[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24539-24540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11306]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 958
[Docket No. FV95-958-1IFR]
Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onions; Expenses and Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenditures of $1,111,447
and establishes an assessment rate of $0.10 per hundredweight of onions
under Marketing Order No. 958 for the 1995-96 fiscal period.
Authorization of this budget enables the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion
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.
DATES: Effective July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996. Comments received
by June 8, 1995, will be considered prior to issuance of a final rule.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this action. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the
Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456,
room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, FAX 202-720-5698. 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: 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 number
202-720-9918, or Robert J. Curry, Northwest Marketing Field Office,
Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building,
room 369, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, telephone
number 503-326-2724.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 130 and Marketing Order No. 958, both as amended (7 CFR
part 958), regulating the handling of onions grown in designated
counties in Idaho, and Malheur County, Oregon. 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 U.S. Department of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this
rule in conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This interim final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order
12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect
Idaho-Eastern Oregon onions are subject to assessments. Funds to
administer the Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion marketing order are derived
from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate as
issued herein will be applicable to all assessable onions during the
1995-96 fiscal period which begins July 1, 1995, and ends June 30,
1996. 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 8c(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 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 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 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 450 producers of Idaho-Eastern Oregon
onions under the 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
Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion producers and handlers may be classified as
small entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared
by the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion 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 [[Page 24540]] of Idaho-Eastern Oregon onions. 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. 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 Idaho-Eastern
Oregon onions. 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 on March 21, 1995, and unanimously recommended a
1995-96 budget of $1,111,447, $91,408 more than the previous year.
Budget items for 1995-96 which have increased compared to those
budgeted for 1994-95 (in parentheses) are: Manager's salary, $33,472
($30,429), office salaries, $66,222 ($62,816), payroll taxes, $9,229
($8,642), health and medical insurance, $9,182 ($8,700), workman's
compensation, $1,084 ($929), rent, $11,000 ($10,000), property
insurance, $1,700 ($1,400), miscellaneous, $12,500 ($9,000), promotion,
$724,076 ($668,500), and contingency, $75,000 ($50,000). Items which
have decreased compared to those budgeted for 1994-95 (in parentheses)
are: Salary and disability insurance $1,072 ($1,099), research, $59,340
($60,154), and property tax ($800) for which no funding was recommended
this year. All other items are budgeted at last year's amounts.
The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of
$0.10 per hundredweight, the same as last season. This rate, when
applied to anticipated shipments of 8,800,000 hundredweight, will yield
$880,000 in assessment income. This, along with $45,000 in interest
income and $186,447 from the Committee's authorized reserve, will be
adequate to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve at the end of
the 1994-95 fiscal period, estimated at $921,500, will be within the
maximum permitted by the order of one fiscal period's expenses.
While this action 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 action 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.
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 because: (1) The Committee needs to have sufficient funds to pay
its expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis; (2) the fiscal
period begins on July 1, 1995, and the marketing order requires that
the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply to all assessable
onions handled during the fiscal period; (3) handlers are aware of this
action which was unanimously recommended by the Committee at a public
meeting and is similar to other budget actions issued in past years;
and (4) this interim final rule provides a 30-day comment period, and
all comments timely received will be considered prior to finalization
of this action.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 958
Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 958 is
amended as follows:
PART 958--ONIONS GROWN IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN IDAHO, AND
MALHEUR COUNTY, OREGON
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 958 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 958.239 is added to read as follows:
Note: This section will not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 958.239 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $1,111,447 by the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee
are authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.10 per hundredweight of
assessable onions is established for the fiscal period ending June 30,
1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.
Dated: May 3, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-11306 Filed 5-8-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
