[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 14 (Friday, January 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1432]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: January 21, 1994]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 925
[Docket No. FV93-925-2IFR]
Grapes Grown in a Designated Area of Southeastern California;
Expenses and Assessment Rate for 1994 Fiscal Year
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenditures and
establishes an assessment rate for the California Desert Grape
Administrative Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order (M.O.) No.
925 for the 1994 fiscal year. Authorization of this budget enables the
Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to
administer this program. Funds to administer this program are derived
from assessments on handlers.
DATES: Effective beginning January 1, 1994, through December 31, 1994.
Comments received by February 22, 1994, will be considered prior to
issuance of a final rule.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this interim final rule. Comments must be sent in triplicate
to the Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box
96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456. Fax # (202) 720-5698.
Comments should reference the docket number and the date and page
number of this issue of the Federal Register and will be available for
public inspection in the Office of the Docket Clerk during regular
business hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britthany Beadle, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.
Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone: (202)
720-5127; or Peter Parks, California Marketing Field Office, Fruit and
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey Street, suite 102 B,
Fresno, California 93721, telephone: (209) 487-5901.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This interim final rule is issued under
Marketing Agreement and Order No. 925 (7 CFR part 925) regulating the
handling of table grapes grown in a designated area of California. The
marketing agreement and order are 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 is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive
Order 12866.
This interim final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order
12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order provisions now
in effect, table grapes grown in California are subject to assessments.
It is intended that the assessment rate specified herein will be
applicable to all assessable grapes handled during the 1994 fiscal
year, beginning January 1, 1994, through December 31, 1994. This
interim final rule 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 requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted
therefrom. Such 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 in equity to review
the Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is
filed not later than 20 days after date of the entry of the ruling.
Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this rule 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 approximately 20 handlers of grapes regulated under the
marketing order each season and approximately 90 grape producers in
California. Small agricultural producers have been defined by the Small
Business Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those having annual
receipts of less than $500,000, and small agricultural service firms
are defined as those whose annual receipts are less than $3,500,000.
The majority of these handlers and producers may be classified as small
entities.
The marketing order, administered by the Department, requires that
the assessment rate for a particular fiscal year apply to all
assessable grapes handled from the beginning of such year. Annual
budgets of expenses are prepared by the Committee, the agency
responsible for local administration of this marketing order, and
submitted to the Department for approval. The members of the Committee
are handlers and producers of California table grapes. They are
familiar with the Committee's needs and with the costs for goods,
services, and personnel in their local area, and are thus in a position
to formulate appropriate budgets. The Committee's budget is formulated
and discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons
have an opportunity to participate and provide input.
The assessment rate recommended by the Committee is derived by
dividing the anticipated expenses by expected shipments of table
grapes. Because that rate is applied to actual shipments, it must be
established at a rate which will provide sufficient income to pay the
Committee's expected expenses.
The Committee met on November 4, 1993, and unanimously recommended
a total expense amount of $103,544, which is $75,056 less in expenses
than the previous year.
The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of
$0.01 per lug for the 1994 fiscal year, which is $0.01 less in the
assessment rate from the 1993 fiscal year. The assessment rate, when
applied to anticipated shipments of 9,000,000 lugs, would yield $90,000
in assessment income. This along with $2,500 in interest income and
$113,000 from the Committee's authorized reserves will be adequate to
cover estimated expenses.
Major expense categories for the 1994 fiscal year include $50,000
for a U.C. Riverside research grant, $24,000 for the Western Grape Leaf
Skeletonizer project, $11,704 for salaries, and $4,340 for rent. Funds
in the reserve at the end of the fiscal year, estimated at $101,956,
will be within the maximum permitted by the order of one fiscal year's
expenses.
While this action will impose some additional costs on handlers,
the costs are in the form of uniform assessments on all handlers. Some
of the additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these
costs should be significantly offset by the benefits derived from the
operation of the marketing order. Therefore, the Administrator of the
AMS has determined that this action will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
After consideration of all relevant matter presented, including the
information and recommendations submitted by the Committee and other
available information, it is hereby found that this rule as hereinafter
set forth will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also found and determined upon good
cause that it is impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public
interest to give preliminary notice prior to putting this rule into
effect and that good cause exists for not postponing the effective date
of this action until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register
because:
(1) The Committee needs to have sufficient funds to pay its
expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis;
(2) The fiscal year for the Committee begins January 1, 1994, and
the marketing order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal
year apply to all assessable grapes handled during the fiscal year;
(3) Handlers are aware of this action which was recommended by the
Committee at a public meeting and which is similar to budgets issued in
past years; and (4) This interim final rule provides a 30-day comment
period, and all comments timely received will be considered prior to
finalization of this action.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 925
Grapes, Marketing agreements and orders, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 925 is
amended as follows:
PART 925--GRAPES GROWN IN A DESIGNATED AREA OF SOUTHEASTERN
CALIFORNIA
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 925 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 925.213 is added to read as follows:
Note: This action will not appear in the annual Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 925.213 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $103,544 by the California Desert Grape Administrative
Committee are authorized and an assessment rate of $0.01 per lug on
assessable grapes is established for the fiscal year ending December
31, 1994. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.
Dated: January 13, 1994.
Ronald L. Cioffi,
Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-1432 Filed 1-19-94; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
