(a)
The Registrant has adopted a code of ethics that applies to its principal
executive officers and principal financial and accounting officer.
(f)
Pursuant to Item 13(a)(1), the Registrant is attaching as an exhibit a copy of
its code of ethics that applies to its principal executive officers and
principal financial and accounting officer.
Item
3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.
(a)(1)
The Registrant has an audit committee financial expert serving on its audit
committee.
(2)
The audit committee financial expert is Mary C. Choksi and she is
"independent" as defined under the relevant Securities and Exchange
Commission Rules and Releases.
Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
(a) Audit Fees
The aggregate fees paid to the principal accountant
for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for the audit of
the registrant’s annual financial statements or for services that are normally
provided by the principal accountant in connection with statutory and
regulatory filings or engagements were $73,023 for the fiscal year ended April
30, 2022 and $78,691 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021.
(b) Audit-Related Fees
There were no fees paid to the principal accountant for assurance and related services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant's financial statements and are not reported under paragraph (a) of Item 4.
There were no fees paid to the principal accountant for assurance and related services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant's investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of their financial statements.
(c) Tax Fees
There were no fees paid to the principal accountant for professional services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
There were no fees paid to the principal accountant for professional services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant’s investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
(d) All Other Fees
The aggregate fees paid to the principal accountant for products and services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant not reported in paragraphs (a)-(c) of Item 4 were $5,296 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022 and $0 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021. The services for which these fees were paid include review of materials provided to the fund Board in connection with the investment management contract renewal process.
The aggregate fees paid to the principal accountant for products and services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant’s investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant not reported in paragraphs (a)-(c) of Item 4 were $243,743 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022 and $36,800 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021. The services for which these fees were paid included professional fees in connection with determining the feasibility of a U.S. direct lending structure, the issuance of an Auditor’s Certificate for South Korean regulatory shareholders disclosures, benchmarking services in connection with the ICI TA Survey, assets under management certification, professional services relating to the readiness assessment over Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy, fees in connection with license for employee development tool ProEdge, and professional fees in connection with SOC 1 Reports.
(e)
(1) The registrant’s audit committee is directly responsible for approving the
services to be provided by the auditors, including:
(i) pre-approval
of all audit and audit related services;
(ii) pre-approval
of all non-audit related services to be provided to the Fund by the auditors;
(iii) pre-approval
of all non-audit related services to be provided to the registrant by the auditors
to the registrant’s investment adviser or to any entity that controls, is
controlled by or is under common control with the registrant’s investment adviser
and that provides ongoing services to the registrant where the non-audit
services relate directly to the operations or financial reporting of the
registrant; and
(iv) establishment
by the audit committee, if deemed necessary or appropriate, as an alternative
to committee pre-approval of services to be provided by the auditors, as
required by paragraphs (ii) and (iii) above, of policies and procedures to
permit such services to be pre-approved by other means, such as through
establishment of guidelines or by action of a designated member or members of
the committee; provided the policies and procedures are detailed as to the
particular service and the committee is informed of each service and such
policies and procedures do not include delegation of audit committee
responsibilities, as contemplated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to
management; subject, in the case of (ii) through (iv), to any waivers,
exceptions or exemptions that may be available under applicable law or rules.
(e) (2) None of the services provided to the registrant described in paragraphs (b)-(d) of Item 4 were approved by the audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of regulation S-X.
(f) No disclosures are required by this Item 4(f).
(g) The aggregate non-audit fees paid to the principal accountant for services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant and the registrant’s investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant were $249,039 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022 and $36,800 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021.
(h) The registrant’s audit committee of the board has considered whether the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.
Item
5. Audit Committee
of Listed
Registrants. N/A
Item
6. Schedule of Investments. N/A
Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy
Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
N/A
Item 8. Portfolio Managers
of Closed-End Management Investment Companies. N/A
Item 9. Purchases of Equity
Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and
Affiliated Purchasers.
N/A
Item
10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
There
have been no changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend
nominees to the Registrant's Board of Trustees that would require disclosure
herein.
Item
11. Controls and Procedures.
(a) Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Registrant maintains
disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to provide reasonable
assurance that information required to be disclosed in the Registrant’s filings
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Investment
Company Act of 1940 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the
periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Such information is accumulated and communicated to the
Registrant’s management, including its principal executive officer and
principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosure. The Registrant’s management, including the
principal executive officer and the principal financial officer, recognizes
that any set of controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and
operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired
control objectives.
Within 90 days prior to the
filing date of this Shareholder Report on Form N-CSR, the Registrant
had carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation
of the Registrant’s management, including the Registrant’s principal executive
officer and the Registrant’s principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of
the design and operation of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures.
Based on such evaluation, the Registrant’s principal executive officer and
principal financial officer concluded that the Registrant’s disclosure controls
and procedures are effective.
(b) Changes
in Internal Controls. There have been no changes in the Registrant’s
internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period
covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
materially affect the internal control over financial reporting.
Item
12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment
Company. N/A
(a)(2)
Certifications pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of Matthew
T. Hinkle, Chief Executive Officer - Finance and Administration, and Christopher
Kings, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer
(b)
Certifications pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of Matthew
T. Hinkle, Chief Executive Officer - Finance and Administration, and Christopher
Kings, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company
Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
FRANKLIN
FEDERAL TAX-FREE INCOME FUND
By S\MATTHEW
T. HINKLE______________________
Chief
Executive Officer - Finance and Administration
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment
Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons
on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By S\MATTHEW
T. HINKLE______________________
Chief
Executive Officer - Finance and Administration
By S\CHRISTOPHER
KINGS______________________
Chief
Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer