[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 19, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 19543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9614]
========================================================================
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 75 / Wednesday, April 19, 1995 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 19543]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 905
[Docket No. FV95-905-1]
Referendum Order for Marketing Order No. 905 Covering Oranges,
Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Referendum order.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document directs that a referendum be conducted among
eligible producers of Florida citrus fruit to determine whether they
favor continuance of the marketing order regulating the handling of
oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in the production
area.
DATES: The referendum will be conducted from October 1 through October
31, 1995. To vote in this referendum, growers must have been producing
Florida citrus during the period August 31, 1994, through September 1,
1995.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the marketing order may be obtained from the
office of the referendum agent at P.O. Box 276, Winter Haven, Florida,
33883-2276, or the Office of the Docket Clerk, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.
Box 96456, Room 2525-S, Washington, DC, 20090-6456; telephone (202)
720-5053.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Doris Jamieson, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Agricultural
Marketing Haven, Florida, 33881-2276; telephone: (813) 299-4770; or
Britthany Beadle, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit &
Vegetable Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of
Agriculture, room 2536-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456,
telephone: (202) 720-5127.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Marketing Order No. 905 [7 CFR
part 905], hereinafter referred to as the ``order'' and the applicable
provisions of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as
amended [7 U.S.C. 601-674], hereinafter referred to as the ``Act'', it
is hereby directed that a referendum be conducted to ascertain whether
continuance of the order is favored by the producers. The referendum
shall be conducted during the period October 1, through October 31,
1995, among Florida citrus producers in the production area. Only
producers that were engaged in the production of Florida citrus during
the period of August 31, 1994, through September 1, 1995, may
participate in the continuance referendum.
The Secretary of Agriculture has determined that continuance
referenda are an effective means for ascertaining whether producers
favor continuation of marketing order programs. The Secretary would
consider termination of the order if less than two-thirds of the
producers voting in the referendum and producers of less than two-
thirds of the volume of Florida citrus represented in the referendum
favor continuance. In evaluating the merits of continuance versus
termination, the Secretary will not only consider the results of the
continuance referendum. The Secretary will also consider other relevant
information concerning the operation of the order; the order's relative
benefits and disadvantages to producers, handlers, and consumers; and
whether continued operation of the order would tend to effectuate the
declared policy of the Act.
In any event, section 8c(16)(B) of the Act requires the Secretary
to terminate an order whenever the Secretary finds that a majority of
all producers affected by the order favor termination, and such
majority produced for market more than 50 percent of the commodity
covered under such order.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 [44 U.S.C.
chapter 35], the ballot materials used in the referendum herein ordered
have been submitted to and approved by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and have been assigned OMB No. 0581-0094 for Florida
citrus. It has been estimated that it will take an average of 10
minutes for each of the approximately 11,970 producers of Florida
citrus to cast a ballot. Participation is voluntary. Ballots postmarked
after October 31, 1995 will not be included in the vote tabulation.
Doris Jamieson and Christian D. Nissen of the Southeast Marketing
Field Office, Fruit and Vegetable Division, Agricultural Marketing
Service, USDA, are hereby designated as the referendum agents of the
Secretary of Agriculture to conduct such referendum. The procedure
applicable to the referendum shall be the ``Procedure for the Conduct
of Referenda in Connection With Marketing Orders for Fruit, Vegetables,
and Nuts Pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937,
as Amended'' [7 CFR Part 900.400 et. seq.]
Ballots will be mailed to all producers of record and may also be
obtained from the referendum agents.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 905
Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, Oranges, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Tangerines, and Tangelos.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
Dated: April 13, 1995.
Patricia Jensen,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Marketing and Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. 95-9614 Filed 4-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
