[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 5, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46017-46018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21936]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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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
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 171 / Tuesday, September 5, 1995 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 46017]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 945
[Docket No. FV95-945-1FIR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Certain Designated Counties in Idaho, and
Malheur County, OR; Expenses and Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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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. 945 for
the 1995-96 fiscal period. That rule also increased the level of
authorized expenses for the 1993-94 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. Authorization of the increase in the level of
authorized expenses for the 1993-94 fiscal period is necessary because
the Committee exceeded its budget for that period. Funds to administer
this program are derived from assessments on handlers.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Section 945.248 is effective August 1, 1995, through
July 31, 1996. The amendment to Sec. 945.246 was effective August 1,
1993, through July 31, 1994.
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 is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive
Order 12866.
This 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 1995-96 fiscal period, which began August 1, 1995, and ends
July 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 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 1995-96 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 6, 1995, and unanimously recommended a 1995-
96 budget of $111,732, $11,853 more than the previous year. Budget
items for 1995-96 which have increased compared to those budgeted for
1994-95
[[Page 46018]]
(in parentheses) are: Salaries, $63,232 ($55,479), meetings and
miscellaneous, $2,500 ($2,000), Federal payroll taxes, $5,300 ($4,700),
and reserve/auto purchase, $9,000 ($6,000). All other items are
budgeted at last year's amounts.
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 34,000,000
hundredweight, will yield $88,400 in assessment income. This, along
with $23,332 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 1995-96 fiscal period, estimated at about
$80,000, will be within the maximum permitted by the order of one
fiscal period's expenses.
The 1993-94 budget was published in the Federal Register as an
interim final rule on July 16, 1993 (58 FR 38274) and finalized on
October 28, 1993 (58 FR 57957). That rule authorized Committee expenses
of $98,942. The Committee exceeded its authorized expenses by $713, for
total expenses of $99,655. Funds to cover this increase were taken from
the Committee's authorized reserve. The 1993-94 budget is amended to
cover this increase.
An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on July
17, 1995 (60 FR 36339). That interim final rule added Sec. 945.248 to
authorize expenses and establish an assessment rate for the Committee.
That rule also amended Sec. 945.246 to increase the level of authorized
expenses for the 1993-94 fiscal period. That rule provided that
interested persons could file comments through August 16, 1995. No
comments were received.
While this rule 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 rule 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 August 1, 1995. The marketing
order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply
to all assessable potatoes 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, 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
Accordingly the interim final rule amending Sec. 945.246 and adding
Sec. 945.248, which was published at 60 FR 36339 on July 17, 1995, is
adopted as a final rule without change.
Dated: August 29, 1995.
Ron Cioffi,
Acting Deputy, Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-21936 Filed 9-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
