Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the Government in the Sunshine Act, Pub. L. 94-409, that the Securities and Exchange Commission will hold the following meetings during the week of March 31, 2003:
Open Meetings will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2003 at 10 a.m., in Room 1C30, the William O. Douglas Room, and Wednesday, April 2, 2003 at 10 a.m., in Room 1C30, the William O. Douglas Room. Closed Meetings will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2003 at 2:30 p.m., and Wednesday, April 2, 2003 at 11 a.m.
Commissioners, Counsel to the Commissioners, the Secretary to the Commission, and recording secretaries will attend the Closed Meetings. Certain staff members who have an interest in the matters may also be present.
The General Counsel of the Commission, or his designee, has certified that, in his opinion, one or more of the exemptions set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(3), (5), (7), (9)(B) and (10) and 17 CFR 200.402(a)(3), (5), (7), (9)(ii) and (10), permit consideration of the scheduled matters at the Closed Meetings.
The subject matter of the Open Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 1, 2003 will be:
The Commission will consider whether to adopt new rules and amendments to direct the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any security of an issuer that is not in compliance with the audit committee requirements established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. These requirements relate to: The independence of audit committee members; the audit committee's responsibility to select and oversee the issuer's independent accountant; procedures for handling complaints regarding the issuer's accounting practices; the authority of the audit committee to engage advisors; and funding for the independent auditor and any outside advisors engaged by the audit committee. The rule implements the requirements of Section 10A(m)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as added by Section 301 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
The subject matter of the Closed Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 1, 2003 will be:
Institution and settlement of administrative proceedings of an enforcement nature; Institution and settlement of injunctive actions; and Adjudicatory matters.
The subject matter of the Open Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, 2003 will be an oral argument:
The Commission will hear oral argument on an appeal by John J. Kenny and Nicholson/Kenny Capital Management, Inc., a registered investment adviser, from the decision of an administrative law judge. Kenny is a former associated person of a broker-dealer and chairman and chief executive officer of Nicholson/Kenny.
The law judge found that Kenny engaged in schemes to defraud, in violation of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, and aided, abetted, and was a cause of violations of those provisions by another person. The law judge further found that Kenny and Nicholson/Kenny violated Section 206 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
The law judge barred Kenny from association with any broker, dealer, or investment adviser; revoked Nicholson/Kenny's registration as an investment adviser; ordered respondents to cease and desist from committing or causing violations or future violations of the antifraud provisions; assessed civil penalties of $700,000 against Kenny and $500,000 against Nicholson/Kenny; and ordered respondents, jointly and severally, to pay disgorgement in the amount of $1,333,000.
Among the issues likely to be argued are:
1. Whether respondents committed the alleged violations; and
2. If so, whether sanctions should be imposed in the public interest.
The subject matter of the Closed Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, 2003 will be: Post-argument Discussion.
At times, changes in Commission priorities require alterations in the scheduling of meeting items. For further information and to ascertain what, if any, matters have been added, deleted, or postponed, please contact: the Office of the Secretary at (202) 942-7070.
Dated: March 25, 2003.
Jonathan G. Katz,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-7569 Filed 3-25-03; 4:31 pm]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P