[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 2432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-115]



[[Page 2432]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-50973; File No. SR-OPRA-2004-06]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Order Approving an Amendment 
to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and 
Quotation Information To Amend Guideline 2 of the Capacity Guidelines 
Adopted in Accordance With the Plan

January 6, 2005.
    On October 19, 2004, the Options Price Reporting Authority 
(``OPRA'') submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission''), pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 11Aa3-2 thereunder,\2\ an amendment 
to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and 
Quotation Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The proposed amendment would 
amend Guideline 2 of the Capacity Guidelines (``Guideline 2'') adopted 
in accordance with the Plan. Notice of the proposal was published in 
the Federal Register on December 9, 2004.\4\ The Commission received no 
comment letters on the proposed OPRA Plan amendment. This order 
approves the proposal.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2.
    \3\ The OPRA Plan 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 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 50785 (December 2, 
2004), 69 FR 71440.
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    The first purpose of the proposed OPRA Plan amendment is to amend 
Guideline 2 to reduce the frequency of the capacity review cycle from a 
quarterly cycle to a cycle no less frequently than semi-annually. 
According to OPRA, based on the experience of the Independent System 
Capacity Advisor (``ISCA'') and the parties to the Plan, the quarterly 
cycle currently required by Guideline 2 fails to take into account the 
amount of time needed for the complete cycle of solicitation, 
discussion, revision, and review of these projections to be completed. 
Because of this, the ISCA suggested, and the parties to the Plan 
agreed, that a six-month cycle for the capacity projection and review 
process would be more realistic, while providing the ISCA with 
sufficiently current capacity projections to assure that the OPRA 
System would be able to meet the capacity needs of the parties as they 
may change from time to time.
    The second purpose of the proposed amendment is to permit a party 
to the Plan to either increase or decrease the amount of additional 
capacity it is requesting once it has received the ISCA's initial cost 
estimates for OPRA System modifications to accommodate the capacity 
projections and requests of all of the parties. Currently, Guideline 2 
does not contemplate that a party would be able to increase the amount 
of additional capacity it is requesting at this stage of the process.
    After careful review, the Commission finds that the proposed OPRA 
Plan amendment is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the 
rules and regulations thereunder.\5\ The Commission believes that the 
proposed OPRA Plan amendment is consistent with Section 11A of the Act 
\6\ and Rule 11Aa3-2 thereunder \7\ in that it is 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.
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    \5\ In approving this proposed OPRA Plan amendment, the 
Commission has considered its impact on efficiency, competition, and 
capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
    \6\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \7\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2.
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    Specifically, given the experience of the ISCA and the parties to 
the Plan, the Commission finds that it is appropriate to extend the 
capacity review cycle to no less frequently than semi-annually so as to 
provide the ISCA and the parties sufficient time to complete their 
cycle of solicitation, discussion, revision and review regarding 
capacity projections. Moreover, the Commission believes that permitting 
the parties to increase their requested capacity after receiving 
initial costs estimates from the ISCA should help to ensure that the 
various parties to the Plan have the flexibility they need in 
projecting and planning for their capacity needs.
    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 11A of the Act,\8\ and 
Rule 11Aa3-2 thereunder,\9\ that the proposed OPRA Plan amendment (SR-
OPRA-2004-06) be, and it hereby is, approved.
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    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \9\ 17 CFR 240.11Aa3-2.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\10\
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    \10\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(29).
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J. Lynn Taylor,
Assistant Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E5-115 Filed 1-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P