[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 151 (Monday, August 7, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40058-40059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19329]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 931
[Docket No. FV95-931-1IFR]
Fresh Bartlett Pears Grown in Oregon and Washington; Expenses and
Assessment Rate for the 1995-96 Fiscal Year
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenses and establishes an
assessment rate for the Northwest Fresh Bartlett Pear Marketing
Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order No. 931 for the 1995-96
fiscal year. Authorization of this budget enables the Committee to
incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the
program. Funds to administer the program are derived from assessments
on handlers.
DATES: Effective July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996. Comments received
by September 6, 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, or by 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: Karen T. Chaney, Marketing Order
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.
Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone: 202-720-
5127; or Teresa L. Hutchinson, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit
and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, Room
369, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204, telephone:
503-326-2724.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 141 and Marketing Order No. 931, both as amended [7 CFR
Part 931], regulating the handling of fresh Bartlett pears grown in
Oregon and Washington. 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,
Bartlett pears grown in Oregon and Washington are subject to
assessments. Funds to administer the Bartlett pear marketing order are
derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate
as specified herein will be applicable to all assessable pears handled
during the 1995-96 fiscal year which began 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 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 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 65 handlers regulated under the marketing
order each year and approximately 1,800 producers of Bartlett pears.
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
Bartlett pear handlers and producers in Oregon and Washington may be
classified as small entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal year was prepared by
the 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 Bartlett pears.
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 fresh Bartlett
pears grown in Oregon and Washington. 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 June 1, 1995, and unanimously recommended
total expenses of $92,254 with an assessment rate of $0.02 per standard
box or equivalent for the 1995-96 fiscal year. In comparison, 1994-95
budgeted expenses were $96,410, with an approved assessment rate of
$0.02 per standard box or equivalent. This
[[Page 40059]]
represents a $4,156 decrease in expenses, and no change in the
assessment rate from the amounts recommended for the current fiscal
year.
The assessment rate, when applied to anticipated pear shipments of
3,152,300 standard boxes or equivalent, will yield $63,046 in
assessment income. Assessment income, combined with $4,000 from other
income sources, and $25,208 from the Committee's authorized reserve,
will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. The withdrawal of $25,208
from the Committee's authorized reserve fund will result in no reserve
remaining at the end of the 1995-96 fiscal year.
Major expense categories for the 1995-96 fiscal year include
$44,135 for salaries, $9,195 for unshared contingency, and $4,989 in
employee health benefits.
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 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 year began on July 1, 1995, and
the marketing order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal
year apply to all assessable Bartlett pears handled during the fiscal
year; (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 931
Marketing agreements, Pears, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 931 is
amended as follows:
PART 931--FRESH BARTLETT PEARS GROWN IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 931 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
Note: This section will not appear in the annual Code of Federal
Regulations.
2. A new Sec. 931.230 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 931.230 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $92,254 by the Northwest Fresh Bartlett Pear Marketing
Committee, are authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.02 per standard
box or equivalent of assessable pears is established for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a
reserve.
Dated: July 31, 1995.
Martha B. Ransom,
Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-19329 Filed 8-4-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
