 Stat. 2294 et seq. (1983).
    \8\ See S. Rep. No. 384, 97th Cong., 2d Sess. 79-80 (1982). 
Specifically, the Committee Report states:
    The Committee beleives, consistent with the amendment offered by 
Chairman Helms, that certain entities are not within the intent of 
the definition of the term `commodity pool operator', as that term 
is defined in the Act, unless these entities have other attributes 
or features which would warrant their regulation as a commodity pool 
operator. Specifically, an entity regulated under the Investment 
Company Act of 1940 or an insurance company or a bank or trust 
company acting in its fiduciary capacity and subject to regulation 
by any state or the United States could ordinarily be excluded from 
the definition of the term `commodity pool operator,' provided that 
(1) the entity uses commodity futures contracts or options thereon 
solely for hedging purposes; (2) initial margin requirements or 
premiums for such futures or options contracts will never be in 
excess of 5 percent of the fair market value of the entity's assets 
(in the case of an investment company) or of the assets of any 
trust, custodial account or other separate unit of investment for 
which the entity is acting as a fiduciary; (3) the entity has not 
been and will not be, marketing participations to the public as or 
in a commodity pool or otherwise as or in a vehicle for trading in 
the commodities markets; and (4) the entity will disclose to each 
prospective participant the purpose of and limitations on the scope 
of the commodity futures or commodity option trading it conducts for 
such participants.
    Also, a defined benefit plan that is subject to the provisions 
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and 
is insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or any 
fiduciary thereof, ordinarily could be excluded from the definition 
of the term ``commodity pool operator'', provided that its commodity 
futures (or options on futures) trading activity is solely 
incidental to the conduct of its business as such a plan or as a 
fiduciary thereof. The Committee understands that such a plan and 
its fiduciaries are subject to extensive regulation under ERISA. 
Therefore, while the Commission should retain discretion in this 
area, the Committee believes that, unless otherwise inappropriate, 
exemption by rule, regulation, or order from commodity pool operator 
registration and related requirements, other than antifraud 
provisions, should generally be granted to these classes of 
entities.
    \9\ 50 FR 15868 (Apr. 23, 1985); amended 58 FR 6371 (Jan. 28, 
1993); 58 FR 43791 (Aug. 18, 1993).
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    Rule 4.5 makes available an exclusion from the definition of the 
term ``commodity pool operator'' to certain ``eligible persons'' with 
respect to their operation of ``qualifying entities'' as follows: 
investment companies registered as such under the Investment Company 
Act of 1940; state-regulated insurance companies with respect to their 
operation of separate accounts; state-or federally-regulated financial 
depository institutions with respect to their operation of separate 
units of investment; and trustees, named fiduciaries and employers of 
pension plans subject to Title I of ERISA with respect to their 
operation of such plans.\10\ To claim relief under Rule 4.5, an 
eligible person must file a notice of eligibility with the National 
Futures Association and the CFTC, which notice must contain specified 
identifying information and operating representations, e.g., that the 
qualifying entity will: (1) Use commodity interests solely for bona 
fide hedging purposes provided, that in addition, with respect to 
speculative positions, it will not commit more than five percent of its 
assets to establish such positions; and (2) submit to special calls 
from the CFTC to demonstrate compliance with the operating criteria set 
forth in Rule 4.5.\11\
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    \10\ Rules 4.5(a) and (b).
    \11\ Rules 4.5(c) through (f).
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    Rule 4.5 further provides that certain pension plans are not 
commodity pools and, thus, no notice needs to be filed and no operating 
criteria need to be followed for exclusionary relief to be 
available.\12\ Specifically, Rule 4.5(a)(4) states:
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    \12\ The operators of these ``non-pools,'' then, are not subject 
to Rules 4.5(c) through (f).

