[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 240 (Thursday, December 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30786]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 15, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 959

[Docket No. FV94-959-1IFR; Amendment 1]

 

Onions Grown in South Texas; Increased Expenses and Establishment 
of Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Amended interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This interim final rule amends a previous interim final rule 
which authorized administrative expenses for the South Texas Onion 
Committee (Committee) under M.O. No. 959. This interim final rule 
increases the level of authorized expenses and establishes an 
assessment rate to generate funds to pay those expenses. Authorization 
of this increased 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.

DATES: Effective August 1, 1994, through July 31, 1995. Comments 
received by January 17, 1995, 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, 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: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. 
Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone 202-720-
9918, or Belinda G. Garza, McAllen Marketing Field Office, Fruit and 
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 1313 East Hackberry, McAllen, TX 78501, 
telephone 210-682-2833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 143 and Order No. 959, both as amended (7 CFR part 959), 
regulating the handling of onions grown in South Texas. 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 provisions now 
in effect, South Texas onions are subject to assessments. It is 
intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable 
to all assessable onions handled during the 1994-95 fiscal period, 
which began August 1, 1994, and ends July 31, 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 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 the 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 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 47 producers of South Texas onions under 
this marketing order, and approximately 34 handlers. 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 South Texas onion 
producers and handlers may be classified as small entities.
    The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal period was prepared 
by the South Texas Onion Committee, the agency responsible for local 
administration of the marketing order, and submitted to the Department 
of Agriculture for approval. The members of the Committee are producers 
and handlers of South Texas onions. They are familiar with the 
Committee's needs and with the costs of 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 South Texas 
onions. 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.
    Committee administrative expenses of $80,000 for personnel, office, 
and compliance expenses were recommended in a mail vote. The assessment 
rate and funding for the research and promotion projects were to be 
recommended at a later Committee meeting. The Committee administrative 
expenses of $80,000 were published in the Federal Register as an 
interim final rule August 12, 1994 (59 FR 41382). That interim final 
rule added Sec. 959.235, authorizing expenses for the Committee, and 
provided that interested persons could file comments through September 
12, 1994. No comments were filed.
     The Committee subsequently met on November 8, 1994, and 
unanimously recommended increases of $8,900 for personnel expenses, 
$2,300 for office expenses and $126,000 for compliance activities in 
the recently approved 1994-95 budget. The compliance increase will 
provide for funds to operate road guard stations surrounding the 
production area. The Committee also unanimously recommended $164,450 in 
market development activities and $88,028 in production research. 
Budget items for 1994-95 which have increased compared to those 
budgeted for 1993-94 (in parentheses) are: Office salaries, $22,000 
($15,600), insurance, $6,250 ($5,250), accounting and audit, $2,600 
($2,300), rent and utilities, $5,000 ($4,000), field travel, $6,000 
($5,000), onion breeding research, $88,028 ($88,000), and $4,450 for 
Canadian onion promotion for which no funding was budgeted last year. 
Items which have decreased compared to the amount budgeted for 1993-94 
(in parentheses) are: Market development program, $150,000 ($200,000) 
and $7,000 for screening for resistance and tolerance to purple blotch, 
$2,000 for leaf wetness, $2,600 for variety evaluation, $4,000 for 
thrips monitoring and control, and $2,000 for the Integrated Pest 
Management program, for which no funding was budgeted this year. All 
other items are budgeted at last year's amounts.
    The initial 1994-95 budget, published on August 12, 1994, did not 
establish an assessment rate. Therefore, the Committee also unanimously 
recommended an assessment rate of $0.04 per 50-pound container or 
equivalent of onions, $0.06 less than last year's assessment rate. This 
rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of approximately 5,000,000 
million 50-pound containers or equivalents, will yield $200,000 in 
assessment income, which, along with $269,678 from the reserve, will be 
adequate to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve as of October 
31, 1994, were $607,767, which is within the maximum permitted by the 
order of two fiscal periods' expenses.
    While this action will impose some additional costs on handlers, 
the costs are in the form of uniform assessments on 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.
    After consideration of all relevant matter presented, including the 
information and recommendations 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 
period began on August 1, 1994, and the marketing order requires that 
the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply to all assessable 
onions handled during the fiscal period; (3) handlers are aware of this 
action which was unanimously recommended by the Committee at a public 
meeting and is similar to that taken for the 1993-94 fiscal period; 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 959

    Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 959 is 
amended as follows:

PART 959--ONIONS GROWN IN SOUTH TEXAS

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 959 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. Section 959.235 is revised to read as follows:

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


Sec. 959.235  Expenses and assessment rate.

    Expenses of $469,678 by the South Texas Onion Committee are 
authorized and an assessment rate of $0.04 per 50-pound container or 
equivalent of onions is established for the fiscal period ending July 
31, 1995. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.

    Dated: December 9, 1994.
Eric M. Forman,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 94-30786 Filed 12-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P