[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 247 (Monday, December 27, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 72267-72269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33509]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 955
[Docket No. FV00-955 2 IFR]
Vidalia Onions Grown in Georgia; Changing the Term of Office and
Nomination Deadlines
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This rule changes the term of office for the Vidalia Onion
Committee (Committee), and the time for conducting and submitting
Committee nominations under the Vidalia onion marketing order. The
marketing order regulates the handling of Vidalia onions grown in
Georgia and is administered locally by the Committee. This rule changes
the term of office from a 24-month period beginning September 16 and
ending September 15, to a 24-month period beginning January 1 and
ending December 31. It also changes the month for conducting and
submitting Committee producer nominations from August to October of
each year, and for the public member and alternate member from November
1 to February 15. These changes are expected to improve Committee and
program operations.
DATES: Effective January 1, 2000; comments received by January 26, 2000
will be considered prior to issuance of a final rule.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this rule. Comments must be sent to the Docket Clerk, Fruit
and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, PO Box 96456,
Washington, DC 20090-6456; Fax: (202) 720-5698; or E-mail:
moab.docketclerk@usda.gov. 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: William G. Pimental, Southeast
Marketing Field Office, F&V, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, FL
33883-2276; telephone: (863) 299-4770, Fax: (863) 299-5169; or George
Kelhart, Technical Advisor, Marketing Order Administration Branch,
Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, P.O. Box 96456,
Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-
5698.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, PO Box 96456, room
2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202)
720-5698, or E-mail: Jay.Guerber@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement and Order No. 955 (7 CFR part 955) regulating the handling of
Vidalia onions grown in Georgia, hereinafter referred to as the
``order.'' 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 rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
This 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 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 the date of the entry of the ruling.
Section 955.21 of the order provides that the term of office for
Committee members and alternates begins on September 16, or such other
period as the Committee may recommend and the Secretary approves. In
addition, Sec. 955.22 provides that the Committee shall hold or cause
to be held not later than August 1 of each year, or such other date as
may be specified by the Secretary, a meeting or meetings of growers for
the purpose of designating one nominee for each position as member and
for each position as alternate member of the Committee which is vacant,
or which is about to become vacant. Nominations for members and
alternates are required to be supplied to the Secretary in such manner
and form as the Secretary may prescribe, not later than August 15 of
each year, or by such date as may be specified by the Secretary. That
section further provides that the producer members shall nominate the
public member and alternate member at the first meeting following the
selection of members for a new term of office. The members and
alternates serve two-year terms of office and approximately one-half of
the total Committee membership is nominated and selected each year.
[[Page 72268]]
Nominations for the public member and alternate member are required to
be supplied to the Secretary in such manner and form as the Secretary
may prescribe, not later than November 1, or such other date as may be
specified by the Secretary.
An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on
September 3, 1999 (64 FR 48243), which changed the fiscal period
established under the order to a calendar year basis (January 1-
December 31) from September 16-September 15 to more closely coincide
with the Vidalia onion marketing season. That interim final rule has
been adopted, without change, in a final rule published in this issue
of the Federal Register. The new fiscal is specified in Sec. 955.113.
Over the past decade, technological changes in the industry,
including the adoption of Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage of Vidalia
onions by three-fourths of the industry handlers, have extended the
harvesting and marketing season from April through June to an almost
year-round basis. While there are some added storage costs and losses
due to shrinkage with CA storage, these costs are more than offset by
prices received for Vidalia onions during the holiday season (November
and December).
On September 30, 1999, the Committee unanimously recommended that
the term of office continue to be established on the same basis as the
fiscal period. This rule changes the term of office from a 24-month
period beginning September 16 and ending September 15, to a 24-month
period beginning January 1 and ending December 31. The new fiscal
period is established in new Sec. 955.121. Also, for the eight members
and alternates whose terms of office were scheduled to end on September
15, 1999, their terms of office will continue through December 31,
1999, or until qualified successors are selected. Nominations for those
expiring positions already have been submitted to the Department under
existing regulations.
The Committee also recommended changes in the times for conducting
and submitting Committee producer member and alternate member
nominations to maintain the same approximate nomination deadlines as
provided currently. The dates will be changed from August 1 and August
15 to October 1 and October 15, respectively, and are specified in new
Sec. 955.122. The deadline for submitting nominations to the Secretary
for the public member and alternate will be changed from November 1 to
February 15 to provide the same amount of time for submitting
nominations as currently provided after the newly selected Committee's
first meeting sometime after January 1. These changes are expected to
improve Committee and program operations.
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. Accordingly, AMS has
prepared this initial regulatory flexibility analysis.