    That for purposes of this Sec. 4.5 the following employee 
benefit plans shall not be construed to be pools:
    (i) A noncontributory plan, whether defined benefit or defined 
contribution, covered under title I of the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974;
    (ii) A contributory defined benefit plan covered under title IV 
of the Employee

[[Page 10941]]

Retirement Income Security Act of 1974; Provided, however, That with 
respect to any such plan to which an employee may voluntarily 
contribute, no portion of an employee's contribution is committed as 
margin or premiums for futures or options contracts; and
    (iii) A plan defined as a governmental plan in section 3(32) of 
title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
    (iv) Any employee welfare benefit plan that is subject to the 
fiduciary responsibility provisions of the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974.

    With respect to Rule 4.5(a)(4)(iii) in particular, it should be 
noted that these governmental plans are exempted from Titles I and IV 
of ERISA,\13\ which concern, respectively, the protection of employee 
rights (e.g., disclosure and reporting) and the fiduciary 
responsibility provisions of ERISA. In adopting Rule 4.5(a)(4)(iii) the 
Commission stated that--
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    \13\ 29 U.S.C. 1001 (1994 and Supp. III 1997)) and 1301 (1994), 
respectively.

    [it] agrees with those commenters who contended that 
governmental pension plans are not appropriate subjects for 
regulation and, therefore, that they need not qualify for any 
exclusion from such regulation. As was stated in connection with 
excluding such plans from coverage under ERISA:
    State and local governments must be allowed to make their own 
determination of the best method to protect the pension rights of 
municipal employees. These are questions of state and local 
sovereignty and the Federal government should not interfere.\14\
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    \14\ 50 FR 15868 at 15873, citing I Legislative History of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 97th Cong., 2d 
Sess. 224 (Comm. Print 1976).
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B. Church Plans

    Section 3(33)(A) of ERISA defines the term ``church plan'' to mean 
``a plan established and maintained * * * by a church or by a 
convention or association of churches which is exempt from tax under 
section 501 of title 26.'' \15\ However, a plan that is a Church Plan 
is exempted from Titles I and IV of ERISA, provided that the Church 
Plan does not elect under Section 410(d) of Title 26 \16\ to be subject 
to certain provisions of ERISA from which it is otherwise exempt--e.g., 
participation, vesting and funding provisions. The purpose of this 
exemption was ``to avoid excessive Government entanglement with 
religion in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution.'' 
\17\ In drafting ERISA, ``Congress recognized that there were serious 
Constitutional objections to subjecting the churches, through their 
plans, to the examination of books and records and possible levy on 
church property to satisfy plan liabilities. As a consequence, 'church 
plans' were excluded from the purview of ERISA.'' \18\
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    \15\ Specifically, Section 3(33)(A) of ERISA states:
    The term ``church plan'' means a plan established and maintained 
(to the extent required in clause (ii) of subparagraph (B)) for its 
employees (or their beneficiaries) by a church or by a convention or 
association of churches which is exempt from tax under section 501 
of title 26.
    Section 3(33)(B)(ii) of ERISA generally provides that a plan is 
not a ``church plan'' if less than substantially all of the 
individuals included in the plan are individuals described in 
Section 3(33)(A), set forth above, or in Section 3(33)(C), which 
provides in relevant part that:
    (i) A plan established and maintained for its employees (or 
their beneficiaries) by a church or by a convention or association 
of churches includes a plan maintained by an organization, whether a 
civil law corporation or otherwise, the principal purpose or 
function of which is the administration or funding of a plan or 
program for the provision of retirement benefits or welfare 
benefits, or both, for the employees of a church or a convention or 
association of churches, if such organization is controlled by or 
associated with a church or a convention or association of churches.
    (ii) The term employee of a church or a convention or 
association of churches includes--
    (I) a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a 
church in the exercise of his ministry, regardless of the source of 
his compensation;
    (II) an employee of an organization, whether a civil law 
corporation or otherwise, which is exempt from tax under section 51 
of title 26 and which is controlled by or associated with a church 
or a convention or association of churches; and
    (III) an individual described in clause (v).
    (iii) A church or a convention or association of churches which 
is exempt from tax under section 501 of title 26 shall be deemed the 
employer of any individual included as an employee under clause 
(ii).
    (iv) An organization, whether a civil law corporation or 
otherwise, is associated with a church or a convention or 
association of churches if it shares common religious bonds and 
convictions with that Church or convention or association of 
churches.
    26 U.S.C. 501(c) (1994) provides in relevant part that the 
following organizations are exempt from federal income taxation:
    (3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, 
organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, 
scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational 
purposes * * * no part of the net earnings of which inures to the 
benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial 
part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or 
otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise 
provided * * *) and which does not participate in, or intervene in 
(including the publishing or distributing of statements), any 
political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate 
for public office.
    \16\ 26 U.S.C. 410(d) 1994).
    \17\ 124 Cong. Rec. 12,108 (1998).
    \18\ Hearings on S. 209, Etc. Before the Subcomm. on Private 
Pension Plans and Employee Fringe Benefits of the Senate Comm. on 
Finance, 96th Cong., 1st Sess. 364 (1979).
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    As stated above, Rule 4.5(a)(4) makes an exclusion from the CPO 
definition available to the operators of pension plans that are subject 
to Title I of ERISA. Church Plans, however, are not so subject. As also 
stated above, Rules 4.5(a)(4)(i) through (iv) provide that certain 
pension plans shall not be deemed to be commodity pools--e.g., a plan 
defined as a ``governmental plan'' in Section 3(32) of ERISA--but these 
rules do not provide for Church Plans. Thus, under existing Rule 4.5 
the operators of Church Plans are not among the eligible persons who 
may claim an exclusion from the CPO definition and Church Plans are not 
among the pension plans that are deemed not to be commodity pools.

