[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 8, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-13890]


  Federal Register / Vol. 59, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 8, 1994 /
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[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 8, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 109

                                            Wednesday, June 8, 1994

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 911

[Docket No. FV94-911-1-FIR]

 

Limes Grown in Florida; Finalize Temporarily Suspended Volume 
Regulation and Pack-Out Reporting Provisions

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule finalizes without change an interim final rule which 
temporarily suspended certain volume regulation and pack-out reporting 
requirement provisions of the marketing order for fresh limes grown in 
Florida. These provisions were suspended, because they are temporarily 
not needed due to reduced lime production in Florida.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 8, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary D. Rasmussen, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. 
Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: 202-720-
5331; or Aleck J. Jonas, Southeast Marketing Field Office, USDA/AMS, 
P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida 33883; telephone: 813-299-4770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under the provisions of 
section 8c(16)(A) of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, 
as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the Act; and 
of Marketing Agreement and Marketing Order No. 911 (7 CFR part 911) 
regulating the handling of limes grown in Florida, hereinafter referred 
to as the order. This order is effective under 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. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
This 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. A 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 action 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 about 20 Florida lime handlers subject to regulation 
under the marketing order covering limes grown in Florida, and about 25 
lime producers in Florida. 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. A majority of these handlers and producers may be 
classified as small entities.
    The Florida Lime Administrative Committee (committee) unanimously 
recommended the temporary suspension of the provisions. The committee 
meets prior to and during each season to review the rules and 
regulations effective on a continuous basis for limes regulated under 
this order. Committee meetings are open to the public, and interested 
persons may express their views at these meetings. The Department 
reviews committee recommendations and information, as well as 
information from other sources, and determines whether modification, 
suspension, or termination of the rules and regulations would tend to 
effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
    This rule finalizes an interim final rule which temporarily 
suspended Secs. 911.53 through 911.59 (7 CFR 911.53-59) of the order 
containing provisions pertaining to the issuance of volume regulations 
for fresh limes grown in Florida, and Sec. 911.111 (7 CFR 911.111) 
containing provisions requiring Florida handlers to file certain 
reports with the committee on their fresh Florida lime shipments. The 
interim final rule was issued March 16, 1994, with an effective date of 
March 22, 1994, and published in the Federal Register (59 FR 13429, 
March 22, 1994). The interim final rule provided a 30-day comment 
period ending April 21, 1994, and no comments were received.
    Sections 911.53 through 911.59 were used by the committee to 
collect and maintain information from handlers, so that it could 
recommend to the Department that lime volume regulations be issued, 
when and if needed. The committee determined that volume regulations 
will not be needed during the next two seasons, and, thus, such 
information will not be needed during such period. Volume regulations 
will not be needed, because Florida's lime production was considerably 
reduced by hurricane damage to the lime groves in 1992.
    Section 911.111 required Florida lime handlers to file certain 
reports with the committee on their fresh Florida lime shipments, 
including information on types and number of containers of limes they 
pack each day. This section was suspended, because information 
collected under the section is not needed at a time when lime 
production is reduced. The committee reported that sufficient 
information is currently available from inspection certificates 
collected on a daily basis by committee staff to meet committee needs 
for operations, marketing policies, and compliance during the next two 
seasons.
    The committee reported that it expects that Florida lime production 
will have recovered and volume regulation and reporting requirement 
provisions may be needed when the suspension ends on March 31, 1996. 
The committee also reported that it needs to reduce administrative 
costs and staff, due to the reduced lime production and resulting lower 
assessment collections, and the suspension will help achieve this 
objective.
    This rule reflects the committee's and the Department's appraisal 
of the need to finalize the suspended volume regulation and pack-out 
reporting provisions under the order. Such suspension temporarily 
removed certain reporting requirements on the part of Florida lime 
handlers, and lessened the overall reporting and recordkeeping burden 
under the order. The Department's view is that the suspension has a 
beneficial impact on Florida lime producers and handlers, since the 
reporting burden on handlers and committee expenses incurred under the 
order are reduced.
    The information collection requirements have been previously 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 
provisions of 44 U.S.C. chapter 35 and have been assigned OMB Number 
0581-0091. The interim final rule temporarily suspended an annual 
reporting burden currently estimated at 210.4 hours for all Florida 
lime handlers who: (1) Apply for a prorate base and allotment; (2) 
report daily the percentages, by size category, of the limes packed by 
them; and (3) report daily the number of containers of limes sold and 
delivered by them within the State of Florida.
    Based on the above, 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 matter presented, the 
information and recommendations submitted by the committee, and other 
information, it is found that the provisions discussed herein, at this 
time, do not tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 911

    Limes, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 911 is 
amended as follows:

PART 911--LIMES GROWN IN FLORIDA

    Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 911 which 
was published at 59 FR 13429 on March 22, 1994, is adopted as a final 
rule without change.

    Dated: June 2, 1994.
Patricia Jensen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Marketing and Inspection Services.
[FR Doc. 94-13890 Filed 6-7-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P