[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27921]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 10, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 217

                                        Thursday, November 10, 1994

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 929

[FV94-929-3PR]

 

Cranberries Grown in States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 
Washington, and Long Island in the State of New York; Establishment of 
Late Payment and Increase in Interest Charges on Delinquent Assessments

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would increase the interest charge from 1 
percent to 1\1/2\ percent per month and add a late payment charge of 5 
percent on delinquent assessments owed by handlers under Marketing 
Order No. 929 covering cranberries grown in ten states. This rule would 
contribute to the efficient operation of the program by ensuring that 
adequate funds are available to cover budgeted expenses incurred under 
the marketing order.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 12, 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 2525-S, 
P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456. 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: Mark Hessel or Patricia Petrella, 
Marketing Specialists, Marketing Order Administration Branch, F&V, AMS, 
USDA, Room 2522-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456: 
telephone: (202) 720-5127.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposal is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Order No. 929 (7 CFR Part 929), as amended, regulating 
the handling of cranberries grown in ten states, 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 (Department) is issuing this rule in 
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
    This proposal has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
This proposal 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 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 30 handlers of cranberries who are subject 
to regulation under the order and approximately 1,050 producers of 
cranberries in the regulated area.
    Small agricultural service firms 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 cranberries may be classified as 
small entities.
    The Cranberry Marketing Committee (committee), the agency 
responsible for local administration of the order, met on August 23, 
1994, and unanimously recommended modifying the administrative rules in 
effect under the order concerning delinquent handler assessments. The 
modification would increase the interest charge from 1 percent to 1\1/
2\ percent per month and add a late payment charge of 5 percent on 
delinquent handler assessments.
    Under section 929.41 of the order, each person who first handles 
cranberries is required to pay a pro-rata share of the cost of 
administering the program. This cost is in the form of a uniform 
assessment rate applied to each handler's acquisitions.
    Section 929.41 also provides that if a handler does not pay an 
assessment within the time prescribed by the committee, the assessment 
may be subject to an interest or late payment charge, or both.
    Section 929.152 of the rules and regulations in effect under the 
order specifies that delinquent assessments be subject to an interest 
charge of 1 percent per month on any unpaid assessment balance 
beginning 30 days from the due date prescribed by the committee. The 
committee currently schedules two assessment payments during the crop 
year which begins on September 1. Assessments equal to 100 percent of 
the prior crop year's assessment obligation are due on October 1. If a 
handler's October 1 payment is not sufficient to meet the current crop 
year's assessment obligation then a second payment, making up the 
difference, is required by April 1. If the October 1 payment exceeds 
the current crop year's assessment obligation then the committee 
refunds the difference on or before April 15.
    Assessments are the main source of funds to pay committee expenses. 
The failure of handlers to pay assessment obligations promptly results 
in added expense and operational problems for the committee. The 
committee has frequently encountered difficulty in collecting 
assessments from some handlers. To attempt to collect, the committee 
must incur the added expense of sending out additional invoices and 
contacting each delinquent handler by phone, in person, or by fax. 
Nonpayment or late payment of assessments hampers the operation of the 
committee.
    The authority to levy late payment and interest charges on 
delinquent assessments was added in 1973 to address the failure of 
handlers to pay their assessments promptly. Consequently, in 1978 an 
informal rulemaking change (43 FR 29764, July 11, 1978) was approved 
which established a one percent interest charge per month to address 
this problem.
    However, the current interest charge of one percent per month is 
not sufficient to induce handlers to comply with the assessment 
provisions. Competition in the cranberry industry has increased. The 
number of handlers regulated by the order has increased, and many of 
these additional handlers have been more reluctant to pay assessments 
in a timely manner. The increase in charges on delinquent assessments 
would encourage these handlers to pay their assessments more promptly.
    Charges would not be imposed until the end of the month if handler 
assessments are invoiced up to the 15th of the month and would be 
levied at the end of the following month if the handler assessment is 
invoiced later than the 15th of the month. Handlers would have ample 
time to pay their assessments and avoid incurring the additional 
charges. Any amount paid by the handler would be credited upon receipt 
in the committee office. These additional charges would apply to any 
unpaid assessments which become due to the committee after the 
effective date of this rule change.
    A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons an 
opportunity to respond to this proposal. All written comments timely 
received will be considered before a final determination is made on 
this matter.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 929

    Cranberries, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 929 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 929 continues to read as 
follows:

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

PART 929--CRANBERRIES GROWN IN STATES OF MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE 
ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW JERSEY, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, 
OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND LONG ISLAND IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK

    2. Section 929.152 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 929.152  Delinquent assessments.

    There shall be a late payment charge of five percent and an 
interest charge of 1\1/2\ percent per month applied to any assessment 
not received at the committee's office before the end of the month in 
which such assessment was first invoiced to the handler: Provided, That 
if an assessment is first invoiced later than the 15th of the month, no 
late payment or interest charge shall be levied if such assessment is 
received at the committee office by the end of the following month in 
which the assessment was first invoiced to the handler.

    Dated: November 4, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-27921 Filed 11-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P