(The news featured below is a selection from the news covered in the Federal Securities Report Letter, which is distributed to subscribers of the Federal Securities Law Reports.)

SEC Creates Web Site for Section 16 Filings

The SEC announced the establishment of a new Web site at https://www.onlineforms.edgarfiling.sec.gov exclusively for the on-line creation and submission of Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Section 16(a) ownership reports on Forms 3, 4, and 5. The Web site is available to the public for the creation and submission of test filings of these forms to the EDGAR system.

The SEC stated that it designed the Web site to make it easier for individuals to satisfy the electronic filing obligations that will apply to them when electronic submission of these forms is mandated later this year. Individuals, companies and filing agents may use the new Web site to create and submit test filings and to provide the agency with their comments or suggestions for improving the system as soon as possible.

After April 25, 2003, the test system will go live and filers will no longer be able to make Form 3, 4, or 5 filings using the existing EDGAR template system. From that time until the date the mandated electronic filing rules become effective, filers will need to file Forms 3, 4 and 5 electronically, using either the new on-line Web site system or private company software products, or in paper format.

The SEC advised that because of the changes that were made to the EDGAR system to accommodate the new Web site transmissions, private vendors will need to conform their specialized ownership submission software to the new configuration. The draft specifications may be found on the SEC's Web site are at http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/edgar85xmlspec.htm. According to the SEC, to ensure that the software functions properly, vendors may now submit test filings of Forms 3, 4 and 5 using software that conforms to these reduced content specifications directly to https://www.onlineforms.edgarfiling.sec.gov.

Instructions for using the new Web site system to submit filings are included in Volume III of the EDGAR Filer Manual, Version 8.5. A draft version of the manual is available on the SEC's Web site at http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/filermanual85.htm. The public will have access to filings in this same format on the SEC's Web site, www.sec.gov, once the system accepts live submissions.