Federal Register 60-Day Collection Notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 22, 2026 / Notices

lotter on DSK8BHNXB4PROD with NOTICES1

any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act. The
proposed fees would apply uniformly to
all customers that request noncontiguous intrafirm cabinet
connectivity. The Exchange recognizes
that, under the proposal, customers
seeking non-contiguous intrafirm
cabinet connectivity within the
Exchange’s data center halls would be
required to obtain that fiber connectivity
from Nasdaq, and third parties would
no longer be permitted to provide such
non-contiguous intrafirm cabinet fiber
connectivity within the Exchange’s data
center halls. The Exchange believes that
any resulting impact on competition is
necessary and appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act
because the requirement is designed to
support a standardized, centrally
administered, monitored, and auditable
connectivity environment within the
Exchange’s data center campus. The
Exchange believes that administering
this connectivity directly would
improve its ability to inventory,
maintain, troubleshoot, and monitor the
relevant fiber infrastructure, thereby
promoting reliability and operational
integrity.
The Exchange recognizes that the
proposal may affect competition among
providers of intrafirm cabinet
connectivity because third parties
would no longer be permitted to provide
non-contiguous intrafirm cabinet fiber
connectivity within the Exchange’s data
center halls. The Exchange believes,
however, that any such burden is
necessary and appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act
because the limitation is directly tied to
the Exchange’s responsibility to
maintain the integrity, reliability, and
auditability of the physical connectivity
infrastructure within its data center
environment. Non-contiguous intrafirm
cabinet connectivity traverses shared
data center space and forms part of the
physical infrastructure supporting
access and connectivity within the
Exchange’s facilities.16 The Exchange
believes that permitting such
connectivity to be furnished or
16 The Exchange also believes that the proposal is
appropriately tailored because it applies only to
non-contiguous intrafirm cabinet fiber connectivity
within the Exchange’s data center halls. It does not
restrict customer-directed contiguous cabling
between adjacent cabinets licensed to the same
customer where such cabling does not traverse
shared data center space, nor does it affect services
outside the scope of the proposed rule change.
Accordingly, any burden on third-party providers is
limited to the specific connectivity arrangement for
which the Exchange has determined that direct
administration is necessary to support consistent
controls and operational integrity within its data
center environment.

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maintained by multiple third parties
would impair the Exchange’s ability to
apply uniform standards for
provisioning, inventory control,
maintenance, monitoring,
troubleshooting, and auditability.
The Exchange also does not believe
that the proposed fees would impose an
undue burden on competition among
customers because the fees would apply
on an equal basis to all similarly
situated customers and are lower than
fees charged by NYSE for a comparable
connectivity offering. The Exchange
believes that the proposed service is
substantively comparable to the NYSE
offering used for comparison purposes
and therefore believes that the
comparison supports the conclusion
that the proposed fee levels are within
a reasonable range and are not unduly
burdensome for customers that purchase
the service.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either
solicited or 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.17 At any time
within 60 days of the filing of the
proposed rule change, the Commission
summarily may temporarily suspend
such rule change if it appears to the
Commission that such action is: (i)
necessary or appropriate in the public
interest; (ii) for the protection of
investors; or (iii) otherwise in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
If the Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
should be approved or disapproved.
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 (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include file number SR–
GEMX–2026–27 on the subject line.

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17 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).

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Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to file
number SR–GEMX–2026–27. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if email 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 website (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the filing will
be available for inspection and copying
at the principal office of the Exchange.
Do not include personal identifiable
information in submissions; you should
submit only information that you wish
to make available publicly. We may
redact in part or withhold entirely from
publication submitted material that is
obscene or subject to copyright
protection. All submissions should refer
to file number SR–GEMX–2026–27 and
should be submitted on or before
August 12, 2026.

For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.18
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026–14750 Filed 7–21–26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[OMB Control No. 3235–0671]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension: Rule
613 of Regulation NMS
Upon Written Request, Copies Available
From: Securities and Exchange
Commission, Office of FOIA Services,
100 F Street NE, Washington, DC
20549–2736
Notice is hereby given that pursuant
to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(‘‘PRA’’) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments
on the existing collection of information
provided for in connection with a
National Market System (NMS) Plan
filed with the Commission under Rule
613 (17 CFR 242.613), under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
18 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 139 / Wednesday, July 22, 2026 / Notices

