Incorporation of Changes in the Commission's Administrative Structure, Remove Superfluous Verbiage, and Correct Inaccurate Text

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

An agency reorganization in November 2020 realigned key functions within the agency, including: (1) creating a new Division of Data (DOD); (2) reassigning the Executive Secretariat Branch from the Office of the Executive Director (OED) to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC); and (3) renaming and realigning the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) to the Market Participants Division (MPD) and (4) moving the Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO) to the Office of Public Affairs.

Technology has dramatically altered capital and commodity markets over the past few decades, and technologically induced innovations such as electronic exchanges, high-frequency trading, and exchange-traded funds have made trading faster, cheaper, more integrated, and increasingly complex. As a financial regulator in an ever-increasingly sophisticated market environment, it is becoming more and more crucial that the CFTC continue to focus on data and data reporting and invest in technologies necessary to keep pace with market innovation. Our oversight responsibilities are becoming highly data acquisitive and rely on the effective use of information, including through the use of algorithms and analytics to more effectively manage data to meet our regulatory objectives. The DoD was created to address the Commission's growing data needs and to position the agency to continue to achieve its mission in accord with new technologies.

There has been an unprecedented rise in retail futures, options and digital asset trading. As the agency evolves to address changing markets and market demographics, both the FinTech and customer protection efforts the Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO) were realigned within the Office of Public Affairs.

DSIO is responsible primarily for overseeing derivatives market participants and market intermediaries, including commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, retail foreign exchange dealers, swap dealers, and major swap participants, as well as designated self-regulatory organizations. By restyling DSIO as MPD, the Division's name will more succinctly reflect the scope of its responsibility regarding the Commission registrants enumerated above.

The Commission's legal compliance groups that are responsible for records, Freedom of Information Act, Sunshine Act, privacy, and transparency were divided between the Office of the General Counsel and the Executive Secretariat Branch in the Office of the Executive Director. Moving the Executive Secretariat Branch into the Office of the General Counsel ensures consistency through streamlining all legal compliance programs into one division.

In addition to the changes required due to the realignment, the Commission proposes technical changes to ensure consistency in reference to addresses, deletes references to positions that have changed and updates the positions to align with the current Commission structure, correct typographical errors, and other technical changes.

Section 2(a)(12) of the Commodity Exchange Act authorizes the Commission to promulgate such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to govern the operating procedures and conduct of business of the Commission. The Commission is promulgating this rule to reflect changes in its administrative structure and to make conforming technical changes to its regulations.

II. Related Matters

A. Administrative Procedure Act

The amendments to the Commission's regulations in this rulemaking do not establish any new substantive or legislative rules, but rather relate to the restructuring of responsibilities within the Commission, including amendments changing the names of divisions and offices that are affected by the realignment and re-delegating authority to newly formed divisions. The amendments to the Commission's regulations relate solely to agency management, organization, procedure, and practice and provide technical corrections of a minor and administrative nature, such as technical changes to ensure consistency in reference to Commission addresses, to delete references to positions that have changed and to update the positions to align with the current Commission structure, correct typographical errors, and other similar technical corrections. Therefore, this rulemaking is excepted from the public rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Additionally, an agency may issue a new rule in some circumstances without publication in the Federal Register of a notice of proposed rulemaking with an opportunity for comment if the agency for “good cause” finds (and incorporates the finding and a brief statement of the reasons therefor in the rules issued) that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. As the revisions to the Commission's regulations in this rulemaking will not cause any party to undertake efforts to comply with the regulations as revised, the Commission has determined to make this rulemaking effective upon publication in the Federal Register .

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires the Commission to consider whether the regulations it adopts will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Commission is obligated to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis for any rule for which the agency publishes a general notice of proposed rulemaking pursuant to Section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act or any other law. This rulemaking is excepted from the public rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Accordingly, the Commission is not required to conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis for this rulemaking.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

The Commission may not conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, a collection of information contained in a rulemaking unless the information collection displays a currently valid control number issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Paperwork Reduction Act). This final rule does not contain a “collection of information” as defined in the Paperwork Reduction Act and, therefore, is not subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act.

D. Cost-Benefit Considerations

Section 15(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act provides that, before promulgating a regulation under this Act or issuing an order, the Commission shall consider the costs and benefits of the action of the Commission. These rules govern internal agency organization, procedure, and practice, and therefore the Commission finds that none of the considerations enumerated in Section 15(a)(2) of the Commodity Exchange Act are applicable to these rules.

E. Congressional Review Act

This final rule is not a rule as defined in the Congressional Review Act.

1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1a, 2, 5, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 6i, 6k, 6l, 6m, 6n, 6o, 6p, 6r, 6s, 7, 7a-1, 7a-2, 7b, 7b-3, 8, 9, 10a, 12, 12a, 12c, 13a, 13a-1, 16, 16a, 19, 21, 23, and 24 (2012).

2. For each section and paragraph indicated in the left column of the following table, remove the text in the middle column from wherever it appears in the section or paragraph, and add in its place the text indicated in the right column: