[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7732-7734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3869]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 17, 1998 /
Proposed Rules
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 932
[Docket No. FV98-932-1 PR]
Olives Grown in California; Increased Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This rule would increase the assessment rate established for
the California Olive Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order No.
932 for the 1998 and subsequent fiscal years. The Committee is
responsible for local administration of the marketing order which
regulates the handling of olives grown in California. Authority to
assess olive handlers enables the Committee to incur expenses that are
reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The fiscal year
began January 1 and ends December 31. The assessment rate would remain
in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.
DATES: Comments must be received by March 19, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this rule. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the Docket
Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, PO Box
96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; Fax: (202) 205-6632. 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: Diane Purvis, Marketing Assistant, or
Terry Vawter, Marketing Specialist, California Marketing Field Office,
Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey Street, Suite
102B, Fresno, California 93721; telephone: (209) 487-5901, Fax: (209)
487-5906; or George Kelhart, Technical Advisor, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room
2525-S, PO Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-
2491, Fax: (202) 205-6632. Small businesses may request information on
compliance with this regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 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) 205-6632.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 148 and Order No. 932, both as amended (7 CFR part 932),
regulating the handling of olives grown in California, 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. Under the marketing order now in effect, California
olive handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the
order are derived from such assessments. It is intended that the
assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable to all assessable
olives beginning January 1, 1998, and continuing until amended,
suspended, or terminated. 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. 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 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.
This rule would increase the assessment rate established for the
Committee for the 1998 fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years from
$14.99 per ton to $17.10 per ton.
The California olive marketing order provides authority for the
Committee, with the approval of the Department, to formulate an annual
budget of expenses and collect assessments from handlers to administer
the program. The members of the Committee are producers and handlers of
California olives. They are familiar with the Committee's needs and
with the costs for goods and services in their local area and are thus
in a position to formulate an appropriate budget and assessment rate.
The assessment rate is formulated and discussed in a public meeting.
Thus, all directly affected persons have an opportunity to participate
and provide input.
For the 1997 fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years, the Committee
recommended, and the Department approved, an assessment rate that would
continue in effect from fiscal year to fiscal year unless modified,
suspended, or terminated by the Secretary upon recommendation and
information submitted by the Committee or other information available
to the Secretary.
The Committee met on December 11, 1997, and unanimously recommended
1998 fiscal year expenditures of $1,750,400 and an assessment rate of
$17.10 per ton of olives received during the 1997-98 crop year, which
began August 1, 1997, and ends July 31, 1998. In comparison, last
year's budgeted expenditures were $2,159,265. The assessment rate of
$17.10 is $2.11 higher than the rate currently in effect.
Olive trees have an alternate-bearing characteristic causing a
large crop one year and a small crop the next. Handler receipts of
olives for the 1997-98 crop year were 85,585 tons, which is 59% less
than the 144,075 tons received in 1996-97. Although the 1998 fiscal
year budgeted expenditures are less than those in the prior year, the
decrease in olive receipts necessitates an increase in the assessment
rate to cover all
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anticipated expenditures. If the assessment rate is not increased from
the 1997 fiscal year assessment rate of $14.99, funds will fall
approximately $467,481 short of 1998 fiscal year's budgeted expenses.
The major expenditures recommended by the Committee for the 1998
year include $357,900 for administration, $50,000 for research, and
$1,308,500 for market development. Budgeted expenses for these items in
1997 were $390,890, $173,375, and $1,595,000, respectively.
The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by
considering anticipated expenses, actual receipts of olives, and
additional pertinent factors. The revised assessment rate should
provide $1,463,504 in assessment income. Income derived from handler
assessments, interest, and carryover of reserve funds would be adequate
to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve (currently $287,996)
would be kept within the maximum permitted by the order (approximately
one fiscal year's expenses; Sec. 932.40).
The assessment rate established in this rule would continue in
effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated by the
Secretary upon recommendation and information submitted by the
Committee or other available information.
Although this assessment rate is effective for an indefinite
period, the Committee would continue to meet prior to or during each
fiscal year to recommend a budget of expenses and consider
recommendations for modification of the assessment rate. The dates and
times of Committee meetings are available from the Committee or the
Department and are published in local newspapers. Committee meetings
are open to the public and interested persons may express their views
at these meetings. The Department would evaluate Committee
recommendations and other available information to determine whether
modification of the assessment rate is needed. Further rulemaking would
be undertaken as necessary. The Committee's 1998 fiscal year budget and
those for subsequent fiscal years would be reviewed and, as
appropriate, approved by the Department.
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the
economic impact of this rule 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 1,200 producers of olives in the production
area and 4 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. None of the olive
handlers may be classified as small entities, while the majority of
olive producers may be classified as small entities.
This rule would increase the assessment rate established for the
Committee and collected from handlers for the 1998 fiscal year and
subsequent fiscal years from $14.99 per ton to $17.10 per ton. The
Committee unanimously recommended 1998 fiscal year expenditures of
$1,750,400 and an assessment rate of $17.10 per ton. The increased
assessment rate is needed because the quantity of assessable olives for
the 1998 fiscal year is 85,585 tons, a decrease of 59% from last year's
crop of 144,075 tons. The $17.10 rate should provide $1,463,504 in
assessment income and be adequate to meet this year's budgeted
expenses, when combined with funds from the authorized reserve and
interest income.
A review of historical and preliminary information pertaining to
the upcoming fiscal year indicates that the grower prices for the 1997-
98 crop year could range from $150 to $825 per ton of olives for
canning sizes. Therefore, the estimated assessment revenue for the 1998
fiscal year as a percentage of total grower revenue could range between
11.4 and 2 percent, respectively. Because most of the canning sizes
will probably be sold closer to the $825 per ton price, the estimated
assessment revenue for the 1998 fiscal year as a percentage of total
grower revenue will be closer to 2 percent.
This action would increase the assessment obligation imposed on
handlers. While assessments impose some additional costs on handlers,
the costs are minimal and uniform on all handlers. Some of the
additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these costs
are expected to be offset by the benefits derived by the operation of
the marketing order. In addition, the Committee's meeting was widely
publicized throughout the California olive industry and all interested
persons were invited to attend the meeting and participate in Committee
deliberations on all issues. Like all Committee meetings, the December
11, 1997, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and
small, were able to express views on this issue. Finally, interested
persons are invited to submit information on the regulatory and
informational impacts of this action on small businesses.
This proposed rule would impose no additional reporting or
recordkeeping requirements on California olive handlers, none of which
are small entities. As with all Federal marketing order programs,
reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information
requirements and duplication by industry and public sector agencies.
The Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules that
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this rule.
A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to
respond to this proposed rule. Thirty days is deemed appropriate
because: (1) The Committee needs to have sufficient funds to pay its
expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis; (2) the 1998 fiscal
year began on January 1, 1998, and the marketing order requires that
the rate of assessment for each fiscal year apply to all assessable
olives handled during such fiscal year; (3) all four handlers are
represented on the Committee and participated in deliberations; and (4)
handlers are aware of this action which was unanimously recommended by
the Committee at a public meeting and is similar to other assessment
rate actions issued in past years.
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
proposed to be 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.
2. Section 932.230 is proposed to be revised to read as follows:
[[Page 7734]]
Sec. 932.230 Assessment rate.
On and after January 1, 1998, an assessment rate of $17.10 per ton
is established for assessable olives grown in California.
Dated: February 9, 1998.
Robert C. Keeney,
Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable Programs.
[FR Doc. 98-3869 Filed 2-13-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