II. The Proposed Amendments to Rule 4.5

A. The Substantive Amendment: Church Plans Deemed Not To Be Commodity 
Pools

    In connection with its adoption of Rule 4.5 the Commission stated:

    Whether any other pension plan not specified in Sec. 4.5 merits 
such relief as the rule provides, or any other regulatory relief, 
remains to be determined on a case-by-case basis in light of the 
facts particular to such plan--e.g., whether, and to what extent, 
the operations of such plan are subject to other regulation. As 
explained above, the Commission intends that its staff shall issue 
such determinations. The Commission further intends that, as it 
gains experience in this area, it will reevaluate this aspect of the 
rule.\19\
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    \19\ 50 FR 15868 at 15873-74

    Accordingly, after the adoption of Rule 4.5, Commission staff 
issued several CPO registration no-action letters to the operators of 
pension plans defined as Church Plans in response to requests for those 
positions.\20\ Staff issued those letters based upon, among other 
things, the requesters' explanations, as stated above, of Congress' 
reasons for exempting Church Plans from Titles I and IV of ERISA in 
connection with its adoption of ERISA--i.e., to avoid excessive 
Government entanglement in religion in violation of the First Amendment 
to the Constitution. As also stated above, Titles I and IV concern, 
respectively, the protection of employee rights (e.g., disclosure and 
reporting) and fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA.
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    \20\ See, e.g., Unpublished letter dated July 30, 1990; CFTC 
Staff Interpretative Letter No. 87-11, [1987-90 Transfer Binder] 
Comm. Fut. L. Rep. (CCH) para. 24,019 (December 4, 1987). In each 
letter the staff stated that it would not recommend enforcement 
action to the Commission if the operator of the Church Plan at issue 
did not register as a CPO under Section 4m(1) of the Act.
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    Commission staff subsequently has received further requests from 
the operators of other Church Plans for a no-action position with 
respect to CPO registration under Section 4m(1) of the Act.\21\ In 
support of this no-action position, one of the requesters stated that 
in connection with the adoption of

[[Page 10942]]

ERISA Congress expressed the concern that--
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    \21\ Letters to the Director of the Division of Trading and 
Markets dated November 20, 1998 and July 11, 1997.

the examinations of books and records that may be required in any 
particular case as part of the careful and responsible 
administration of the insurance system might be regarded as an 
unjustified invasion of the confidential relationship that is 
believed to be appropriate with regard to churches and their 
religious activities. Sen. Rep. 93-383, 93rd Cong., 2d Sess. 1974-3 
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C.B. Supp. 160.

