[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11282-11283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-970]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-51294; File No. SR-Amex-2005-009]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule 
Change by the American Stock Exchange LLC to Require Members to 
Complete Systems Training

March 2, 2005.
    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 February 1, 2005, the American Stock Exchange LLC (``Amex'' 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 prepared by the Exchange. The 
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the 
proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 5 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

    Amex seeks to adopt new Amex Rule 51 to require its members to 
complete training in such systems as the Exchange may require and to 
amend its Minor Rule Violation Plan (``Plan'') to allow the Exchange to 
issue minor fines for non-compliance with this newly proposed rule. The 
text of the proposed rule change is available on Amex's Web site 
(http://www.amex.com), at Amex's principal office, 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 Exchange 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. 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 the 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to adopt new Amex Rule 51 to require member 
firms, members, and employees of member firms or members who presently 
spend a substantial part of their time on the floor of the Exchange to 
complete training in such systems as the Exchange may require, unless 
such training is waived by the Exchange. The Exchange also proposes to 
amend Part 1(g) of the Plan to allow for the prompt resolution of the 
failure to comply with newly proposed Amex Rule 51 through the issuance 
of minor fines.\3\
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    \3\ Established in 1976, the Plan provides a simplified 
procedure for the resolution of minor rule violations. Codified in 
Amex Rule 590, the Plan has three distinct sections: Part 1 
(``General Rule Violations'') which covers more substantive matters 
that, nonetheless, are deemed ``minor'' by Amex; Part 2 (``Floor 
Decorum'') which covers Floor Decorum and operational matters; and 
Part 3 (``Reporting Violations'') which covers the late submission 
of routine reports.

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[[Page 11283]]

2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent 
with Section 6 of the Act \4\ in general and furthers the objectives of 
Section 6(b)(1) of the Act \5\ in particular in that it is designed to 
enforce compliance by Amex members and persons associated with its 
members with the rules of the Exchange.
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    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \5\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(1).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change will impose no 
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 not solicited or received any comments on this 
proposed rule change.

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

    Within 35 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 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 e-mail to [email protected]. Please include 
File Number SR-Amex-2005-009 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-Amex-2005-009. 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 Section. Copies of 
such filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the 
principal office of Amex. 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-Amex-2005-009 and should be submitted on or before March 29, 2005.

    For the Commission by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\6\
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    \6\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-970 Filed 3-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-10-P