[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-18876]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 3, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 148

                                          Wednesday, August 3, 1994

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 947

[FV94-947-1PR]

 

Irish Potatoes Grown in Oregon and California; Establishment of 
Interest and Late Payment Charges on Overdue Assessment Payments

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would allow the Oregon-California Potato 
Committee (committee) to impose interest and late payment charges on 
overdue assessments under the marketing order. Some handlers are 
frequently late paying their assessments, which tends to cause cash 
flow problems for the committee and is inequitable to handlers who pay 
assessments when due. Imposing interest and late payment charges on 
handlers would encourage such handlers to pay their assessment 
obligations in a timely manner and help the committee maintain 
sufficient funds to carry on normal operations.

DATES: Comments must be received by August 18, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this proposal. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the 
Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Room 2523-S, 
P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456, FAX (202) 720-5698. All 
comments should reference the docket number and the date and page 
number of this issue of the Federal Register and will be made available 
for public inspection in the Office of the Docket Clerk during regular 
business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Matthews, Marketing Specialist, 
Marketing Order Administration Branch, F&V, AMS, USDA, Room 2523-S, 
P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC, 20090-6456, telephone: (202) 690-0464; 
or Teresa Hutchinson, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, F&V, AMS, USDA, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, 
Room 369, Portland, Oregon 97204; telephone: (503) 326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposal is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 114 and Marketing Order No. 947 [7 CFR part 947], as 
amended, regulating the handling of potatoes grown in Modoc and 
Siskiyou Counties in California, and all counties in Oregon, except 
Malheur County, hereinafter referred to as the ``order.'' The order is 
effective under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement 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 proposal has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil 
Justice Reform. This action is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
This proposed rule will not preempt any State or local laws, 
regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable 
conflict with this action.
    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. 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 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 approximately 40 handlers of Oregon-California potatoes 
who are subject to regulation under the order and approximately 450 
producers in the regulated area. Small agricultural service firms, 
which includes handlers, have been defined by the Small Business 
Administration [13 CFR 121.601] as those having annual receipts of less 
than $5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those 
having annual receipts of less than $500,000. The majority of handlers 
and producers of Oregon-California potatoes may be classified as small 
entities.
    On May 25, 1994, a mail ballot was completed in accordance with 
Sec. 947.26 during which the committee recommended, under the authority 
of Sec. 947.41(a) of the order, that handlers who are delinquent in 
paying their assessments be subject to late payment and interest 
charges. Nine affirmative ballots were received, meeting the minimum 
number for a quorum for the fourteen-member committee.
    The committee depends upon handler assessments for operating funds. 
Handlers are invoiced by the committee on a monthly basis. However, 
some handlers are continually late with their assessment payments and a 
few wait until the end of the season to remit to the committee what is 
owed. When assessments are not paid in a timely manner, the handlers 
paying assessments on time are placed in an unfair situation compared 
to the delinquent handlers.
    As part of its collection efforts, the committee has requested 
delinquent handlers to promptly submit assessment payments. However, 
such requests have not substantially decreased the frequency of 
delinquent payments. To facilitate the collection of assessments needed 
for the maintenance and functioning of the committee, the committee 
recommended that a late payment charge of five (5) percent of the 
unpaid assessment balance be applied to any handler account more than 
thirty days overdue, and an interest charge of one (1) percent per 
month be applied to any assessment balance, plus the late payment 
charge, remaining unpaid after sixty days. The interest charge added to 
the bill after 60 days would be compounded monthly until the delinquent 
handler's assessment plus late payment charge and unpaid interest 
charges have been paid in full. The committee believes these charges 
are high enough to encourage timely payment of assessments, and are 
within the interest range customarily charged by banks on commercial 
accounts.
    This proposal is intended to encourage handlers to pay their 
assessments when due, thereby eliminating potential inequities. The 
committee believes that the recommended action is the only alternative 
available to ensure timely payments. The proposal is expected to reduce 
the need for Department involvement with compliance efforts and thereby 
reduce the costs for the government to administer the marketing order 
program.
    Based on available information, the Administrator of the AMS has 
determined that this action would not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1988 [44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35], the information collection requirements that are contained 
in this proposal 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 0581-0112.
    Interested persons are invited to submit their views and comments 
on this proposal. A 15-day comment period is considered appropriate 
because any changes to the regulations, if adopted, should be in effect 
as soon as possible to encourage timely payments. All comments timely 
received will be considered prior to finalization of this proposed 
rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 947

    Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 947 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 947 continues to read as 
follows:
    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

PART 947--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN MODOC AND SIKIYOU COUNTIES, 
CALIFORNIA, AND ALL COUNTIES IN OREGON, EXCEPT MALHEUR COUNTY

    2. A new Sec. 947.141 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 947.141  Late payment and interest charges.

    The committee shall impose a late payment charge on any handler who 
fails to pay his or her assessment within thirty (30) days of the 
billing date shown on the handler's assessment statement received from 
the committee. The late payment charge shall, after 30 days, be five 
percent of the unpaid assessment balance. In the event the handler 
fails to pay the delinquent assessment amount, plus the late payment 
charge, within 60 days following the billing date, an additional one 
percent interest charge shall be applied monthly thereafter to the 
unpaid balance, including any accumulated interest. Any amount paid by 
a handler as an assessment, including any charges imposed pursuant to 
this paragraph, shall be credited when the payment is received in the 
committee office.

    Dated: July 28, 1994.
Robert C. Keeney,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-18876 Filed 8-2-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P