[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 155 (Friday, August 12, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-19803]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: August 12, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 945
[Docket No. FV94-945-1IFR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Certain Designated Counties in Idaho, and
Malheur County, Oregon; 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. 945 for the
1994-95 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the Idaho-
Eastern Oregon 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.
DATES: Effective August 1, 1994, through July 31, 1995. Comments
received by September 12, 1994, 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 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 97205, telephone 503-326-
2724.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 98 and Order No. 945, both as amended (7 CFR part 945),
regulating the handling of Irish potatoes 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 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 provisions of the marketing
order now in effect, Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes are subject to
assessments. Funds to administer the Idaho-Eastern Oregon 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 handled during the 1994-95 fiscal period, which
begins August 1, 1994, and ends July 31, 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 Acct (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 2,100 producers of Idaho-Eastern Oregon
potatoes under this marketing order, and approximately 60 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 potato producers and handlers may be classified as
small entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal period was prepared
by the Idaho-Eastern Oregon 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 Idaho-Eastern Oregon 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 fresh Idaho-
Eastern Oregon 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 June 7, 1994, and unanimously recommended a 1994-
95 budget of $99,879, $937 more than the previous year. Increases of
$2,737 for salaries, $300 for telephone, $200 for postage, $500 for
meetings and miscellaneous, and $200 for Federal payroll taxes will be
partially offset by a decrease of $3,000 for reserve/auto purchase.
The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of
$0.0026 per hundredweight, the same as each year for the past decade.
This rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of 32,000,000
hundredweight, will yield $83,200 in assessment income. This, along
with $16,679 from the Committee's authorized reserve, will be adequate
to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the Committee's authorized reserve
at the beginning of the 1994-95 fiscal period, estimated at about
$60,000, 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 matter presented, including the
information and recommendations 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, and that good cause exists for not postponing the effective
date of this action until 30 days after publication in the Federal
Register 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 August 1, 1994, and the marketing order
requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply to all
assessable Idaho-Eastern Oregon 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 action.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 945
Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 945 is
amended as follows:
PART 945--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN
IDAHO AND MALHEUR COUNTY, OREGON
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 945 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 945.247 is added to read as follows:
Note: This section will not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 945.247 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $99,879 by the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Potato Committee
are authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.0026 per hundredweight of
assessable potatoes is established for the fiscal period ending July
31, 1995. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.
Dated: August 8, 1994.
Robert C. Keeney,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-19803 Filed 8-11-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
