[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 7, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29960-29962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13921]



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


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1220

RIN 0581-AB18
[No. LS-94-003]


Soybean Promotion and Research: Amend the Order To Adjust 
Representation on the United Soybean Board and Adjust Number of Board 
Meetings Required

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: This rule adjusts the number of members for certain States on 
the United Soybean Board (Board) to reflect changes in production 
levels which have occurred since the Board was appointed in 1991 and 
decreases the number of required Board meetings from four a year to 
three a year.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 7, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ralph L. Tapp, Chief, Marketing 
Programs Branch; Livestock and Seed Division; Agricultural Marketing 
Service (AMS), USDA, room 2606-S; P.O. Box 96456; Washington, D.C. 
20090-6456. Telephone number 202/720-1115.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prior document in this proceeding: Proposed 
Rule--Soybean Promotion and Research: Amend the Order to Adjust 
Representation on the United Soybean [[Page 29961]] Board and Adjust 
Number of Board Meetings Required published March 22, 1995 (60 FR 
15082).

Executive Orders 12866 and 12778 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Department of Agriculture is issuing this rule in conformance 
with Executive Order 12866.
    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order No. 12778, 
Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have a retroactive effect.
    The Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act (Act) 
provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted before 
parties may file suit in court. Under section 1971 of the Act, a person 
subject to the Soybean Promotion and Research Order (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 an exemption from the Order. The petitioner has the opportunity for 
a hearing on the petition. After a hearing the Secretary will rule on 
the petition. The statute provides that the district court of the 
United States in any district in which the person resides or carries on 
a business has jurisdiction to review a ruling on the petition if a 
complaint for that purpose is filed not later than 20 days after the 
date of entry of the ruling.
    Further, section 1974 of the Act provides, with certain exceptions, 
that nothing in the Act may be construed to preempt or supersede any 
other program organized and operated under the laws of the United 
States relating to soybean promotion, research, consumer industry, or 
industry information. One exception in the Act concerns assessments 
collected by Qualified State Soybean Boards (QSSBs). This exception 
provides that, in order to ensure adequate funding of the operations of 
QSSBs under the Act, no State law or regulation may limit or have the 
effect of limiting the full amount of assessments that a QSSB in that 
State may collect, and which is authorized to be credited under the 
Act. Another exception concerns certain referenda conducted during 
specified periods by a State relating to the continuation or 
termination of a QSSB or State soybean assessment.
    This action has also been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). This final rule adjusts representation on 
the Board to reflect changes in production levels that have occurred 
since the Board was appointed in 1991. It also decreases the number of 
required Board meetings from four a year to three a year. The 
Administrator of AMS has determined that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small business 
entities.

