[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: 94-27521]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 7, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 927

[Docket No. FV94-927-1FIR]

 

Expenses and Assessment Rate for the 1994-95 Fiscal Year; Winter 
Pears Grown in Oregon, Washington, and 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 rule 
which authorized expenses and established an assessment rate for the 
Winter Pear Control Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order No. 927 
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.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1994, through June 30, 1995.

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, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, Room 
369, Portland, Oregon, telephone: (503) 326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Order No. 927 [7 CFR Part 927] regulating the handling of 
winter pears grown in Oregon, Washington, and California. The 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 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, winter pears grown in Oregon, Washington, and California are 
subject to assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate 
specified herein will be applicable to all assessable pears handled 
during the 1994-95 fiscal year, which began July 1, 1994, and ends June 
30, 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 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 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 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 90 handlers of winter pears regulated under 
the marketing order each season and approximately 1,850 winter pear 
producers in Oregon, Washington, and California. Small agricultural 
producers have been defined by the Small Business Administration [13 
CFR Sec. 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 these 
handlers and producers may be classified as small entities.
    The Oregon, Washington, and California winter pear marketing order, 
administered by the Department, requires that the assessment rate for a 
particular fiscal year apply to all assessable winter pears handled 
from the beginning of such year. Annual budgets of expenses are 
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 handlers and producers 
of Oregon, Washington, and California winter pears. 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 Committee's 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 the anticipated expenses by expected shipments of pears. 
Because this rate is applied to actual shipments, it must be 
established at a rate which will provide sufficient income to pay the 
Committee's expected expenses.
    The Committee met on June 3, 1994, and unanimously recommended 
total expenses of $6,835,926 for the 1994-95 fiscal year. In 
comparison, the 1993-94 fiscal year expense amount was $6,933,615, 
which is $97,689 more than the amount recommended for the current 
fiscal year.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$0.43 per standard box, or equivalent for winter pears. The Committee 
did not recommend a supplemental assessment rate for Anjou variety 
pears this fiscal year. In comparison, the 1993-94 winter pear 
assessment rate was $0.45 per standard box, or equivalent and $0.04 for 
the supplemental assessment rate on Anjou variety pears. This 
represents a $0.02 decrease in the assessment rate recommended for this 
fiscal year.
    This rate, when applied to anticipated winter pear shipments of 
13,817,000 boxes or equivalent, will yield a total of $5,941,310 in 
assessment income. Assessment income, along with $401,324 from other 
income sources, and $493,292 from the Committee's authorized reserve, 
will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. The $493,292 withdrawal of 
funds from the Committee's authorized reserve will result in no reserve 
remaining at the end of the 1994-95 fiscal period.
    Major expense categories for the 1994-95 fiscal year include 
$5,572,500 for advertising, $276,340 for SOPP data research, $276,340 
for winter pear improvement, $142,310 for salaries and benefits, and 
$612,442 for unshared contingency.
    An interim final rule was issued on August 22, 1994, and published 
in the Federal Register [59 FR 44023, August 26, 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 should 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 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. 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 July 1, 1994. The 
marketing order requires that the rate of assessment apply to all 
assessable winter pears 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 927

    Marketing agreements and orders, Pears, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 927 is 
amended as follows:

PART 927--WINTER PEARS GROWN IN OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND CALIFORNIA

    Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR Part 927 which 
was published at 59 FR 44023 on August 26, 1994, is adopted as a final 
rule without change.

    Dated: November 1, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-27521 Filed 11-4-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P