For purposes of this part:

(a) Commission decisional employee includes any member of the Commission staff who participates in, or may be reasonably expected to participate in, the decisionmaking process in any proceeding under this part. It does not include Commissioners or members of their personal staff.

(b) Disciplinary action includes any proceeding brought by the National Futures Association to enforce its rules that may result in expulsion, suspension, censure, bar from association with a member, fine in excess of $100 or any comparable sanction being imposed on a member or a person associated with a member.

(c) Ex parte communication shall include any communication, whether written or oral, which is both (1) not preceded by reasonable notice to all parties to a proceeding, and (2) not made on the public record. It shall not include requests made to the Office of the General Counsel's Litigation, Enforcement, and Adjudication Section or Office of Proceedings for status reports or for an interpretation of these rules.

(d) Final Decision means the decision that terminates the proceeding before the National Futures Association on the action that is the subject of the notice of appeal filed with the Commission.

(e) To mail means to place in the United States mail (or to deliver to an overnight delivery service of established reliability) a properly addressed and post-paid document. Unless otherwise provided, documents filed and served by mail must be sent by no less expeditious means than first class United States mail.

(f) Member includes any person admitted to membership by the National Futures Association.

(g) Member Responsibility Action includes any action in which, based on a finding by the National Futures Association that there is reason to believe that summary action is necessary to protect the commodity futures markets, customers or other members of the association, a member or person associated with a member may be summarily suspended from membership or association with a member, required to restrict operations or otherwise directed to take remedial action.

(h) Membership denial action includes any proceeding brought by the National Futures Association to (1) determine whether an applicant should be admitted to membership or be permitted to be associated with a member, (2) determine whether an applicant should be admitted to membership or be permitted to be associated with a member on a conditional basis, or (3) determine whether to revoke or restrict the membership or association status of any person who is a member or is associated with a member.

(i) Party includes any person who has been the subject of a disciplinary action, membership denial action, or registration action by the National Futures Association; the National Futures Association itself; any person granted permission to participate as a party pursuant to § 171.27 of these rules; and any Division of the Commission that files a Notice of Appearance pursuant to § 171.28 of these rules.

(j) Person associated with a member includes any person permitted to register as an associate of a member by the National Futures Association.

(k) Record of the proceeding shall include the order appealed from, the findings or report on which the order is based, the pleadings, evidence and proceedings before the National Futures Association decisonmaker and a copy of any rule of the National Futures Association that is material to the order.

(l) Registration action includes any proceeding brought by the National Futures Association, pursuant to authority delegated by the Commission, to grant, condition, deny, suspend, restrict, or revoke the registration of any person.

(m) Rule of the National Futures Association includes any article of incorporation, bylaw, rule, regulation, resolution or written interpretation of stated policy of the National Futures Association.