Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 24323 [E8-9692]

Agencies

• SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 86 (Friday, May 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 24323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9692]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Upon written request, copies available from: Securities and 
Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, 
Washington, DC 20549.

Extension: Investor Form, SEC File No. 270-485, OMB Control No. 
3235-0547.

    Notice is hereby given pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) that the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the collection of 
information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit this 
existing collection of information to the Office of Management and 
Budget for extension and approval.
    In both 2006 and 2007, the Commission received over a million 
contacts from investors who have complaints or questions on a wide 
range of investment-related issues. These contacts generally fall into 
the following three categories:
    (a) Complaints against Commission-regulated individuals or 
entities;
    (b) questions concerning the federal securities laws, companies or 
firms that the Commission regulates, or other investment-related 
questions; and
    (c) tips concerning potential violations of the federal securities 
laws.

Investors who submit complaints, ask questions, or provide tips do so 
voluntarily. To make it easier for the public to contact the agency 
electronically, the Commission created a series of investor complaint 
and question Web forms. Investors can access these forms through the 
SEC Center for Complaints and Enforcement Tips at https://www.sec.gov/
complaint.shtml. The Commission is now going to consolidate those forms 
into one form (the Investor Form) which will ask for the same 
information, but also provide several drop down options to choose from 
in order to categorize the investor's complaint, and possibly provide 
the investor with information about that issue. The investor will have 
the same opportunity to describe their complaint, and they will be free 
to submit it without their name or contact information.
    Although the Investor Form provides a structured format for 
incoming investor correspondence, the Commission does not require that 
investors use any particular form or format when contacting the agency. 
To the contrary, investors may submit complaints, questions, and tips 
through a variety of other means, including telephone, letter, 
facsimile, or e-mail. Approximately 20,000 investors each year 
voluntarily choose to use the complaint and question forms.
    Investors who choose not to use the Investor Form receive the same 
level of service as those who do. The dual purpose of the form is to 
make it easier for the public to contact the agency with complaints, 
questions, tips, or other feedback and to streamline the workflow of 
the Commission staff who handle those contacts.
    The Commission has used--and will continue to use--the information 
that investors supply on the complaint and question forms, and the 
Investor Form to review and process the contact (which may, in turn, 
involve responding to questions, processing complaints, or, as 
appropriate, initiating enforcement investigations), to maintain a 
record of contacts, to track the volume of investor complaints, and to 
analyze trends.
    As with the previous forms, the Investor Form will ask investors to 
provide information concerning, among other things, their names, how 
they can be reached, the names of the individuals or entities involved, 
the nature of their complaint or tip, what documents they can provide, 
and what, if any, actions they have taken.
    Use of the Investor Form is strictly voluntary. Moreover, the 
Commission does not require investors to submit complaints, questions, 
tips, or other feedback. Absent the forms, the public still has several 
ways to contact the agency, including telephone, facsimile, letters, 
and e-mail. Nevertheless, the Commission created these forms to make it 
easier for the public to contact the agency with complaints, questions, 
or tips. The forms further streamline the workflow of Commission staff 
who record, process, and respond to investor contacts.
    The staff of the Commission estimates that the total reporting 
burden for using the complaint and question forms is 5,000 hours. The 
calculation of this estimate depends on the number of investors who use 
the forms each year and the estimated time it takes to complete the 
forms: 20,000 respondents x 15 minutes = 5,000 burden hours.
    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will 
be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 
days of this publication.
    Please direct your written comments to R. Corey Booth, Director/
Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O 
Shirley Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, VA 22312; or 
send an e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

    Dated: April 28, 2008.
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-9692 Filed 5-1-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P