[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 101 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12883]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 26, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 953
[Docket No. FV94-953-1IFR]
Southeastern Potatoes; 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. 953 for the
1994-95 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the
Southeastern 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 June 1, 1994, through May 31, 1995. Comments received
by June 27, 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 104 and Order No. 953, both as amended (7 CFR part 953),
regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Southeastern States
(Virginia and North Carolina). 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 interim final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order
12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect,
Virginia-North Carolina potato handlers are subject to assessments. It
is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be
applicable to all assessable potatoes during the 1994-95 fiscal period,
which begins June 1, 1994, and ends May 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 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 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 150 producers of Southeastern 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
Southeastern potato producers and handlers may be classified as small
entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal period was prepared
by the Southeastern 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 Southeastern 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 Southeastern
potatoes, based on last season's crop of approximately 1,335,000
hundredweight. 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 April 20, 1994, and unanimously recommended a
1994-95 budget of $11,000, the same as last year. Major expense items
include $6,800 for Committee staff salaries and $900 for travel
expenses.
The Committee also recommended an assessment rate of $0.0075 per
hundredweight, $0.0025 less than last season's rate. Planting for the
1994-95 crop season has not been completed. However, the manager
estimates shipments will generate about $7,000 in assessment income.
This, along with funds from the Committee's $15,000 reserve, will be
adequate to cover the expenses incurred. Funds remaining at the end of
the 1994-95 fiscal period should be about the maximum permitted by the
order of approximately 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 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 June 1, 1994, and the marketing order requires that
the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply to all assessable
Irish 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 953
Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 953 is
amended as follows:
PART 953--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN SOUTHEASTERN STATES
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 953 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 953.251 is added to read as follows:
Note: This section will not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 953.251 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $11,000 by the Southeastern Potato Committee are
authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.0075 per hundredweight of
assessable potatoes is established for the fiscal period ending May 31,
1995. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.
Dated: May 20, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-12883 Filed 5-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
