Securities and Exchange Commission July 11, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is providing guidance regarding a rule under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') concerning filings with respect to proposed rule changes of self-regulatory organizations (``SROs'') that the Commission expects will streamline the process by which SROs file proposed rule changes with the Commission and result in a broader range of rule changes qualifying for immediate effectiveness. Further, the Commission is amending its rules to delegate authority to the Director of the Division of Trading and Markets. These actions are intended to facilitate more expeditious handling of proposed rule changes submitted by SROs pursuant to Exchange Act section 19(b).

This is one of three releases that the Commission is publishing simultaneously relating to the use of security ratings by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations in its rules and forms. In this release, the Commission proposes to replace rule and form requirements under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that rely on security ratings (for example, Forms S-3 and F-3 eligibility criteria) with alternative requirements. In addition, the Commission requests comment on its rules relating to the disclosure of security ratings.