[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33235-33237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16376]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 28
[CN-98-004]
Revision of User Fees for 1998 Crop Cotton Classification
Services to Growers
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is reducing user fees
for cotton producers for 1998 crop cotton classification services under
the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act in accordance with the formula
provided in the Uniform Cotton Classing Fees Act of 1987. The 1997 user
fee for this classification service was $1.40 per bale. This rule would
reduce the fee for the 1998 crop to $1.30 per bale. The reduction in
fees resulted from increased efficiency in classing operations. The fee
is sufficient to recover the costs of providing classification
services, including costs for administration, supervision, and
development and maintenance of standards.
DATES: Effective Date: July 1, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lee Cliburn, 202-720-2145.
[[Page 33236]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule detailing the revisions was
published in the Federal Register on March 27, 1998, (63 FR 14839). A
30 day comment period was provided for interested persons to respond to
the proposed rule: No comments were received.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866, and it has not been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect.
This rule would not preempt any state or local laws, regulations, or
policies unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this rule.
There are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted prior to
any judicial challenge to the provisions of this rule.
The Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), has
considered the economic impact of this rule on small entities pursuant
to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). It has been determined that the implementation
of this rule would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small businesses.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of
businesses subject to such actions in order that small businesses will
not be disproportionately burdened. There are an estimated 40,000
cotton growers in the U.S. who voluntarily use the AMS cotton classing
services annually, and the majority of these cotton growers are small
businesses under the criteria established by the Small Business
Administration (13 CFR Sec. 121.601). The Administrator of AMS has
certified that this action will not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities as defined in the RFA
because:
(1) The fee reduction reflects a decrease in the cost-per-unit
currently borne by those entities utilizing the services (the 1997 user
fee for classification services was $1.40 per bale; the fee for the
1998 crop would be reduced to $1.30 per bale; the 1998 crop is
estimated at 15,684,900 bales);
(2) The cost reduction will not affect competition in the
marketplace; and
(3) The use of classification services is voluntary. For the 1997
crop, 17,949,575 bales were classed out of 18,346,450 bales produced.
(4) Based on the average price paid to growers for cotton from the
1996 crop of 69.3 cents per pound, 500 pound bales of cotton are worth
an average of $346.50 each. The proposed user fee for classification
services, $1.30 per bale, is less than one percent of the value of an
average bale of cotton.
In compliance with OMB regulations (5 CFR part 1320) which
implement the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.),
the information collection requirements contained in the provisions to
be amended by this rule have been previously approved by OMB and were
assigned OMB control number 0581-0009 under the Paperwork Reduction Act
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
The changes will be made effective July 1, 1998, as provided by the
Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act.
Fees for Classification under the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act
of 1927
The user fee charged to cotton producers for High Volume Instrument
(HVI) classification services under the Cotton Statistics and Estimates
Act (7 U.S.C. 473a) was $1.40 per bale during the 1997 harvest season
as determined by using the formula provided in the Uniform Cotton
Classing Fees Act of 1987, as amended by Public Law 102-237. The fees
cover salaries, costs of equipment and supplies, and other overhead
costs, including costs for administration, supervision, and development
and maintenance of cotton standards.
This final rule establishes the user fee charged to producers for
HVI classification at $1.30 per bale during the 1998 harvest season.
Public Law 102-237 amended the formula in the Uniform Cotton
Classing Fees Act of 1987 for establishing the producer's
classification fee so that the producer's fee is based on the
prevailing method of classification requested by producers during the
previous year. HVI classing was the prevailing method of cotton
classification requested by producers in 1997. Therefore, the 1998
producer's user fee for classification service is based on the 1997
base fee for HVI classification.
The fee was calculated by applying the formula specified in the
Uniform Cotton Classing Fees Act of 1987, as amended by Public Law 102-
237. The 1997 base fee for HVI classification exclusive of adjustments,
as provided by the Act, was $2.08 per bale. A two percent, or four
cents per bale increase due to the implicit price deflator of the gross
domestic product added to the $2.08 would result in a 1998 base fee of
$2.12 per bale. The formula in the Act provides for the use of the
percentage change in the implicit price deflator of the gross national
product (as indexed for the most recent 12-month period for which
statistics are available). However, this has been replaced by the gross
domestic product by the Department of Commerce as a more appropriate
measure for the short-term monitoring and analysis of the U.S. economy.
