[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 21, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32260-32262]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-15108]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 948
[Docket No. FV95-948-2IFR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado; 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 and
establishes an assessment rate under Marketing Order No. 948 for the
1995-96 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the
Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, San Luis Valley Office (Area
II) (Committee) to [[Page 32261]] incur expenses that are reasonable
and necessary to administer the program. Funds to administer this
program are derived from assessments on handlers.
DATES: Effective September 1, 1995, through August 31, 1996. Comments
received by July 21, 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 Dennis L. West, Northwest Marketing Field Office,
Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building,
room 369, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204,
telephone number 503-326-2724.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 97 and Marketing Order No. 948, both as amended (7 CFR
part 948), regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Colorado.
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 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,
Colorado potatoes are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the
Colorado potato marketing order are derived from such assessments. It
is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be
applicable to all assessable potatoes during the 1995-96 fiscal period
which begins September 1, 1995, and ends August 31, 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 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 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 285 producers of Colorado Area II potatoes
under the marketing order and approximately 118 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
Colorado Area II potato producers and handlers may be classified as
small entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared
by the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, San Luis Valley Office
(Area II), 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 Colorado Area II
potatoes. 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 Colorado Area II
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.
In Colorado, both a State and a Federal marketing order operate
simultaneously. The State order authorizes promotion, including paid
advertising, which the Federal order does not. All expenses in this
category are financed under the State order. The jointly operated
programs consume about equal administrative time and the two orders
continue to split administrative costs equally.
The Committee met May 18, 1995, and unanimously recommended a 1995-
96 budget of $62,328, which is $3,596 less than the previous year.
Budget items for 1995-96 which have increased compared to those
budgeted for 1994-95 (in parentheses) are: Audit fee, $975, ($900),
other office, $625 ($500), and utilities, $3,000 ($2,000). Items which
have decreased compared to those budgeted for 1994-95 (in parentheses)
are: Assistant's salary, $8,256 ($10,320), part-time salary, $3,640
($3,822), major purchase, $2,125 ($2,250), and ($2,425) for property
tax, for which no funding was recommended this year.
The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of
$0.0030 per hundredweight, $0.0006 less than last season. This rate,
when applied to anticipated potato shipments of 16,500,000
hundredweight, will yield $49,500 in assessment income. This, along
with $12,828 from the Committee's authorized reserve, will be adequate
to cover budgeted expenses. Funds of $101,064 in the Committee's
authorized reserve at the beginning of the 1994-95 fiscal period were
within the maximum permitted by the order of two fiscal periods'
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 matter presented, including the
[[Page 32262]] 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 September 1, 1995, and the marketing order requires
that the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply to all
assessable potatoes 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 rule.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 948
Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 948 is
amended as follows:
PART 948--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN COLORADO
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 948 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 948.214 is added to read as follows:
Note: This section will not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 948.214 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $62,328 by the Colorado Potato Administrative
Committee, San Luis Valley Office (Area II) are authorized, and an
assessment rate of $0.0030 per hundredweight of assessable potatoes is
established for the fiscal period ending August 31, 1996. Unexpended
funds may be carried over as a reserve.
Dated: June 15, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-15108 Filed 6-20-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
