[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13316-13317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5086]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-55454; File No. SR-OPRA-2007-01]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Notice of Filing and Immediate 
Effectiveness of Proposed Amendment To Adopt a Revised Form ``Third 
Party Billing Agreement''

March 13, 2007.
    Pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on February 23, 2007 the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'') 
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'').\3\ The proposed OPRA 
Plan amendment would adopt a revised form ``Third Party Billing 
Agreement.''
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by 
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608 
thereunder (formerly Rule 11Aa3-2). See Securities Exchange Act 
Release No. 17638 (March 18, 1981), 22 SEC Docket 484 (March 31, 
1981). The full text of the OPRA Plan is available at http://www.opradata.com.
    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, Incorporated, the International 
Securities Exchange, Inc., the NYSE Arca, Inc., and the Philadelphia 
Stock Exchange, Inc.
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I. Description and Purpose of the Amendment

    OPRA states that the purpose of the proposed amendment is to adopt 
a revised form ``Third Party Billing Agreement'' for use by a 
Professional Subscriber that has entered into a Professional Subscriber 
Agreement (``PSA'') with OPRA and that wishes to agree with a third 
party (``Third Party Payor'') that the Third Party Payor will be 
responsible for payment of OPRA's charges with respect to receipt by 
the Professional Subscriber of OPRA Information.
    The revised form includes language that is intended to make it 
easier for a Professional Subscriber and Third Party Payor to conclude, 
in an appropriate

[[Page 13317]]

situation, that payment of OPRA's fees by the Third Party Payor is 
eligible for the safe harbor under Section 28(e) of the Act.\4\ In 
particular, the revised form states expressly that OPRA will waive a 
Professional Subscriber's obligation under its PSA to pay OPRA's fees 
in consideration for the agreement of the Third Party Payor to pay fees 
directly to OPRA for the Professional Subscriber's receipt of OPRA 
Information.
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    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 78bb.
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II. Implementation of the OPRA Plan Amendment

    Pursuant to paragraphs (b)(3) of Rule 608 under the Act,\5\ OPRA 
designates this amendment as concerned solely with the administration 
of the OPRA Plan and/or as involving solely technical or ministerial 
matters, thereby qualifying for effectiveness upon filing.
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    \5\ 17 CFR 242.608(b)(3).
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    OPRA states that it will begin to use the proposed revised form 
``Third Party Billing Agreement'' upon filing with the Commission. 
However, OPRA states that these revised documents would be used only on 
a prospective basis. Existing Professional Subscribers and Third Party 
Payors that are parties to existing payment arrangements would not be 
required to execute the revised form. However, upon the request from a 
Professional Subscriber and Third Party Payor, OPRA will execute the 
revised form with respect to their existing payment arrangement if the 
Third Party Payor is current in its payments.
    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 608(b)(2) under the Act \6\ 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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    \6\ 17 CFR 242.608(b)(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
     Send an e-mail to [email protected]. Please include 
File No. SR-OPRA-2007-01 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Nancy M. Morris, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-OPRA-2007-01. 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 Room. 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-2007-01 and should be submitted on or before April 11, 2007.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Market Regulation, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\7\
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    \7\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-5086 Filed 3-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P