[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 236 (Thursday, December 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71442-71443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3575]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-50789; File No. SR-OPRA-2004-05]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Amendment to OPRA Plan To Revise Two Fees Charged by 
OPRA to Professional Subscribers to OPRA's Basic Service

December 3, 2004.
    Pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 11Aa3-2 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given 
that on October 14, 2004, the Options Price Reporting Authority 
(``OPRA'') \3\ submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission'') an amendment to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated 
Options Last Sale Reports and Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan''). On 
December 1, 2004, OPRA submitted Amendment No. 1 to the proposal.\4\ 
The proposed OPRA Plan amendment would revise two of the fees charged 
by OPRA to professional subscribers for OPRA's Basic Service. The 
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments from 
interested persons on the proposed OPRA Plan amendment.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2.
    \3\ OPRA is a national market system plan approved by the 
Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 11Aa3-2 
thereunder. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (March 18, 
1981), 22 S.E.C. Docket 484 (March 31, 1981).
    The OPRA Plan provides for the collection and dissemination of 
last sale and quotation information on options that are traded on 
the participant exchanges. The six participants to the OPRA Plan are 
the American Stock Exchange LLC, the Boston Stock Exchange, Inc., 
the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc., the International 
Securities Exchange, Inc., the Pacific Exchange, Inc., and the 
Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc.
    \4\ See letter from Michael L. Meyer, Counsel to OPRA, Schiff 
Hardin LLP, to David Liu, Attorney, Division of Market Regulation, 
Commission, dated November 20, 2004. Amendment No. 1 made technical 
updates to the fee schedule contained in Exhibit II of the filing.
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I. Description and Purpose of the Amendment

    OPRA states that one of the purposes of the proposed amendment is 
to offer a ``30-day free trial'' period to new professional subscribers 
to OPRA's Basic Service. The free trial would apply to those new 
professional subscribers that sign OPRA's Professional Subscriber 
Agreement, which obligates them to pay monthly access fees to OPRA on 
either a per-device basis or on the basis of OPRA's professional 
subscriber enterprise rate, and that indicate on such agreement that 
they wish to subscribe for a 30-day free trial period. Unless the 
subscriber provides written notice of cancellation to OPRA prior to the 
end of the 30-day trial period, the subscriber would be obligated to 
pay OPRA's device-based or enterprise rate access fees commencing with 
the 31st day after the initiation of service. The 30-day free trial 
would not apply to any other fees that may otherwise apply, including 
direct or indirect access fees, synthesized speech service fees or 
usage-based fees payable by vendors who furnish OPRA data to 
professional subscribers.
    According to OPRA, the other purpose of the proposed amendment is 
to impose a cap on the monthly usage-based fees payable by vendors who 
provide OPRA data to professional subscribers pursuant to a Subscriber 
Agreement between the vendor and the subscriber, rather than pursuant 
to a Professional Subscriber Agreement between OPRA and the subscriber 
that imposes device-based fees or an enterprise rate fee.\5\ OPRA 
states that, although vendor's usage-based fees are currently capped 
for OPRA data provided to nonprofessional subscribers, heretofore there 
has been no cap on usage-based fees payable by vendors on account of 
OPRA data provided to professional subscribers. OPRA proposes to cap 
the monthly fee payable by a vendor on account of a usage-based fee 
service provided to any one professional subscriber at the highest per-
device fee applicable to a professional subscriber had such 
professional subscriber paid OPRA directly for such OPRA data 
(currently $32.25), multiplied by the number of the professional 
subscriber's authorized user IDs. OPRA believes that this would assure 
that the capped usage-based fee payable on account of any professional 
subscriber in any month does not exceed the highest per-device fee that 
would have applied if the professional subscriber had been subject to 
device-based fees.\6\
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    \5\ OPRA states that professional subscribers who enter into 
Subscriber Agreements with vendors for which usage-based fees apply 
do not need to enter into Professional Subscriber Agreements with 
OPRA, and do not pay device-based or enterprise rate access fees to 
OPRA.
    \6\ Under OPRA's published policies, each authorized subscriber 
ID is treated as the equivalent of one device for purposes of 
applying the professional subscriber device-based fee.
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    OPRA states that these proposed fee changes are intended to 
encourage professionals to become OPRA subscribers by expanding the fee 
choices available to them and to their vendors. The text of the 
proposed rule change is available at the principal office of OPRA, and 
at the Commission.

II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan Amendment

    Pursuant to paragraph (c)(3)(i) of Rule 11Aa3-2 under the Act,\7\ 
OPRA designates this amendment as establishing or changing a fee or 
other charge collected on behalf of all of the OPRA participants in 
connection with access to, or use of, OPRA facilities, thereby 
qualifying for effectiveness upon filing. The Commission may summarily 
abrogate the amendment within sixty days of its filing and require 
refiling and approval of the amendment by Commission order pursuant to 
Rule 11Aa3-2(c)(2) under the Act,\8\ if it appears to the Commission 
that such action is necessary or appropriate in the public interest; 
for the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and orderly 
markets; to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanisms of, a 
national market system; or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of 
the Act.
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    \7\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2(c)(3)(i).
    \8\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2(c)(2).
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III. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed OPRA 
Plan amendment is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by 
any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or

[[Page 71443]]

     Send an e-mail to [email protected]. Please include 
File No. SR-OPRA-2004-05 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Jonathan G. Katz, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20549-0609.
    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-OPRA-2004-05. 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 plan amendment that 
are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating 
to the proposed plan amendment between the Commission and any person, 
other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance 
with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection 
and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Section, 450 Fifth 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549. Copies of such filing also will be 
available for inspection and copying at the principal office of OPRA. 
All comments received will be posted without change; the Commission 
does not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You 
should submit only information that you wish to make available 
publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-OPRA-2004-05 
and should be submitted on or before December 27, 2004.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\9\
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    \9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
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Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-3575 Filed 12-8-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P