[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21191]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 29, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 931

[Docket No. FV94-931-1IFR]

 

Fresh Bartlett Pears Grown in Oregon and Washington; Expenses and 
Assessment Rate for the 1994-95 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 expenses and establishes an 
assessment rate for the Northwest Fresh Bartlett Pear Marketing 
Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order No. 931 for the 1994-95 
fiscal year. Authorization of this budget enables the Committee to 
incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the 
program. Funds to administer the program are derived from assessments 
on handlers.

DATES: Effective July 1, 1994, through June 30, 1995. Comments received 
by September 28, 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, or by 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 E. 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 Teresa L. Hutchinson, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit 
and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, Room 
369, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204, telephone: 
503-326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 141 and Marketing Order No. 931, both as amended [7 CFR 
Part 931], regulating the handling of fresh Bartlett pears grown in 
Oregon and Washington. 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 of Agriculture (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, 
Bartlett pears grown in Oregon and Washington are subject to 
assessments. Funds to administer the Bartlett pear marketing order are 
derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate 
as specified herein will be applicable to all assessable pears during 
the 1994-95 fiscal year beginning July 1, 1994, and ends June 30, 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 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 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 65 handlers regulated under the marketing 
order each year and approximately 1,800 producers of Bartlett pears. 
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 
Bartlett pear handlers and producers in Oregon and Washington may be 
classified as small entities.
    The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal year was prepared by 
the 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 Bartlett pears. 
They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the costs for 
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 Bartlett 
pears grown in Oregon and Washington. 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 on June 2, 1994, and unanimously recommended 
total expenses of $96,410 with an assessment rate of $0.02 per standard 
box or equivalent for the 1994-95 fiscal year. In comparison, 1993-94 
budgeted expenses were $112,425, with an approved assessment rate of 
$0.025 per standard box or equivalent. This represents a $16,015 
decrease in expenses and a $0.005 decrease in the assessment rate from 
the amounts recommended for the current fiscal year.
    The assessment rate, when applied to anticipated pear shipments of 
2,721,886 standard boxes or equivalent, will yield $54,438 in 
assessment income. Assessment income, combined with $4,000 from other 
income sources, and $37,972 from the Committee's authorized reserve, 
will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. The withdrawal of $37,972 
from the Committee's authorized reserve fund will result in no reserve 
remaining at the end of the 1994-95 fiscal year.
    Major expense categories for the 1994-95 fiscal year include 
$42,683 for salaries, $17,597 for unshared contingency, and $4,695 in 
employee health benefits.
    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 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 material presented, including 
the information and recommendation 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 began on July 1, 1994, and the marketing order requires 
that the rate of assessment for the fiscal year apply to all assessable 
Bartlett pears handled during the fiscal year; (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 931

    Marketing agreements, Pears, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 931 is 
amended as follows:

PART 931--FRESH BARTLETT PEARS GROWN IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 931 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

    2. A new Sec. 931.229 is added to read as follows:

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


Sec. 931.229  Expenses and assessment rate.

    Expenses of $96,410 by the Northwest Fresh Bartlett Pear Marketing 
Committee, are authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.02 per standard 
box or equivalent of assessable pears is established for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1995. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a 
reserve.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-21191 Filed 8-26-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P