[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 214 (Monday, November 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27518]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 7, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 905

[Docket No. FV94-905-1FIR]

 

Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida; 
Expenses and Assessment Rate for 1994-95 Fiscal Year

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Deparment of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a 
final rule, without change, the provisions of the interim final rule 
which authorized expenses and established an assessment rate for the 
1994-95 fiscal year under Marketing Order No. 905. Authorization of 
this budget enables the Citrus Administrative Committee (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, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. 
Box 96456, Room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 
720-5127; or William Pimental, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Fruit 
& Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida 
33883-2276; telephone: (813) 299-4770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Marketing Order No. 905, as amended, [7 CFR Part 905] 
regulating the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and 
tangelos grown in Florida, 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 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, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida 
are subject to assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate as 
issued herein will be applicable to all assessable citrus fruit during 
the 1994-95 fiscal year, beginning August 1, 1994, through July 31, 
1995. 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. 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 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 100 citrus handlers subject to regulation 
under the marketing order covering fresh oranges, grapefruit, 
tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida, and approximately 10,200 
producers of these fruits 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 minority of these handlers and a majority 
of these producers may be classified as small entities.
    This marketing order, administered by the Department, requires that 
the assessment rate for a particular fiscal period shall apply to all 
assessable citrus fruit handled from the beginning of such period. An 
annual budget of expenses and assessment rate is prepared by the 
Committee and submitted to the Department for approval. The Committee 
members are handlers and producers of Florida citrus. 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 budget is 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 is derived by 
dividing anticipated expenses by the expected cartons (\4/5\ bushel) of 
fruit shipped. 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 annual budget and assessment 
rate are usually recommended by the Committee shortly before a season 
starts, and expenses are incurred on a continuous basis. Therefore, 
budget and assessment rate approvals must be expedited so that the 
Committee will have funds to pay its expenses.
    The Committee met June 21, 1994, and unanimously recommended 
expenses of $210,000 for the 1994-95 fiscal year, with an assessment 
rate of $0.003 per \4/5\ bushel carton of fresh fruit shipped.
    In comparison, 1993-94 budget expenses were $200,000 with an 
approved assessment of $0.00285. This represents increases of $10,000 
in expenses and of $0.00015 in the assessment rate from the amounts 
recommended for the current fiscal year.
    The assessment rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of 
66,000,000 cartons of assessable fruit, will yield a total of $198,000 
in assessment income. Interest income for 1994-95 is estimated at 
$2,000. This, along with $10,000 from the Committee's authorized 
reserve fund, will be adequate to cover additional expenses. Funds in 
the reserve at the end of the 1994-95 fiscal year, estimated at 
$125,000, will be within the maximum permitted by the order of 
approximately one-half of one fiscal year's expenses.
    Major expense categories for the current fiscal year include 
$98,300 for salaries, $36,000 for the Manifest department, and $12,600 
for insurance and bonds.
    An interim final rule was issued on August 8, 1994, and published 
in the Federal Register [59 FR 41378, August 12, 1994]. A 30-day 
comment period was provided 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 would 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.
    It found that the specified expenses for the marketing order 
covered in this rule are reasonable and likely to be incurred and that 
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. 553] 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 April 1, 1994. The 
marketing orders require that the rates of assessment apply to all 
assessable oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos 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 without change as a final rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 905

    Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, Oranges, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Tangelos, Tangerines.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 905 is 
amended as follows:

PART 905--ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, TANGERINES, AND TANGELOS, GROWN IN 
FLORIDA

    Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR Part 905 which 
was published at 59 FR 41378 on August 12, 1994, is adopted as a final 
rule without change.

    Dated: November 1, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Acting Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-27518 Filed 11-4-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P