    This requester further noted that in connection with the adoption 
of the National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996,\22\ 
Congress adopted new Section 3(c)(14) of the Investment Company Act of 
1940 (``ICA''), which specifically provides that church plans are not 
investment companies under the ICA and therefore that they are not 
subject to registration under the ICA.\23\
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    \22\ Pub. L. No. 104-290, 110 Stat. 3416 (1996).
    \23\ 15 U.S.C. 80a-3(c)(14) (Supp. II 1996). Specifically, 
Section 3(c)(14) provides that a ``church plan'' described in Title 
26 is not an investment company if: under any such plan, no part of 
the assets may be used for, or diverted to, purposes other than the 
exclusive benefits of plan participants or beneficiaries, or any 
company or account that is--
    (A) established by a person that is eligible to establish and 
maintain such a plan under section 414(e) of title 26; and
    (B) substantially all of the activities of which consist of--
    (i) managing or holding assets contributed to such church plans 
or other assets which are permitted to be commingled with the assets 
of church plans under title 26; or
    (ii) administering or providing benefits pursuant to church 
plans.
    Section 414(e) of Title 26, generally defines the term ``church 
plan'' to mean a pension plan established and maintained (to the 
extent specified) by a church or by a convention or association of 
churches which is exempt from tax under Section 501 of the IRC. 26 
U.S.C. 414(e) (1994).
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    While the issuance of another CPO registration no-action letter to 
the operator of a Church Plan would be consistent with past staff 
practice, the Commission believes at this time that this practice 
should be formalized through an amendment to Rule 4.5. As the 
Commission articulated in connection with its recent adoption of Rule 
140.99, it now intends, to the extent practicable, to handle repetitive 
requests such as these through rulemaking.\24\
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    \24\ 63 FR 68175 at 68176 (December 10, 1998).
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    Accordingly, the Commission is proposing to amend Rule 4.5 by 
adding Church Plans to the existing employee benefit plans in Rule 
4.5(a)(4) that ``shall not be construed to be pools,'' and for which no 
notice needs to be filed and no operating criteria need to be followed 
for exclusionary relief to be available. Specifically, the Commission 
is proposing to add a new Rule 4.5(a)(4)(v) that will contain this 
Church Plan exclusion. However, just as ERISA restricts the exclusion 
of Church Plans from coverage under Title I and Title IV of that 
statute to Church Plans with respect to which no election has been made 
under Section 410(d) of Title 26, proposed Rule 4.5(a)(4)(v) similarly 
would restrict its exclusion to Church Plans with respect to which no 
election has been made under Section 410(d).\25\
    In making this proposal to include Church Plans among those 
employee benefit plans that shall not be construed to be pools under 
Rule 4.5(a)(4), the Commission notes that the basis for its action 
would be similar to its rationale for providing in Rule 4.5(a)(4)(iii) 
that state and local government pension plans shall not be construed to 
be pools. As stated above, Congress exempted from Titles I and IV of 
ERISA: (1) Governmental plans, to avoid Federal interference with these 
questions of state and local sovereignty; and (2) Church Plans, to 
avoid excessive Federal entanglement with religion in violation of the 
first amendment to the Constitution. The Commission further notes that 
the proposal would be broader than the CPO registration no-action 
positions that its staff previously has issued to the operators of 
Church Plans.\26\ Also, under this proposal the operators of Church 
Plans would not need to file a Notice of Eligibility to claim relief 
and they would not need to restrict their Plans' activities to the 
operating criteria of Rule 4.5(c). The Commission believes the breadth 
of its proposal is appropriate in light of Congress' rationale in 
excluding Church Plans from coverage under Titles I and IV of ERISA. 
The Commission nonetheless requests comment on whether rather than 
adding Church Plans to the list of plans that should not be construed 
to be a pool as proposed, the Commission should include the operator of 
a Church Plan as an eligible person who may claim an exclusion from the 
CPO definition. The Commission also requests comment on whether relief 
under Rule 4.5 should be available solely to those Church Plans that 
have not made an election under Section 414(e) of the IRC to be subject 
to certain provision of ERISA.
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    \25\ As stated above, a Church Plan is exempted from Titles I 
and IV of ERISA, provided the Church Plan does not elect under 
Section 410(d) of Title 26 to be subject to certain provisions of 
ERISA from which it is otherwise exempt--e.g., participation, 
vesting and funding provisions.
    \26\ If a collective investment vehicle (such as a Church Plan) 
is not Commodity pool, the oopeprator of the vehicle would not be a 
CPO. The operator would nonetheless be a person for all other 
purposes of the Act and CFTC rules--e.g., it would be subject to the 
general antifraud provisions of section 4b of the Act, 7 U.S.C. 6b 
(1994), and to the large trader reporting requirements of Part 18 of 
the regulations. If a collective investment vehicle is a pool, in 
addition to being a person for the purposes of the Act and the 
rules, its operator would be a CPO subject to all provisions of the 
Act and Commission rules applicable to CPOs regardless of 
registration status--e.g., to the special antifraud provisions for 
CPOs (and CTAs) in section 40 of the Act, 70 U.S.C. 6o (1994), the 
operational requirements for CPOs in Rule 4.20 and the advertising 
requirements for CPOs (and CTAs) in Rule 4.41.
    In this regard, the Commission wishes to emphasize that the 
status of a collective investment vehicle as a pool or a ``non-
pool'' does not affect the registration or Part 4 requirements of 
any CTA to the vehicle. But see Rule 4.14(a)(8), which makes 
available an exemption from CTA registration to certain registered 
investment advisers who, among other things, provide commodity 
interest trading advice to Rule 4.5 trading vehicles in a manner 
solely incidental to their business of providing securities advice 
to those vehicles.
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B. The Technical Amendments: Conforming the Rule

