[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 105 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 27027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-13615]
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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. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 27027]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Parts 911 and 915
[Docket No. FV96-911-3]
Limes and Avocados Grown in Florida
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Referendum order.
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SUMMARY: This document directs that referenda be conducted among
eligible producers of Florida limes and Florida avocados to determine
whether they favor continuance of the marketing orders regulating the
handling of limes and avocados grown in the production area.
DATES: The referenda will be conducted from June 1 through June 15,
1996. To vote in these referenda, growers must have been producing
Florida limes or Florida avocados during the period April 1, 1995,
through March 31, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the marketing orders may be obtained from the
office of the referendum agent at P.O. Box 2276, 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 Service, Department of
Agriculture, P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida, 33883-2276;
telephone: (941) 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 Nos. 911 [7 CFR
Part 911] and 915 [7 CFR Part 915], hereinafter referred to as the
``orders,'' 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 referenda be
conducted to ascertain whether continuance of the orders is favored by
the producers. The referenda shall be conducted during the period June
1, through June 15, 1996, among Florida lime and avocado producers in
the production area. Only producers that were engaged in the production
of Florida limes or Florida avocados during the period of April 1,
1995, through March 31, 1996, may participate in the continuance
referenda.
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(s) if less than two-thirds of the
producers voting in the referenda and producers of less than two-thirds
of the volume of Florida limes or Florida avocados represented in the
referenda favor continuance. In evaluating the merits of continuance
versus termination, the Secretary will not only consider the results of
the continuance referenda. The Secretary will also consider other
relevant information concerning the operation of the orders; the
orders' relative benefits and disadvantages to producers, handlers, and
consumers; and whether continued operation of the orders 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 compliance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
regulations (5 CFR Part 1320) which implement the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 [Pub. L. 104-13], the ballot materials to be used in the
referenda herein ordered have been submitted to and approved by OMB and
have been assigned OMB Nos. 0581-0091 for Florida limes and 0581-0078
for Florida avocados. It has been estimated that it will take an
average of 10 minutes for each of the approximately 114 producers of
Florida limes and 138 producers of Florida avocados to cast a ballot.
Participation in the referenda is voluntary. Ballots postmarked
after June 15, 1996, 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 referenda agents of the
Secretary of Agriculture to conduct such referenda. The procedure
applicable to the referenda 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 referenda agents and their appointees.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 911
Limes, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 915
Avocados, Marketing agreement, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
Dated: May 22, 1996.
D. Michael Holbrook,
Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 96-13615 Filed 5-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
