[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 77 (Thursday, April 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21063-21064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-9271]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-61907; File No. SR-FINRA-2010-016]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 
Proposed Rule Change To Amend Section 4(c) of Schedule A to the FINRA 
By-Laws To Add a Reference to the Fees Assessed for the Series 51, 52 
and 53 Examinations

April 14, 2010.
    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 April 9, 2010, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. 
(``FINRA'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' 
or ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, 
II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by FINRA. FINRA has 
designated the proposed rule change as ``establishing or changing a 
due, fee or other charge'' under Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \3\ 
and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) thereunder,\4\ which renders the proposal 
effective upon receipt of this filing by the Commission. The Commission 
is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule 
change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \4\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    FINRA is proposing to amend Section 4(c) of Schedule A to the FINRA 
By-Laws to add a reference to the fees assessed for the Series 51, 
Series 52 and Series 53 examinations.
    The text of the proposed rule change is available on FINRA's Web 
site at http://www.finra.org, at the principal office of FINRA 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, FINRA 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. FINRA 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 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Series 51 (Municipal Fund Securities Limited Principal), Series 
52 (Municipal Securities Representative), and Series 53 (Municipal 
Securities Principal) examinations are administered by FINRA on behalf 
of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (``MSRB'').\5\
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    \5\ The MSRB develops, maintains and owns the Series 51, Series 
52 and Series 53 examinations. See Exchange Act Section 15B(c)(7)(A) 
regarding administration of examinations for associated persons of 
municipal securities brokers and municipal securities [sic].
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    The Series 51, Series 52 and Series 53 examinations are intended to 
safeguard the investing public by helping to ensure that certain 
persons associated

[[Page 21064]]

with municipal securities brokers and municipal securities dealers meet 
minimum qualifications to perform their jobs. Given this purpose, these 
examinations seek to measure accurately and reliably the degree to 
which each candidate possesses the knowledge, skills and abilities 
necessary to perform his or her job. Currently, the Series 51 
examination is 1\1/2\ hours and consists of 60 multiple-choice 
questions, and the Series 52 and Series 53 examinations are each 3 
hours and each consists of 200 multiple-choice questions.
    FINRA proposes to amend Section 4(c) of Schedule A to the FINRA By-
Laws to add a reference to the fees assessed by FINRA for administering 
the Series 51, Series 52 and Series 53 examinations as follows: $85 for 
the Series 51 examination, $95 for the Series 52 examination, and $95 
for the Series 53 examination. The proposed rule change does not change 
the amount of the administration fee for the Series 51, Series 52 or 
Series 53 examination.\6\
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    \6\ As noted above, the MSRB develops, maintains and owns the 
Series 51, Series 52 and Series 53 examinations. The MSRB currently 
charges a $60 fee for the development of each of these examinations. 
See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61023 (Nov. 18, 2009), 74 FR 
61402 (Nov. 24, 2009) (Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness 
of New Rule A-16, on Examination Fees, SR-MSRB-2009-16). As a 
result, the total fee currently assessed for the Series 51, Series 
52 and Series 53 examination is $145, $155 and $155, respectively.
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    FINRA has filed the proposed rule change for immediate 
effectiveness. FINRA proposes to implement the proposed rule change on 
the date of filing of the proposed rule change.
2. Statutory Basis
    FINRA believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with the 
provisions of Section 15A of the Act,\7\ in general, and with Section 
15A(b)(5) of the Act,\8\ in particular, in that it provides for the 
equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges among 
members and issuers and other persons using any facility or system 
which FINRA operates or controls. In light of FINRA's role in 
administering the Series 51, Series 52 and Series 53 examinations on 
behalf of the MSRB pursuant to Exchange Act Section 15B(c)(7)(A), FINRA 
believes it is appropriate to reflect the fees charged in connection 
with those examinations in the fee table in Schedule A to the FINRA By-
Laws.
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    \7\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3.
    \8\ 15 U.S.C. 78o-3(b)(5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    FINRA does not believe that the proposed rule change will result in 
any 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

    Written comments were neither solicited nor received.

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

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \9\ and paragraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b-4 
thereunder.\10\ At any time within 60 days of the filing of the 
proposed rule change, the Commission may summarily abrogate such rule 
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or 
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or 
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
    \10\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(x) [sic].
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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-FINRA-2010-016 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-FINRA-2010-016. 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 Web site 
viewing and printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room on 
official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies 
of such filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the 
principal office of FINRA. 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-FINRA-2010-016 and should be submitted on or before May 13, 2010.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\11\
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    \11\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-9271 Filed 4-21-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P