[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 14 (Friday, January 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1432]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 21, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 925

[Docket No. FV93-925-2IFR]

 

Grapes Grown in a Designated Area of Southeastern California; 
Expenses and Assessment Rate for 1994 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 expenditures and 
establishes an assessment rate for the California Desert Grape 
Administrative Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order (M.O.) No. 
925 for the 1994 fiscal year. Authorization of this budget enables the 
Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to 
administer this program. Funds to administer this program are derived 
from assessments on handlers.

DATES: Effective beginning January 1, 1994, through December 31, 1994. 
Comments received by February 22, 1994, will be considered prior to 
issuance of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this interim final rule. 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: Britthany Beadle, 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 Peter Parks, California Marketing Field Office, Fruit and 
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey Street, suite 102 B, 
Fresno, California 93721, telephone: (209) 487-5901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This interim final rule is issued under 
Marketing Agreement and Order No. 925 (7 CFR part 925) regulating the 
handling of table grapes grown in a designated area of California. 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 provisions now 
in effect, table grapes grown in California are subject to assessments. 
It is intended that the assessment rate specified herein will be 
applicable to all assessable grapes handled during the 1994 fiscal 
year, beginning January 1, 1994, through December 31, 1994. 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 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 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 20 handlers of grapes regulated under the 
marketing order each season and approximately 90 grape producers in 
California. 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 $3,500,000. 
The majority of these handlers and producers may be classified as small 
entities.
    The marketing order, administered by the Department, requires that 
the assessment rate for a particular fiscal year apply to all 
assessable grapes handled from the beginning of such year. Annual 
budgets of expenses are prepared by the Committee, the agency 
responsible for local administration of this marketing order, and 
submitted to the Department for approval. The members of the Committee 
are handlers and producers of California table grapes. They are 
familiar with the Committee's needs and with the costs for goods, 
services, and personnel in their local area, and are thus in a position 
to formulate appropriate budgets. The Committee's budget is formulated 
and discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons 
have an opportunity to participate and provide input.
    The assessment rate recommended by the Committee is derived by 
dividing the anticipated expenses by expected shipments of table 
grapes. Because that rate is applied to actual shipments, it must be 
established at a rate which will provide sufficient income to pay the 
Committee's expected expenses.
    The Committee met on November 4, 1993, and unanimously recommended 
a total expense amount of $103,544, which is $75,056 less in expenses 
than the previous year.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$0.01 per lug for the 1994 fiscal year, which is $0.01 less in the 
assessment rate from the 1993 fiscal year. The assessment rate, when 
applied to anticipated shipments of 9,000,000 lugs, would yield $90,000 
in assessment income. This along with $2,500 in interest income and 
$113,000 from the Committee's authorized reserves will be adequate to 
cover estimated expenses.
    Major expense categories for the 1994 fiscal year include $50,000 
for a U.C. Riverside research grant, $24,000 for the Western Grape Leaf 
Skeletonizer project, $11,704 for salaries, and $4,340 for rent. Funds 
in the reserve at the end of the fiscal year, estimated at $101,956, 
will be within the maximum permitted by the order of one fiscal year'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 should be significantly offset by the benefits derived from 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 year for the Committee begins January 1, 1994, and 
the marketing order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal 
year apply to all assessable grapes handled during the fiscal year;
    (3) Handlers are aware of this action which was recommended by the 
Committee at a public meeting and which is similar to budgets 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 925

    Grapes, Marketing agreements and orders, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 925 is 
amended as follows:

PART 925--GRAPES GROWN IN A DESIGNATED AREA OF SOUTHEASTERN 
CALIFORNIA

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 925 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
    2. A new Sec. 925.213 is added to read as follows:

    Note: This action will not appear in the annual Code of Federal 
Regulations.


Sec. 925.213  Expenses and assessment rate.

    Expenses of $103,544 by the California Desert Grape Administrative 
Committee are authorized and an assessment rate of $0.01 per lug on 
assessable grapes is established for the fiscal year ending December 
31, 1994. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.

    Dated: January 13, 1994.
Ronald L. Cioffi,
Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-1432 Filed 1-19-94; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P