    When the Commission initially adopted Rule 4.5 there were three 
types of pension plans that Rule 4.5(a)(4) stated ``shall not be 
construed to be pools'': the plans set forth in paragraphs (a)(4)(i); 
(a)(4)(ii); and (a)(4)(iii) of the rule.\27\ The Commission 
subsequently amended Rule 4.5 to add in new paragraph (a)(4)(iv) 
another type of pension plan that would not be construed to be a 
pool.\28\ However, the Commission did not at that time concurrently 
conform the punctuation of the rule. Moreover, if the proposed 
substantive amendment to Rule 4.5 for Church Plans is adopted, the rule 
further will have to be amended to accommodate grammatically this new 
paragraph.
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    \27\ 50 FR 15868.
    \28\ 58 FR 43791.
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    Accordingly, the Commission also is proposing certain technical, 
conforming amendments to Rule 4.5. Specifically, the Commission is 
proposing to amend Rule 4.5 by removing the word ``and'' at the end of 
existing paragraph (a)(4)(ii), by removing the period and adding a 
semi-colon at the end of existing paragraph (a)(4)(iii), and by 
removing the period and adding a semi-colon and the word ``and'' at the 
end of existing paragraph (a)(4)(iv). The text of each of the foregoing 
paragraphs under Rule 4.5 would remain intact.

