[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 6, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29750-29751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13792]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 947

[Docket No. FV95-947-1IFR]


Oregon-California Potatoes; Expenses and Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenditures and 
establishes an assessment rate under Marketing Order No. 947 for the 
1995-96 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the Oregon-
California Potato 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.

DATES: Effective July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996. Comments received 
by July 6, 1995, will be considered prior to issuance of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this interim final rule. 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 Teresa L. Hutchinson, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit 
and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, room 
369, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, telephone 503-
326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 114 and Order No. 947, both as amended (7 CFR part 947), 
regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Oregon-California. 
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 now in effect 
Oregon-California potato handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to 
administer the Oregon-California potato order are derived from such 
assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein 
will be applicable to all assessable potatoes during the 1995-96 fiscal 
period, which begins July 1, 1995, and ends June 30, 1996. 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 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 request 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 550 producers of Oregon-California potatoes 
under this marketing order, and approximately 40 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 
Oregon-California potato producers and handlers may be classified as 
small entities.
    The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared 
by the Oregon-California Potato Committee, the agency responsible for 
local administration of the marketing order, and submitted to the 
Department for approval. The members of the Committee are producers and 
handlers of Oregon-California potatoes. 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 [[Page 29751]] 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 Oregon-
California potatoes. 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.
    The Committee met on March 15, 1995, and unanimously recommended a 
budget of $46,200, $1,100 more than last season. Budget items for 1995-
96 which have increased compared to those budgeted for 1994-95 (in 
parentheses) are: Annual report, $1,500 ($1,400), audit, $1,000 ($800), 
inspection fees, $2,500 ($2,000), and miscellaneous, $600 ($300). All 
other items are budgeted at last year's amounts.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$0.006 per hundredweight, the same as last season. This rate, when 
applied to anticipated shipments of 7,920,000 hundredweight, will yield 
$47,520 in assessment income, which will be adequate to cover budgeted 
expenses. Funds in the reserve on June 30, 1995, estimated at $27,000, 
will be within the maximum permitted by the order of one fiscal 
period's expenses.
    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 by 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 begins on July 1, 1995, and the marketing order requires that 
the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply to all assessable 
potatoes 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 other budget actions issued in past 
years; 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 947

    Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 947 is 
amended as follows:

PART 947--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN MODOC AND SISKIYOU COUNTIES, 
CALIFORNIA, AND IN ALL COUNTIES IN OREGON, EXCEPT MALHEUR COUNTY

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 947 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. A new Sec. 947.246 is added to read as follows:

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


Sec. 947.246  Expenses and assessment rate.

    Expenses of $46,200 by the Oregon-California Potato Committee are 
authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.006 per hundredweight of 
assessable potatoes is established for the fiscal period ending June 
30, 1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.

    Dated: May 31, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-13792 Filed 6-5-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P