[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 169 (Thursday, August 31, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45325-45326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21652]
========================================================================
Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each
week.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 169 / Thursday, August 31, 1995 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 45325]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 956
[Docket No. FV95-956-1FIR]
Sweet Onions Grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast
Washington and Northeast Oregon; Expenses and Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a
final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule
that authorized expenses and established an assessment rate that
generated funds to pay those expenses under Marketing Order No. 956 for
the 1995-96 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the
Walla Walla Sweet 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.
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1995, through May 31, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, PO Box
96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone 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 503-326-
2724.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement and Order No. 956 (7 CFR part 956) regulating the handling of
Sweet Onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast Washington
and Northeast 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 is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive
Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil
Justice Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect Walla Walla
Sweet Onion handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer
the Walla Walla Sweet Onion 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 began June 1, 1995, and ends May 31, 1996. This 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 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 the 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 50 producers of Walla Walla Sweet Onions
under this marketing order, and approximately 9 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
Walla Walla Sweet Onion producers and handlers may be classified as
small entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared
by the Walla Walla Sweet 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 of Walla Walla Sweet Onions. 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 Walla Walla
Sweet 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 order became effective May 19, 1995, and the Committee met on
June 7, 1995, and unanimously recommended an initial budget of $72,000.
Expense items include $12,000 for a manager or management services,
$15,000 for management support services, $1,000 for a financial audit,
$1,000 for staff travel, $2,500 for Committee travel, $10,000 for
research projects, $12,000 for promotion projects, $3,000 for
compliance, $6,000 for Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act
expenses, and $9,500 for a miscellaneous fund for contingency and
reserve.
The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of
$0.12 per 50-pound bag or equivalent.
[[Page 45326]]
This rate when applied to anticipated onion shipments of 600,000 bags
will yield $72,000 in assessment income, which will be adequate to
cover budgeted expenses.
An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on July
5, 1995 (60 FR 34843). That interim final rule added Sec. 956.201 to
authorize expenses and establish an assessment rate for the Committee.
That rule provided that interested persons could file comments through
August 4, 1995. No comments were received.
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 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.
It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the
effective date of this rule until 30 days after publication in the
Federal Register (5 U.S.C. 553) because the Committee needs to have
sufficient funds to pay its expenses which are incurred on a continuous
basis. The 1995-96 fiscal period began on June 1, 1995. The marketing
order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply
to all assessable onions handled during the fiscal period. In addition,
handlers are aware of this rule which was recommended by the Committee
at a public meeting and published in the Federal Register as an interim
final rule.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 956
Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 956 is
amended as follows:
PART 956--SWEET ONIONS GROWN IN THE WALLA WALLA VALLEY OF SOUTHEAST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST OREGON
Accordingly, the interim final rule adding Sec. 956.201 which was
published at 60 FR 34843 on July 5, 1995, is adopted as a final rule
without change.
Dated: August 25, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-21652 Filed 8-30-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
