[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27921]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: November 10, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 217
Thursday, November 10, 1994
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 929
[FV94-929-3PR]
Cranberries Grown in States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon,
Washington, and Long Island in the State of New York; Establishment of
Late Payment and Increase in Interest Charges on Delinquent Assessments
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would increase the interest charge from 1
percent to 1\1/2\ percent per month and add a late payment charge of 5
percent on delinquent assessments owed by handlers under Marketing
Order No. 929 covering cranberries grown in ten states. This rule would
contribute to the efficient operation of the program by ensuring that
adequate funds are available to cover budgeted expenses incurred under
the marketing order.
DATES: Comments must be received by December 12, 1994.
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, Room 2525-S,
P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456. 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: Mark Hessel or Patricia Petrella,
Marketing Specialists, Marketing Order Administration Branch, F&V, AMS,
USDA, Room 2522-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456:
telephone: (202) 720-5127.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposal is issued under Marketing
Agreement and Order No. 929 (7 CFR Part 929), as amended, regulating
the handling of cranberries grown in ten states, hereinafter referred
to as the ``order.'' The 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 12778, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
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 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 requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), the Administrator of 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 approximately 30 handlers of cranberries who are subject
to regulation under the order and approximately 1,050 producers of
cranberries in the regulated area.
Small agricultural service firms 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 cranberries may be classified as
small entities.
The Cranberry Marketing Committee (committee), the agency
responsible for local administration of the order, met on August 23,
1994, and unanimously recommended modifying the administrative rules in
effect under the order concerning delinquent handler assessments. The
modification would increase the interest charge from 1 percent to 1\1/
2\ percent per month and add a late payment charge of 5 percent on
delinquent handler assessments.
Under section 929.41 of the order, each person who first handles
cranberries is required to pay a pro-rata share of the cost of
administering the program. This cost is in the form of a uniform
assessment rate applied to each handler's acquisitions.
Section 929.41 also provides that if a handler does not pay an
assessment within the time prescribed by the committee, the assessment
may be subject to an interest or late payment charge, or both.
Section 929.152 of the rules and regulations in effect under the
order specifies that delinquent assessments be subject to an interest
charge of 1 percent per month on any unpaid assessment balance
beginning 30 days from the due date prescribed by the committee. The
committee currently schedules two assessment payments during the crop
year which begins on September 1. Assessments equal to 100 percent of
the prior crop year's assessment obligation are due on October 1. If a
handler's October 1 payment is not sufficient to meet the current crop
year's assessment obligation then a second payment, making up the
difference, is required by April 1. If the October 1 payment exceeds
the current crop year's assessment obligation then the committee
refunds the difference on or before April 15.
Assessments are the main source of funds to pay committee expenses.
The failure of handlers to pay assessment obligations promptly results
in added expense and operational problems for the committee. The
committee has frequently encountered difficulty in collecting
assessments from some handlers. To attempt to collect, the committee
must incur the added expense of sending out additional invoices and
contacting each delinquent handler by phone, in person, or by fax.
Nonpayment or late payment of assessments hampers the operation of the
committee.
The authority to levy late payment and interest charges on
delinquent assessments was added in 1973 to address the failure of
handlers to pay their assessments promptly. Consequently, in 1978 an
informal rulemaking change (43 FR 29764, July 11, 1978) was approved
which established a one percent interest charge per month to address
this problem.
However, the current interest charge of one percent per month is
not sufficient to induce handlers to comply with the assessment
provisions. Competition in the cranberry industry has increased. The
number of handlers regulated by the order has increased, and many of
these additional handlers have been more reluctant to pay assessments
in a timely manner. The increase in charges on delinquent assessments
would encourage these handlers to pay their assessments more promptly.
Charges would not be imposed until the end of the month if handler
assessments are invoiced up to the 15th of the month and would be
levied at the end of the following month if the handler assessment is
invoiced later than the 15th of the month. Handlers would have ample
time to pay their assessments and avoid incurring the additional
charges. Any amount paid by the handler would be credited upon receipt
in the committee office. These additional charges would apply to any
unpaid assessments which become due to the committee after the
effective date of this rule change.
A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons an
opportunity to respond to this proposal. All written comments timely
received will be considered before a final determination is made on
this matter.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 929
Cranberries, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 929 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 929 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
PART 929--CRANBERRIES GROWN IN STATES OF MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE
ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW JERSEY, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA,
OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND LONG ISLAND IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK
2. Section 929.152 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 929.152 Delinquent assessments.
There shall be a late payment charge of five percent and an
interest charge of 1\1/2\ percent per month applied to any assessment
not received at the committee's office before the end of the month in
which such assessment was first invoiced to the handler: Provided, That
if an assessment is first invoiced later than the 15th of the month, no
late payment or interest charge shall be levied if such assessment is
received at the committee office by the end of the following month in
which the assessment was first invoiced to the handler.
Dated: November 4, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-27921 Filed 11-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