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 the 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 133 producers of Vidalia onions in the
production area and approximately 86 handlers subject to regulation
under the marketing order. Small agricultural producers have been
defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those
having annual receipts less than $500,000, and small agricultural
service firms are defined as those whose annual receipts are less than
$5,000,000.
Based on the Georgia Agricultural Statistical Service and committee
data, the average price for fresh Vidalia Onions during the 1998-99
season was $15.45 per 50-pound bag, or equivalent and shipments totaled
3,617,017 bags. Many Vidalia onion handlers ship other vegetable
products which are not included in the committee data, but would
contribute further to handler receipts.
Using the average price, about 97.4 percent of Vidalia Onion
handlers could be considered small businesses under the SBA definition.
The majority of Vidalia Onion producers and handlers may be classified
as small entities.
This rule adds Sec. 955.121 to change the two-year term of office
to January 1-December 31 from September 16-September 15 to keep the
term of office on a fiscal year basis. It also adds Sec. 955.122 to
modify the deadlines when nominations are to be held and reports of the
nominations are to be made to the Secretary. The new deadlines provide
the same amount of time for conducting and submitting nominations for
producer members and alternates and for the public member and alternate
as are provided currently. For producer member and alternate members,
the time for conducting nominations will be changed from August 1 to
October 1, and the time for submitting the nominations to Secretary
will be changed from August 15 to October 15. The time for submitting
the public member and alternate public member nominations will be
changed from November 1 to February 15 for a new term of office. Also,
for the eight Committee members and alternates whose terms of office
were scheduled to end on September 15, 1999, their terms of office will
continue through December 31, 1999, or until qualified successors are
selected.
The changes in the term of office and the nomination deadlines
should not impose any additional costs on large or small firms in the
Vidalia onion industry. The changes merely bring the term of office and
the nomination deadlines into conformity with the recent change in the
fiscal period which was changed to a calendar year basis (January 1-
December 31) from September 16-September 15.
The Committee discussed the alternative of leaving the term of
office and nomination deadlines as they are presently. However, the
Committee believes that the term of office and nomination deadlines
should continue to be based on the fiscal period, which now is
established on a calendar year basis.
This rule will not impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping
requirements on either small or large Vidalia onion handlers. As with
all Federal marketing order programs, reports and forms are
periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and
duplication by industry and public sectors. In addition, the Department
has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap
or conflict with this rule.
Further, the Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout
the Vidalia onion industry and all interested persons were invited to
attend the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations. Like all
Committee meetings, the September 30, 1999, meeting was a public
meeting and all entities, both large and small, were able to express
their views on this issue. Finally, interested persons are invited to
submit information on the regulatory and informational impacts of this
action on small businesses.
A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at the
following website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/moab.html. Any questions
about the compliance guide should be sent to Jay Guerber at the
previously mentioned
[[Page 72269]]
address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the Committee's recommendation, and other information, it is found that
this interim final rule, as hereinafter set forth, will tend to
effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
This rule invites comments on a change to the term of office and
nomination deadlines currently prescribed under the Vidalia onion
marketing order. A comment period of 30 days is deemed appropriate
because January 1, 2000, is the beginning of fiscal period established
by a separate action and the term of office prescribed by this action
corresponds with that date. Any comments received will be considered
prior to finalization of this rule.
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 rule until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register
because: (1) The change in the term of office is January 1, 2000, to
correspond with the beginning of the fiscal period recently established
in a separate action; and (2) a 30-day comment period is provided and
all comments received will be considered in finalizing this action.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 955
Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 955 is
amended as follows:
PART 955--VIDALIA ONIONS GROWN IN GEORGIA
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 955 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 955.121 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 955.121 Change in term of office.
Pursuant to Sec. 955.21, the term of office for the Committee shall
be for two years beginning January 1 and ending December 31, except
that, the term of office for members and alternates whose terms expired
on September 15, 1999, shall end on December 31, 1999, or until
qualified successors are selected.
3. A new Sec. 955.122 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 955.122 Change in nomination deadlines.
Pursuant to Sec. 955.22, the Committee shall hold or cause to be
held not later than October 1 of each year a meeting or meetings of
growers for the purpose of designating one nominee for each position as
member and for each position as alternate of the Committee which is
vacant, or about to become vacant. Such nominations shall be supplied
to the Secretary in such manner and form as the Secretary may
prescribe, not later than October 15 of each year. The grower members
shall nominate the public member and alternate public member at the
first meeting following the selection of members for a new term of
office. Nominations for the public member and alternate public member
shall be supplied to the Secretary in such manner and form as the
Secretary may prescribe, not later than February 15.
Dated: December 20, 1999.
James R. Frazier,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable Programs.
[FR Doc. 99-33509 Filed 12-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
