96-33328. Oranges and Grapefruit Grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas; Reapportionment of Membership on the Texas Valley Citrus Committee

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 1 (Thursday, January 2, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55-56]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-33328]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 906

[Docket No. FV96-906-4PR]


Oranges and Grapefruit Grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in 
Texas; Reapportionment of Membership on the Texas Valley Citrus 
Committee

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would reapportion the membership of the 15-
member Texas Valley Citrus Committee (committee) established under the 
Federal marketing order regulating the handling of oranges and 
grapefruit grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. This action 
would provide for more equitable representation between cooperative and 
independent producers and handlers. This reapportionment would reduce 
the number of cooperative producer member positions from four to two 
and provide independent producers with those two positions, thus, 
increasing independent producer membership to seven positions. In 
addition, the number of cooperative handler member positions would be 
reduced from two to one, thereby increasing independent handler 
membership to five positions.

DATES: Comments must be received by February 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this proposal. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the 
Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, 
room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, Fax # [phone]. All 
comments should reference the docket number and the date and page 
number of this issue of the Federal Register and will be made available 
for public inspection in the Office of the Docket Clerk during regular 
business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Belinda G. Garza, McAllen Marketing 
Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 
Vegetable Division, 1313 E. Hackberry, McAllen, Texas 78501; telephone: 
[phone], Fax # [phone]; or Charles L. Rush, Marketing 
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 
P.O. Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: 
[phone], Fax # [phone]. Small businesses may request 
information on compliance with this regulation by contacting: Jay 
Guerber, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable 
Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-
6456; telephone: [phone], Fax # [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposal is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Order No. 906 (7 CFR Part 906), as amended, regulating 
the handling of oranges and grapefruit grown in the Lower Rio Grande 
Valley in Texas, hereinafter referred to as the ``order.'' This order 
is effective under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as 
amended (7 U.S.C 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.''
    The Department of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this rule in 
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
    This proposal has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
If adopted, this proposal will not preempt any State or local laws, 
regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable 
conflict with this rule.
    The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted 
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608c(15)(A) of the 
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the Secretary a 
petition stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any 
obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance 
with law and request a modification of the order or to be exempted 
therefrom. A handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the 
petition. After the hearing the Secretary would rule on the petition. 
The Act provides that the district court of the United States in any 
district in which the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her 
principal place of business, has jurisdiction to review the Secretary's 
ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not later than 20 
days after date of the entry of the ruling.
    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the 
economic impact of this action on small entities.
    The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
business subject to such actions in order that small businesses will 
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued 
pursuant to the Act, and rules issued thereunder, are unique in that 
they are brought about through group action of essentially small 
entities acting on their own behalf. Thus, both statutes have small 
entity orientation and compatibility.
    There are 17 handlers of oranges and grapefruit who are subject to 
regulation under the order and approximately 2,000 orange and 
grapefruit producers in the regulated area. Small agricultural service 
firms, which includes handlers, have been defined by the Small Business 
Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those having annual receipts of less 
than $5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those 
having annual receipts of less than $500,000. The majority of handlers 
and producers of Texas oranges and grapefruit may be classified as 
small entities.
    This proposed rule would reapportion the membership of the 
committee. This action is intended to provide for equitable and 
balanced representation between cooperative and independent producers 
and handlers and would not impose additional costs or burdens on 
producers and handlers.
    Therefore, the AMS has determined that this proposed rule would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. Interested persons are invited to submit information on the 
regulatory and informational impacts of this action on small 
businesses.
    Pursuant to section 906.18 of the order, the committee consists of 
15 members. Each member has an alternate. Nine of the members are 
producers and six are handlers. Section 906.122 of the order's rules 
and regulations provides that the nine producer representatives be 
allocated so that four members represent cooperative marketing 
organizations, hereinafter referred to as cooperative producers, and 
five members represent independent marketing organizations, hereinafter 
referred to as independent producers. Section 906.122 further provides 
that the six handler representatives on the committee be allocated so 
that two members represent cooperative marketing organizations, 
hereinafter referred to as cooperative handlers, and four represent 
independent marketing organizations, hereinafter referred to as 
independent handlers.
    Section 906.19 provides for a three-year term of office for 
committee members and their alternates. The terms of office of the 
committee are staggered so that one-third of the terms end every third 
year. Members and alternates serve in their designated positions during 
the portion of the term of office for which they are selected or until 
their respective successors are selected and have qualified.
    Section 906.21 of the order authorizes the committee, with the 
Secretary's

