Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, 3460-3461 [2018-01340]

Download as PDF 3460 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2018 / Notices person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The public may view the background documentation for this information collection at the following website, www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an email to: Shagufta_ Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@ sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice. Dated: January 19, 2018. Eduardo A. Aleman, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2018–01337 Filed 1–24–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [SEC File No. 270–316, OMB Control No. 3235–0359] Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549–2736. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Extension: Form N–17f–1. Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below. Form N–17f–1 (17 CFR 274.219) is entitled ‘‘Certificate of Accounting of Securities and Similar Investments of a Management Investment Company in the Custody of Members of National Securities Exchanges.’’ The form serves as a cover sheet to the accountant’s certificate that is required to be filed periodically with the Commission pursuant to rule 17f–1 (17 CFR 270.17f– 1) under the Act, entitled ‘‘Custody of Securities with Members of National Securities Exchanges,’’ which sets forth the conditions under which a fund may VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:37 Jan 24, 2018 Jkt 244001 place its assets in the custody of a member of a national securities exchange. Rule 17f–1 requires, among other things, that an independent public accountant verify the fund’s assets at the end of every annual and semi-annual fiscal period, and at least one other time during the fiscal year as chosen by the independent accountant. Requiring an independent accountant to examine the fund’s assets in the custody of a member of a national securities exchange assists Commission staff in its inspection program and helps to ensure that the fund assets are subject to proper auditing procedures. The accountant’s certificate stating that it has made an examination, and describing the nature and the extent of the examination, must be attached to Form N–17f–1 and filed with the Commission promptly after each examination. The form facilitates the filing of the accountant’s certificates, and increases the accessibility of the certificates to both Commission staff and interested investors. Commission staff estimates that it takes: (i) 1 Hour of clerical time to prepare and file Form N–17f–1; and (ii) 0.5 hour for the fund’s chief compliance officer to review Form N–17f–1 prior to filing with the Commission, for a total of 1.5 hours. Each fund is required to make 3 filings annually, for a total annual burden per fund of approximately 4.5 hours.1 Commission staff estimates that an average of 6 funds currently file Form N–17f–1 with the Commission 3 times each year, for a total of 18 responses annually.2 The total annual hour burden for Form N– 17f–1 is therefore estimated to be approximately 27 hours.3 The estimate of average burden hours is made solely for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and is not derived from a comprehensive or even a representative survey or study of the costs of Commission rules. Compliance with the collections of information required by Form N–17f–1 is mandatory for funds that place their assets in the custody of a national securities exchange member. Responses will not be kept confidential. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. The public may view the background documentation for this information 1 This estimate is based on the following calculation: (1.5 hours × 3 responses annually = 4.5 hours). 2 This estimate is based on a review of Form N– 17f–1 filings made with the Commission over the last three years. 3 This estimate is based on the following calculations: (4.5 hours × 6 funds = 27 total hours). PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 collection at the following website, www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an email to: Shagufta_ Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@ sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice. Dated: January 19, 2018. Eduardo A. Aleman, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2018–01339 Filed 1–24–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [SEC File No. 270–516, OMB Control No. 3235–0574] Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549–2736. Extension: Rule 3a–8. Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below. Rule 3a–8 (17 CFR 270.3a–8) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a) (the ‘‘Act’’), serves as a nonexclusive safe harbor from investment company status for certain research and development companies (‘‘R&D companies’’). The rule requires that the board of directors of an R&D company seeking to rely on the safe harbor adopt an appropriate resolution evidencing that the company is primarily engaged in a non-investment business and record that resolution contemporaneously in its minute books or comparable documents.1 An R&D company seeking to rely on the safe harbor must retain these records only as long as such 1 Rule E:\FR\FM\25JAN1.SGM 3a–8(a)(6) (17 CFR 270.3a–8(6)). 25JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2018 / Notices sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES records must be maintained in accordance with state law. Rule 3a–8 contains an additional requirement that is also a collection of information within the meaning of the PRA. The board of directors of a company that relies on the safe harbor under rule 3a–8 must adopt a written policy with respect to the company’s capital preservation investments. We expect that the board of directors will base its decision to adopt the resolution discussed above, in part, on investment guidelines that the company will follow to ensure its investment portfolio is in compliance with the rule’s requirements. The collection of information imposed by rule 3a–8 is voluntary because the rule is an exemptive safe harbor, and therefore, R&D companies may choose whether or not to rely on it. The purposes of the information collection requirements in rule 3a–8 are to ensure that: (i) The board of directors of an R&D company is involved in determining whether the company should be considered an investment company and subject to regulation under the Act, and (ii) adequate records are available for Commission review, if necessary. Rule 3a–8 would not require the reporting of any information or the filing of any documents with the Commission. Commission staff estimates that there is no annual recordkeeping burden associated with the rule’s requirements. Nevertheless, the Commission requests authorization to maintain an inventory of one burden hour for administrative purposes. Commission staff estimates that approximately 65,139 R&D companies may take advantage of rule 3a–8.2 Given that the board resolutions and investment guidelines will generally need to be adopted only once (unless relevant circumstances change),3 the Commission believes that all the R&D companies that existed prior to the adoption of rule 3a–8 adopted their board resolutions and established written investment guidelines in 2003 when the rule was adopted. We expect that R&D companies formed subsequent to the adoption of rule 3a–8 would adopt the board resolution and investment guidelines simultaneously with their formation documents in the 2 See National Science Foundation/Division of Science Resources Statistics, Business Research and Development and Innovation Survey: 2013 (results published August 2, 2016). 3 In the event of changed circumstances, the Commission believes that the board resolution and investment guidelines will be amended and recorded in the ordinary course of business and would not create additional time burdens. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:37 Jan 24, 2018 Jkt 244001 ordinary course of business.4 Therefore, we estimate that rule 3a–8 does not impose additional burdens. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. The public may view the background documentation for this information collection at the following website, www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an email to: Shagufta_ Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@ sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice. Dated: January 19, 2018. Eduardo A. Aleman, Assistant Secretary. BILLING CODE 8011–01–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Sunshine Act Meetings; Unified Carrier Registration Plan Board of Directors Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of Unified Carrier Registration Plan Board of Directors Meeting. AGENCY: The meeting will be held on January 30, 2018, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Central Standard Time. PLACE: The meeting will be open to the public at the; Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, LA 70130, and via conference call. Those not attending the meeting in person may call toll-free; 1–877–422– 1931, passcode 2855443940, to listen and participate in the meeting. STATUS: Open to the public. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The Unified Carrier Registration Plan Board of TIME AND DATE: 4 In order for these companies to raise sufficient capital to fund their product development stage, Commission staff believes that they will need to present potential investors with investment guidelines. Investors generally want to be assured that the company’s funds are invested consistent with the goals of capital preservation and liquidity. Frm 00009 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Directors (the Board) will continue its work in developing and implementing the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement and to that end, may consider matters properly before the Board. An agenda for this meeting is available at: https://ucrplan.org. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Avelino Gutierrez, Chair, Unified Carrier Registration Board of Directors at (505) 827–4565. Issued on: January 22, 2018. Larry W. Minor, Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. [FR Doc. 2018–01454 Filed 1–23–18; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No. PHMSA–2017–0082] Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. AGENCY: [FR Doc. 2018–01340 Filed 1–24–18; 8:45 am] PO 00000 3461 On October 18, 2017, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice in the Federal Register to invite comments on an information collection under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 2137–0629 to revise Form PHMSA F 7100.1–1 Annual Report—Gas Distribution System, and the instructions associated with this Form. During the 60-day comment period, PHMSA received five comments in response to this information collection from the stakeholders. PHMSA is publishing this notice to respond to the comments received and to announce that the information collection will be submitted to OMB for approval. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 26, 2018. ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503. You may also send comments by email to OIRAsubmission@omb.eop.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Dow by telephone at 202–366– SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\25JAN1.SGM 25JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 17 (Thursday, January 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3460-3461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01340]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-516, OMB Control No. 3235-0574]


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549-2736.

Extension:
    Rule 3a-8.

    Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of Management 
and Budget a request for extension of the previously approved 
collection of information discussed below.
    Rule 3a-8 (17 CFR 270.3a-8) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 
(15 U.S.C. 80a) (the ``Act''), serves as a nonexclusive safe harbor 
from investment company status for certain research and development 
companies (``R&D companies'').
    The rule requires that the board of directors of an R&D company 
seeking to rely on the safe harbor adopt an appropriate resolution 
evidencing that the company is primarily engaged in a non-investment 
business and record that resolution contemporaneously in its minute 
books or comparable documents.\1\ An R&D company seeking to rely on the 
safe harbor must retain these records only as long as such

[[Page 3461]]

records must be maintained in accordance with state law.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Rule 3a-8(a)(6) (17 CFR 270.3a-8(6)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Rule 3a-8 contains an additional requirement that is also a 
collection of information within the meaning of the PRA. The board of 
directors of a company that relies on the safe harbor under rule 3a-8 
must adopt a written policy with respect to the company's capital 
preservation investments. We expect that the board of directors will 
base its decision to adopt the resolution discussed above, in part, on 
investment guidelines that the company will follow to ensure its 
investment portfolio is in compliance with the rule's requirements.
    The collection of information imposed by rule 3a-8 is voluntary 
because the rule is an exemptive safe harbor, and therefore, R&D 
companies may choose whether or not to rely on it. The purposes of the 
information collection requirements in rule 3a-8 are to ensure that: 
(i) The board of directors of an R&D company is involved in determining 
whether the company should be considered an investment company and 
subject to regulation under the Act, and (ii) adequate records are 
available for Commission review, if necessary. Rule 3a-8 would not 
require the reporting of any information or the filing of any documents 
with the Commission.
    Commission staff estimates that there is no annual recordkeeping 
burden associated with the rule's requirements. Nevertheless, the 
Commission requests authorization to maintain an inventory of one 
burden hour for administrative purposes.
    Commission staff estimates that approximately 65,139 R&D companies 
may take advantage of rule 3a-8.\2\ Given that the board resolutions 
and investment guidelines will generally need to be adopted only once 
(unless relevant circumstances change),\3\ the Commission believes that 
all the R&D companies that existed prior to the adoption of rule 3a-8 
adopted their board resolutions and established written investment 
guidelines in 2003 when the rule was adopted. We expect that R&D 
companies formed subsequent to the adoption of rule 3a-8 would adopt 
the board resolution and investment guidelines simultaneously with 
their formation documents in the ordinary course of business.\4\ 
Therefore, we estimate that rule 3a-8 does not impose additional 
burdens.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ See National Science Foundation/Division of Science 
Resources Statistics, Business Research and Development and 
Innovation Survey: 2013 (results published August 2, 2016).
    \3\ In the event of changed circumstances, the Commission 
believes that the board resolution and investment guidelines will be 
amended and recorded in the ordinary course of business and would 
not create additional time burdens.
    \4\ In order for these companies to raise sufficient capital to 
fund their product development stage, Commission staff believes that 
they will need to present potential investors with investment 
guidelines. Investors generally want to be assured that the 
company's funds are invested consistent with the goals of capital 
preservation and liquidity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid control number.
    The public may view the background documentation for this 
information collection at the following website, www.reginfo.gov. 
Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and 
Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an email to: 
[email protected]; and (ii) Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi 
Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 or send an email 
to: [email protected]. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 
days of this notice.

    Dated: January 19, 2018.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-01340 Filed 1-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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