III. Related Matters

A. Paperwork Reduction Act

    When publishing proposed rules, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(the ``PRA'') \29\ imposes certain requirements on Federal agencies 
(including the Commission) in connection with their conducting or 
sponsoring any collection of information as defined by the PRA. In

[[Page 10943]]

compliance with the PRA, the Commission previously has submitted Rule 
4.5 in proposed form and its associated information collection 
requirements to the Office of Management and Budget. The Office of 
Management and Budget has approved the collection of information of 
which this proposed rule is a part through September 30, 2001, OMB 
Control Number 3038-0005: Rules Relating to the Operations and 
Activities of Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors 
and to Monthly Reporting by Futures Commission Merchants. While this 
proposed rule has no burden, the group of rules (3038-0005) of which it 
is a part has the following burden:
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    \29\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. (Supp. II 1996).
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    Average Burden Hours Per Response: 7.49.
    Number of Respondents: 6,949.
    Frequency of Response: Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, On Occasion.
    Copies of the OMB approved information collection package 
associated with this rule are available from the Desk Officer, CFTC, 
Office of Management and Budget, Room 10202, NEOB, Washington, DC 
20503, (202) 395-7340.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (``RFA'') \30\ requires each federal 
agency to consider in the course of proposing substantive rules the 
effect of those rules on small entities. The definitions of small 
entities that the Commission has established for this purpose do not 
address the persons and qualifying entities set forth in Rule 4.5 
because, by the very nature of the rule, the operations and activities 
of such persons and entities generally are regulated by Federal and 
State authorities other than the Commission. Assuming, arguendo, that 
church plans would be small entities for purposes of the RFA, the 
Commission believes that the proposed amendment to Rule 4.5 would not 
have a significant economic impact on them because it would not require 
the filing of a notice containing specified operating criteria with the 
Commission to claim the relief available under proposed Rule 
4.5(a)(4)(v). Moreover, the Commission notes that the proposed 
amendment potentially would relieve a greater number of persons (i.e., 
the operators of Church Plans) from the requirement to register as a 
CPO and from the disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping requirements 
applicable to registered CPOs.
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    \30\ 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. (1994 and Supp. II 1996).
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    Accordingly, the Chairman, on behalf of the Commission, certifies 
pursuant to Section 3(a) of the RFA \31\ that the proposed rules will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
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    \31\ 5 U.S.C. 605(b).
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List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 4

    Commodity pool operators, Commodity futures.

    In consideration of the foregoing and pursuant to the authority 
contained in the Commodity Exchange Act and, in particular, sections 
1a(4), 4k, 4l, 4m, 4n, 4o and 8a, 7 U.S.C. 1a(4), 6k, 6l, 6m, 6n, 6o 
and 12a, the Commission hereby proposes to amend Chapter I of the Code 
of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 4--COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS

    1. The authority citation for Part 4 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1a, 2, 4, 6b, 6c, 6l, 6m, 6n, 6o, 12a and 
23.

    2. In Sec. 4.5, in paragraph (a)(4) introductory text, the proviso 
text is republished and paragraph (a)(4) is proposed to be amended by 
removing the word ``and'' at the end of paragraph (a)(4)(ii), by 
removing the period and adding a semi-colon at the end of paragraph 
(a)(4)(iii), by removing the period and adding a semi-colon and the 
word ``and'' at the end of paragraph (a)(4)(iv), and by adding a new 
paragraph (a)(4)(v), to read as follows:


Sec. 4.5  Exclusion for certain otherwise regulated persons from the 
definition of the term ``commodity pool operator.''

    (a) * * *
    (4) * * * Provided, however, That for purposes of this Sec. 4.5 the 
following employee benefit plans shall not be construed to be pools:
* * * * *
    (v) A plan defined as a church plan in Section 3(33) of title I of 
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 with respect to 
which no election has been made under 26 U.S.C. 410(d).
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC on February 22, 2000, by the 
Commission.
Jean A. Webb,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 00-4747 Filed 2-29-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P