[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4530-4532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-1750]
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[[Page 4531]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 932
[Docket No. FV94-932-2IFR]
Olives Grown in California; Expenses and Assessment Rate for 1995
Fiscal Year
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenses and establishes an
assessment rate for the California Olive Committee (Committee) under
Marketing Order No. 932 for the 1995 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, 1995, through December 31, 1995.
Comments received by February 23, 1995 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, D.C. 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, D.C. 20090-6456, telephone: (202)
720-5127; or Terry Vawter, 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. 932 [7 CFR Part 932], as amended,
regulating the handling of olives grown in 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 of Agriculture (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, olives grown in California are subject to assessments. It is
intended that the assessment rate specified herein will be applicable
to all assessable olives handled during the 1995 fiscal year, beginning
January 1, 1995, through December 31, 1995. 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 5 handlers of olives regulated under the
marketing order each season and approximately 1,350 olive producers in
California. Small agricultural producers have been defined by the Small
Business Administration [13 CFR Sec. 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 $5,000,000.
None of the handlers may be classified as small entities. The majority
of the 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 olives 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 olives. 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 olives.
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 California Olive Committee met on December 8, 1994, and
unanimously recommended a total expense amount of $2,881,650, for its
1995 budget. This is $866,640 less in expenses than the previous year.
The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of
$30.04 per ton for the 1995 fiscal year, which is $2.83 more in the
assessment rate from the 1994 fiscal year. The assessment rate, when
applied to anticipated shipments of 69,300 tons from the 1994 olive
crop, would yield $2,081,772 in assessment income. This, along with
approximately $800,000 from the Committee's authorized reserves will be
adequate to cover estimated expenses.
Major expense categories for the 1995 fiscal year include
$1,479,000 for marketing expenses, $682,000 for food service industry
promotion, $251,000 for public relations and administration, and
$178,630 for salaries. Funds in the reserve at the end of the fiscal
year, estimated at $200,000 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
[[Page 4532]] 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, 1995, and the marketing order
requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal year apply to all
assessable olives handled during the fiscal year; (3) handlers are
aware of this action which was recommended by the Committee at a public
meeting; 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 932
Marketing agreements, Olives, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 932 is
amended as follows:
PART 932--OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 932 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
Note: This section will not appear in the annual Code of Federal
Regulations.
2. A new Sec. 932.228 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 932.228 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $2,881,650 by the California Olive Committee are
authorized and an assessment rate of $30.04 per ton of assessable
olives is established for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1995.
Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.
Dated: January 18, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-1750 Filed 1-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