lotter on DSK8BHNXB4PROD with NOTICES1

U.S.C. 78a et seq.). The Commission
plans to submit this existing collection
of information to the Office of
Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for
extension and approval.
Rule 613 of Regulation NMS (17 CFR
part 242) required national securities
exchanges and national securities
associations (collectively, the
‘‘Participants’’) to jointly submit to the
Commission a national market system
(‘‘NMS’’) plan to govern the creation,
implementation, and maintenance of a
consolidated audit trail (‘‘CAT’’) and
Central Repository for the collection of
information for NMS securities. On
February 27, 2015, the Participants
submitted the CAT NMS Plan to the
Commission.1 On April 27, 2016, the
Commission published a notice
soliciting comments from the public
(‘‘CAT NMS Plan Notice’’).2 On
November 15, 2016, the Commission
approved the CAT NMS Plan (‘‘CAT
NMS Plan Order’’), including the
information collections proposed in the
CAT NMS Plan Notice, and certain
additional information collections.3
Since 2017 the Commission has
approved several amendments to the
CAT NMS Plan and issued exemptive
relief from its requirements. Some of
these amendments and/or exemptive
relief orders have resulted in data being
removed from the CAT. For instance,
the Commission has issued exemptive
relief from and approved amendments
to the CAT NMS Plan to enable the
SROs to remove customer and account1 See Letter from Participants to Brent J. Fields,
Secretary, Commission, dated February 27, 2015.
The Participants filed the CAT NMS Plan on
September 30, 2014. See Letter from the
Participants to Brent J. Fields, Secretary,
Commission, dated September 30, 2014. The CAT
NMS Plan filed on February 27, 2015, was an
amendment to and replacement of the Initial CAT
NMS Plan (the ‘‘Amended and Restated CAT NMS
Plan’’). On December 24, 2015, the Participants
submitted an Amendment to the Amended and
Restated CAT NMS Plan. See Letter from
Participants to Brent J. Fields, Secretary,
Commission, dated December 23, 2015 (the
‘‘Amendment’’). On February 9, 2016, the
Participants filed with the Commission an identical,
but unmarked, version of the Amended and
Restated CAT NMS Plan, dated February 27, 2015,
as modified by the Amendment, as well as a copy
of the request for proposal issued by the
Participants to solicit Bids from parties interested
in serving as the Plan Processor for the consolidated
audit trail. Unless the context otherwise requires,
the ‘‘CAT NMS Plan’’ shall refer to the Amended
and Restated CAT NMS Plan, as modified by the
Amendment.
2 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 77724
(April 27, 2016), 81 FR 30613 (May 17, 2016). The
burdens associated with the CAT NMS Plan Notice
were submitted under OMB number 3235–0671
which relates to the NMS Plan required to be filed
under Rule 613.
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 79318
(November 15, 2016), 81 FR 84696 (November 23,
2016), available at https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/
nms/2016/34-79318.pdf (‘‘CAT NMS Plan Order’’).

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level information from the CAT.4 The
Commission has also issued exemptive
relief from and approved amendments
to the CAT NMS Plan to enable the
SROs to shorten the retention period for
the data collected by the CAT.5
This Notice addresses both the
ongoing information collection
requirements noted above, the
remaining information collection
requirements contained in the CAT
NMS Plan Notice, and certain additional
information collections of the CAT NMS
Plan Order, which includes an
assessment of the projected impact of
any Material Systems Change on the
Maximum Error Rate, prior to the
implementation of such Material
Systems Change from the Participants.6
The CAT NMS Plan, which governs
the CAT, improves the quality of the
data available to regulators in four areas
that affect the ultimate effectiveness of
core regulatory efforts—completeness,
accuracy, accessibility and timeliness.7
The improvements in these data
qualities substantially improve
regulators’ ability to perform analysis
and reconstruction of market events,
and market analysis and research to
4 See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No.
88393 (Mar. 17, 2020), 85 FR 16152 (Mar. 20, 2020)
(the ‘‘2020 PII Exemptive Relief Order’’) (providing
conditional exemptive relief from CAT NMS Plan
requirements obligating the SROs to collect social
security numbers (‘‘SSNs’’) and/or individual tax
payer identification numbers (‘‘ITINs’’), dates of
birth, and account numbers associated with natural
persons); Securities Exchange Act Release No.
102386 (Feb. 10, 2025), 90 FR 9642, 9643 (Feb. 14,
2025) (the ‘‘2025 PII Exemptive Relief Order’’)
(providing conditional exemptive relief from CAT
NMS Plan requirements obligating the SROs to
collect names, addresses, and years of birth for U.S.
natural persons); Securities Exchange Act Release
No. 104586 (Jan. 13, 2026), 91 FR 2164 (Jan. 16,
2026) (the ‘‘CAIS Order’’) (codifying the 2020 PII
Exemptive Relief Order and the 2025 PII Exemptive
Relief Order and, among other things, enabling the
SROs to eliminate: (1) historical customer and
account-level data, including, among other things,
names, addresses, and years of birth, (2) names,
addresses, and years of birth (where applicable) for
foreign natural persons, for legal entities, and for
authorized traders, and (3) employer identification
numbers).
5 See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No.
104144 (Sept. 30, 2025), FR 90 47853, 47854–55
(Oct. 2, 2025) (providing exemptive relief from
certain requirements related to data storage and
retention); Securities Exchange Act Release No.
105107 (Mar. 27, 2026), 91 FR 16284, 16307 (Apr.
1, 2026) (approving amendments to the CAT NMS
Plan that permit the SROs to: (1) delete all CAT
Data older than three years; (2) delete options
market maker quotes on Listed Options older than
six months; (3) delete Interim Operational Data
older than 15 days; and (4) delete Options SIP Data
older than six months).
6 Id. at 84942. The Commission believes that one
assessment would be filed annually.
7 See CAT NMS Plan Order, supra note 3, at
45727 (discussing four ‘‘qualities’’ of trade and
order data that impact the effectiveness of core
Participant and Commission regulatory efforts:
accuracy, completeness, accessibility, and
timeliness).

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inform policy decisions, as well as
perform regulatory activities, in
particular market surveillance,
examinations, investigations, and other
enforcement functions.
The Commission estimates that 1,199
respondents 8 will require an aggregate
total of approximately 4,122,488 hours
per year to comply with the collection
of information. The Commission further
estimates that the aggregate cost to
comply with the collection of
information will be approximately
$384,727,051 per year.
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 OMB
Control Number.
Written comments are invited on: (a)
whether this proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the SEC,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of
the SEC’s estimate of the burden
imposed by the proposed collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and the assumptions
used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including
through the use of automated, electronic
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Please direct your written comments
on this 60-Day Collection Notice to
Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data
Officer, Securities and Exchange
Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg via
email to PaperworkReductionAct@
sec.gov by September 21, 2026.
Dated: July 17, 2026.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026–14740 Filed 7–21–26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

8 The Commission notes that 27 Participants (the
26 national securities exchanges and one national
securities association) and 1,172 broker-dealers are
subject to information collection requirements
pursuant to Rule 613 and the CAT NMS Plan.

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