E4-3035. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 20549.

Extension: Rule 71 and Forms U-12(I) -(A) and -(B); SEC File No. 270-61; OMB Control No. 3235-0173.

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 (“OMB”) a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below.

Rule 71 [17 CFR 250.71], under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as amended (“Act”), (15 U.S.C. 79 et seq.), requires that certain information be filed by employees of registered holding companies who represent the companies' interests before Congress, the Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on either Form U-12(I)-A or Form U-12(I)-B. The filings must provide, among other things, the identity of the representative, the person's position and compensation and a quarterly statement of those expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business. Employees appearing for the first time must file this information on Form U-12(I)-A within ten days of an appearance. Employees appearing on a regular basis may file the information in advance on Form U-12(I)-B, which will remain valid for the remainder of the year in which it was first filed and for the following two calendar years. Thereafter, it may be renewed for additional three-year periods within thirty days of the expiration of the prior filing. The information collection prescribed by Form U-12(I)-A and Form U-12(I)-B is required by rule 71 under the Act. Rule 71 implements section 12(i) of the Act, which expressly requires the filing of the prescribed disclosure information with the Commission in the interest of investors and consumers. The Commission estimates that the total annual reporting burden of collections under rule 71 is 167 hours (250 responses × forty minutes = 167 burden hours).

The estimates of average burden hours are made for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act and are not derived from a comprehensive or even a representative survey or study of the costs of Commission rules and forms.

There is no recordkeeping requirement for the rule 71 reporting duty. It is mandatory that qualifying employees provide the information required by rule 71. There is no requirement to keep the information confidential, because it is public information. 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.

General comments regarding the above information should be directed to the following persons: (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 e-mail to: [e-mail]; and (ii) R. Corey Booth, Director/Chief Information Officer, Office of Information Technology, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice.

Dated: November 2, 2004.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.