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approval, to reapportion membership between cooperative producer and 
handler members and independent producer and handler members as 
necessary to assure equitable representation on the committee. Such 
changes are authorized in order to reflect structural changes within 
the industry and changes in the amount of fruit handled by cooperative 
handlers in relation to fruit handled by independent handlers.
    On August 27, 1996, the committee met to discuss, among other 
issues, committee representation and to determine whether any changes 
were warranted to foster more equitable representation. Changes in the 
Texas citrus industry have resulted in a reduction of the number of 
cooperative handlers in that industry subsequently resulting in a 
decrease in the amount of fruit handled by cooperative handlers. 
According to the committee's records, there were four cooperative 
organizations operating until 1984, prior to a freeze in the production 
area. From 1985 to 1995, there were two cooperative organizations 
handling Texas citrus. Presently, only one cooperative handler remains 
in operation.
    As the number of cooperative handlers has decreased, so has the 
volume of fresh fruit accounted for by cooperatives. At the time 
committee membership was last reapportioned in 1969, cooperatives 
accounted for about 30 percent of fresh fruit shipments and about 45 
percent of fruit harvested (which includes processed citrus). The 
volume of fresh fruit shipments accounted for by cooperatives has 
declined since that time, particularly after the last two freezes.
    The committee is concerned that the cooperative segment of the 
industry is currently over-represented on the committee and that 
committee representation no longer reflects the current structure of 
the industry. The present situation has recently made it difficult to 
acquire cooperative representation on the committee, which could lead 
to potential problems in the future.
    This proposed rule would change the composition of the committee by 
reducing cooperative producer positions on the committee from four to 
two, and increasing independent producer member positions from five to 
seven. In addition, cooperative handler representation would be reduced 
from two member positions to one, and independent handler positions 
would be increased from four to five. The proposed change would bring 
committee representation more in line with the Texas citrus industry's 
current structure. This change was unanimously recommended by the 
committee at its August 27 meeting.
    The committee further recommended that current committee members 
complete their current terms of office where possible and new members 
be nominated where applicable to provide for full three-year terms of 
office for unexpired terms. Presently, the term of office of one of the 
four cooperative producer members expires on July 31, 1997, and three 
expire on July 31, 1999. The 1997 position, in addition to one of the 
1999 positions, would be relinquished to independent producers. Also, 
there are presently two cooperative handler members, one of whose terms 
expires on July 31, 1998, and the other on July 31, 1999. One of those 
positions would be relinquished to independent handlers. The three 
terms of office relinquished to the independents would terminate on 
July 31 of the appropriate term. Determination of which cooperative 
producer and handler members currently serving unexpired terms would 
remain in their respective positions would be made by lot at the 
committee's subsequent nomination meetings.
    The Texas citrus industry has historically demonstrated a policy of 
maintaining equitable representation among cooperative and independent 
producers and handlers. When the order was promulgated in 1960, two of 
the nine producer member positions and one of the six handler positions 
were allocated to cooperative members. In 1969, committee membership 
was reallocated to the present apportionment to reflect changes in the 
composition of the industry.
    Cooperative producer member positions were increased from two to 
four and cooperative handler representation was increased from one to 
two. The changes also provided for a reduction in the number of 
independent producer and handler positions. Following the two major 
freezes, only one cooperative handler remains in operation. The 
committee recommended returning to the order's original apportionment 
to accommodate the shift in production. Reducing the total number of 
cooperative positions to three would bring representation closer in 
line with the proportion of fresh fruit shipments accounted for by the 
cooperative. Therefore, the committee's recommendation to revert to the 
committee's original apportionment would be achieved by removing 
Sec. 906.122, which would result in reallocation of cooperative and 
independent producers and handlers to that reflected in Sec. 906.18 of 
the order. Section 906.122, which provides that the production area be 
considered as one district for purposes of committee representation, 
would not be affected by this rule.
    A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to 
respond to this proposal. All written comments received within the 
comment period will be considered prior to finalization of this rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 906

    Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, Oranges, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 906 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 906--ORANGES AND GRAPEFRUIT GROWN IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE 
VALLEY IN TEXAS

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 906 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

    2. Section 906.122 is removed.

    Dated: December 26, 1996.
Robert C. Keeney,
Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 96-33328 Filed 12-31-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P