[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 204 (Monday, October 24, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26224]


  Federal Register / Vol. 59, No. 204 / Monday, October 24, 1994 /
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[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 24, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 204

                                           Monday, October 24, 1994

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 920

[Docket No. FV94-920-3FIR]

 

Expenses and Assessment Rate for the 1994-95 Fiscal Year for the 
Marketing Order Covering Kiwifruit Grown in California

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a 
final rule, without change, the provisions of the interim final which 
authorized expenses and established an assessment rate for the 
Kiwifruit Administrative Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order 
No. 920 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 this program 
are derived from assessments on handlers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 1, 1994, through July 31, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britthany Beadle, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, F&V, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, Room 2523-S, 
Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-5127; or Rose Aguayo, 
California Marketing Field Office, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, 
USDA, 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102B, Fresno, CA 93721, telephone: 
(209) 487-5901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing 
Order No. 920 [7 CFR Part 920], as amended, regulating the handling of 
kiwifruit grown in California, hereinafter referred to as the 
``order''. The order is 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 is issuing this rule in conformance 
with Executive Order 12866.
    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 
Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order provisions now in 
effect, California kiwifruit are subject to assessments. It is intended 
that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable to all 
assessable California kiwifruit during the 1994-95 fiscal year 
beginning August 1, 1994, through July 31, 1995. This 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 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 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 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 of kiwifruit grown in 
California who are subject to regulation under the kiwifruit marketing 
order and approximately 600 producers of kiwifruit in the regulated 
area. 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 kiwifruit producers and handlers may be classified as 
small entities.
    The kiwifruit marketing order, administered by the Department, 
requires that the assessment rate for a particular fiscal year apply to 
all assessable kiwifruit handled from the beginning of such year. The 
budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal year was 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 producers of California kiwifruit. 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 an appropriate budget. The budget was formulated and 
discussed in public meetings. Thus, all directly affected persons have 
an opportunity to participate and provide input.
    The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by 
dividing anticipated expenses by expected shipments of kiwifruit. 
Because that rate is applied to actual shipments, it must be 
established at a rate which will produce sufficient income to pay the 
Committee's expected expenses. The recommended budget and rate of 
assessment are usually acted upon by the Committee shortly before a 
season starts, and expenses are incurred on a continuous basis. 
Therefore, the budget and assessment rate approval must be expedited so 
that the Committee will have funds to pay its expenses.
    The Committee met on June 15, 1994, and unanimously recommended 
1994-95 marketing order expenditures of $167,862 and an assessment rate 
of $0.01 per tray or tray equivalent of kiwifruit. In comparison, 1993-
94 marketing year budgeted expenditures were $156,150, which is $11,712 
less than the $167,862 recommended for this fiscal year. The assessment 
rate of $0.01 per tray or tray equivalent is the same as last year's 
assessment rate. The major budget category for 1994-95 is $98,360 for 
administrative, staff and field salaries.
    Assessment income for 1994-95 is estimated to total $110,000 based 
on anticipated fresh domestic shipments of 11 millions trays or tray 
equivalents of kiwifruit. The assessment income will have to be 
augmented by $57,862 from the Committee's reserves to provide adequate 
funds to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve at the end of 
the 1993-94 fiscal year are estimated to be $87,138. The reserve fund 
will be within the maximum permitted by the order of one fiscal year's 
expenses.
    An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register [59 FR 
41379, August 12, 1994] and provided a 30-day comment period for 
interested persons. No comments were received.
    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 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.
    It is found that the specified expenses for the marketing order 
covered in this rule are reasonable and likely to be incurred and that 
such expenses and the specified assessment rate to cover such expenses 
will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
    It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the 
effective date of this action until 30 days after publication in the 
Federal Register [5 U.S.C. 443] because the Committee needs to have 
sufficient funds to pay its expenses which are incurred on a continuous 
basis. The 1994-95 fiscal year for the program began August 1, 1994. 
The marketing order requires that the rate of assessment apply to all 
assessable kiwifruit handled during the fiscal year. In addition, 
handlers are aware of this action which was recommended by the 
Committee at a public meeting and published in the Federal Register as 
an interim final rule.
    No comments were received concerning the interim final rule that is 
adopted in this action as a final rule without change.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 920

    Kiwifruit, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reason set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 920 is amended 
as follows:

PART 920--KIWIFRUIT GROWN IN CALIFORNIA

    Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR Part 920 which 
was published at 59 FR 41379 on August 12, 1994, is adopted as a final 
rule without change.

    Dated: October 18, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Acting Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-26224 Filed 10-21-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P