The number of bales to be classed by the United States Department
of Agriculture from the 1998 crop is estimated at 15,684,900 bales. The
1998 base fee was decreased 15 percent based on the estimated number of
bales to be classed (one percent for every 100,000 bales or portion
thereof above the base of 12,500,000, limited to a maximum adjustment
of 15 percent). This percentage factor amounts to a 32 cents per bale
reduction and was subtracted from the 1998 base fee of $2.12 per bale,
resulting in a fee of $1.80 per bale.
With a fee of $1.80 per bale, the projected operating reserve would
be 46.806 percent. The Act specifies that the Secretary shall not
establish a fee which, when combined with other sources of revenue,
will result in a projected operating reserve of more than 25 percent.
Accordingly, the fee of $1.80 must be reduced by 50 cents per bale, to
$1.30 per bale, to provide an ending accumulated operating reserve for
the fiscal year of 25 percent of the projected cost of operating the
program. This would establish the 1998 season fee at $1.30 per bale.
Accordingly, Sec. 28.909, paragraph (b) will be revised to reflect
the reduction in the HVI classification fees.
As provided for in the Uniform Cotton Classing Fees Act of 1987, as
amended, a five cent per bale discount will continue to be applied to
voluntary centralized billing and collecting agents as specified in
Sec. 28.909 (c).
Growers or their designated agents requesting classification data
provided on computer punched cards will be charged a fee of 10 cents
per card to reflect the costs of providing this service. Requests for
punch card classification data represent only 2.6 percent of the total
bales classed. This change will be reflected in Sec. 28.910 (a).
Growers or their designated agents receiving classification data by
methods other than computer punched cards will continue to incur no
additional fees if only one method of receiving classification data was
requested. The fee for each additional method of receiving
classification data in Sec. 28.910 will remain at five cents per bale,
and it will be applicable even if the same method was requested.
However, if computer punched cards were requested, a fee of ten cents
per card would be charged. The fee in Sec. 28.910 (b) for an owner
receiving classification data from the central database will
[[Page 33237]]
remain at five cents per bale, and the minimum charge of $5.00 for
services provided per monthly billing period will remain the same. The
provisions of Sec. 28.910 (c) concerning the fee for new classification
memoranda issued from the central database for the business convenience
of an owner without reclassification of the cotton will remain the
same.
The fee for review classification in Sec. 28.911 will be reduced
from $1.40 per bale to $1.30 per bale.
The fee for returning samples after classification in Sec. 28.911
will remain at 40 cents per sample.
Finally, the authority citation for Subpart D of Part 28 was
revised at 61 FR 19512. This action would correct that revision by
specifying Subpart D rather than a reference to Part 28 in its
entirety.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 28
Administrative practice and procedure, Cotton, Cotton samples,
Grades, Market news, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Standards, Staples, Testing, Warehouses.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 28 is amended
as follows:
PART 28--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 28, subpart D, is revised to
read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 471-476.
2. In Sec. 28.909, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 28.909 Costs.
* * * * *
(b) The cost of High Volume Instrument (HVI) cotton classification
service to producers is $1.30 per bale.
* * * * *
3. In Sec. 28.910, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 28.910 Classification of samples and issuance of classification
data.
(a) (1) The samples submitted as provided in the subpart shall be
classified by employees of the Division and classification memoranda
showing the official quality determination of each sample according to
the official cotton standards of the United States shall be issued by
any one of the following methods at no additional charge:
(i) Computer diskettes,
(ii) Computer tapes, or
(iii) Telecommunications, with all long distance telephone line
charges paid by the receiver of data.
(2) When an additional copy of the classification memorandum is
issued by any method listed in paragraph (a)(1), there will be a charge
of five cents per bale. If provided as an additional method of data
transfer, the minimum fee for each tape or diskette issued shall be
$10.00.
(3) Upon request, computer punch cards may be issued. The fee for
this service shall be 10 cents per card.
* * * * *
4. In Sec. 28.911, the last sentence of paragraph (a) is revised to
read as follows:
Sec. 28.911 Review classification.
(a) * * * The fee for review classification is $1.30 per bale.
* * * * *
Dated: June 16, 1998.
Enrique E. Figueroa,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 98-16376 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
