[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 101 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12882]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 26, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 946
[Docket No. FV94-946-1FIR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Expenses and Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a
final rule, without change, the provisions of an amended interim final
rule that authorized expenses and established an assessment rate that
generated funds to pay those expenses. Authorization of this budget
enables the State of Washington Potato Committee (Committee) to incur
expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program.
Funds to administer this program are derived from assessments on
handlers.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1994, through June 30, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.
Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone 202-720-
9918, or Dennis L. West, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit and
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, room 369,
1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, telephone 503-326-
2724.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 113 and Order No. 946, both as amended (7 CFR part 946),
regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Washington. 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 is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive
Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil
Justice Reform. Under the provisions of the marketing order now in
effect, Washington potatoes are subject to assessments. It is intended
that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable to all
assessable potatoes handled during the 1994-95 fiscal period, which
begins July 1, 1994, and ends June 30, 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 the 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 the rules issued hereunder, 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 450 producers of Washington potatoes under
this marketing order, and approximately 35 handlers. Small agricultural
producers have been defined by the Small Business Administration (13
CFR 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. The majority of Washington potato
producers and handlers may be classified as small entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal period was prepared
by the State of Washington Potato Committee, the agency responsible for
local administration of the marketing order, and submitted to the
Department for approval. The members of the Committee are producers and
handlers of Washington potatoes. They are familiar with the Committee's
needs and with the costs of goods and services in their local area and
are thus in a position to formulate an appropriate budget. The budget
was formulated and discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all directly
affected persons have had an opportunity to participate and provide
input.
The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by
dividing anticipated expenses by expected shipments of Washington
potatoes. Because that rate will be applied to actual shipments, it
must be established at a rate that will provide sufficient income to
pay the Committee's expenses.
The Committee met February 23, 1994, and unanimously recommended a
1994-95 budget of $38,100, the same as the previous year. The Committee
also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of $0.005 per
hundredweight, the same as last season. This rate, when applied to
anticipated shipments of 7.5 million hundredweight, will yield $37,500
in assessment income. This, along with $600 from the Committee's
authorized reserve will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. Funds
in the reserve at the beginning of the 1994-95 fiscal period, estimated
at $51,953, will be within the maximum permitted by the order of two
fiscal periods' expenses.
An increase in the 1994-95 budget of $700 for compliance audits,
$200 for salary expense, $100 for audit expense, and $500 for postage
will be offset by a decrease of $1,000 in Committee expense and $500 in
the miscellaneous category. Major expense items include $4,000 for
Committee member compensation for meeting attendance, $2,000 for
surveillance inspection, $1,800 for office supplies, $3,000 for
postage, $1,500 for miscellaneous, $1,000 for audit, $2,400 for
Washington Potato Commission contract fees, $11,200 for salaries,
$1,800 for salary expense, and $5,200 for compliance audits. The
Commission provides certain services to the Committee as specified in a
memorandum of understanding.
An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on
March 31, 1994 (59 FR 15039). That interim final rule added
Sec. 946.246 to authorize expenses and establish an assessment rate for
the Committee. That rule provided that interested persons could file
comments through May 2, 1994. No comments were received.
While this rule 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 will be offset by the benefits derived by the operation of the
marketing order. Therefore, the Administrator of the AMS has determined
that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the information and recommendation 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.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 946
Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 946 is
amended as follows:
PART 946--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN WASHINGTON
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 946 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
Accordingly, the interim final rule adding Sec. 946.246 which was
published at 59 FR 15039, is adopted as a final rule without change.
Dated: May 20, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-12882 Filed 5-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