Background

    The Act (7 U.S.C. 6301-6311) provides for the establishment of a 
coordinated program of promotion and research designed to strengthen 
the soybean industry's position in the marketplace, and to maintain and 
expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for soybeans and soybean 
products. The program is financed by an assessment of 0.5 of 1 percent 
of the net market price of soybeans sold by producers. Pursuant to the 
Act, an Order was made effective July 9, 1991. The Order established a 
Board of 60 members. For purposes of establishing the Board, the United 
States was divided into 31 geographic units. Representation on the 
Board from each unit was determined by the level of production in each 
unit. The Secretary appointed the initial Board on July 11, 1991.
    Section 1220.201(c) of the Order provides that at the end of each 3 
year period, the Board shall review soybean production levels in the 
geographic units throughout the United States. The Board may recommend 
to the Secretary modification in the levels of production necessary for 
Board membership for each unit. At its September 1994 meeting and again 
at its December 1994 meeting, the Board voted to recommend to the 
Secretary that no modification be made.
    Section 1220.201(d) of the Order provides that at the end of each 3 
year period, the Secretary must review the volume of production of each 
unit and adjust the boundaries of any unit and the number of Board 
members from each such unit as necessary to conform with the criteria 
set forth in Sec. 1220.201(e): (1) To the extent practicable, States 
with annual average soybean production of less than 3,000,000 bushels 
shall be grouped into geographically contiguous units, each of which 
has a combined production level equal to or greater than 3,000,000 
bushels, and each such group shall be entitled to at least one member 
on the Board; (2) units with at least 3,000,000 bushels, but fewer than 
15,000,000 bushels shall be entitled to one Board member; (3) units 
with 15,000,000 bushels or more but fewer than 70,000,000 bushels shall 
be entitled to two Board members; (4) units with 70,000,000 bushels or 
more but fewer than 200,000,000 bushels shall be entitled to three 
Board members; and (5) units with 200,000,000 bushels or more shall be 
entitled to four members.
    Representation on the Board, effective with this final rule, is 
based on average production levels for the years 1989-1993 (excluding 
the crops in the years in which production was the highest and in which 
production was the lowest) as reported by the National Agricultural 
Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
    Based on the average production levels for the years 1989-1993, 
this rule adjusts the number of geographic units from 31 to 30; and 
Board members from 60 to 59. Florida is no longer a separate unit. It 
joins the Eastern Region, and is represented by its Board 
representative. Georgia and South Carolina each lose one member and 
Wisconsin and Maryland each gain one member.
    This adjustment is effective with the 1995 nominations and 
appointments.
    Section 1220.212(a) of the Order provides that the Board shall meet 
at least four times a year, and more often if necessary for the Board 
to carry out its responsibilities. The Board, which operates under a 5 
percent administrative cap, has recommended to the Secretary that in 
order to reduce its administrative costs and comply with the 5 percent 
cap, Sec. 1220.212(a) be amended to reduce the number of required 
yearly Board meetings to three. This rule reduces the required minimum 
number of Board meetings from four to three a year.
    On March 22, 1995, AMS published in the Federal Register (60 FR 
15082) a proposed rule adjusting representation on the Board and 
adjusting the number of Board meetings required.
    The proposed rule was published with a request for comments to be 
submitted by April 21, 1995.
    The Department received four written comments. The comments and our 
responses follow:
    The South Carolina Soybean Board (South Carolina Board) and the 
Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Soybeans (Georgia 
Commission) objected to the proposed reapportionment because it would 
reduce Board membership for each State by one seat. Both assert that 
the Department did not adhere directly to the Act and Order by using 
the 1989-1993 crop production data to adjust representation on the 
Board. Based on their interpretation they suggest that the crop 
production years used in the proposed reapportionment should be 1988-
1992. The South Carolina Soybean Association's (Association) and the 
Georgia Soybean Association's [[Page 29962]] (Association) comments 
also objected to the proposed reapportionment.
    The Department decision to use the crop production years 1989-1993 
was based on section 1969(b)(2)(E) of the Act and Sec. 1220.201 of the 
Order which provides that at the end of each 3 year period starting on 
the effective date of the Order (July 9, 1991) the Secretary shall 
review the volume of production of each State or unit and shall adjust 
the number of Board members to conform with the volume of production 
specified in the Act and Order. The Act and Order also state that 
average annual soybean production shall be determined by using the 
average of the production for the State or unit over the five previous 
years, excluding the crops in which production was the highest and 
lowest.
    Accordingly, in July of 1994, at the end of the first 3 year 
period, the Department reviewed the volume of production for the 
required 5 years. The five previous years data available in July 1994 
were 1989-1993. Since the commenters' assertions are not consistent 
with the requirements of the Act and Order, no change is being made in 
this final rule.
    The South Carolina Board and the Georgia Commission argue that 
reapportionment of the Board should have been made effective with the 
1994 appointments to the Board. The two State Associations commented in 
support of this position.
    To ensure sufficient time for Departmental clearance and 
appointment by December, the nomination and selection process for Board 
appointment has been initiated prior to July each year. Thus, the 
nominations for 1994 appointments by the Secretary had already been 
submitted based on the allocation of Board seats established by the 
initial Order when the reapportionment process began in July of 1994. 
Also, in order for the appointments to be made under a revised 
allocation based on reapportionment, a final rule must be promulgated 
which establishes the new allocation of Board seats. Consequently, the 
1995 appointments rather than 1994 appointments are the first 
appointments which can be made under this reapportionment. Accordingly, 
no change is being made in this final rule.

Effective Date

    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 it is found and determined that good cause 
exists for not postponing the effective date of the action until 30 
days after publication of this rule in the Federal Register. This rule 
adjusts representation on the Board and reduces the required number of 
meetings of the Board and should be made effective upon publication in 
order to begin the 1995 nomination and appointment process and to allow 
the Board to schedule fiscal year 1995 meetings accordingly.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1220

    Agricultural research, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Soybeans.

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

PART 1220--SOYBEAN PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1220 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6301-6311.

    2. Section 1220.201 is amended by revising the section heading and 
paragraph (a), removing paragraph (f), and redesignating paragraph (g) 
as paragraph (f) as follows:
Sec. 1220.201   Membership of board.

    (a) For the purposes of nominating and appointing producers to the 
Board, the United States shall be divided into 30 geographic units and 
the number of Board members from each unit, subject to paragraphs (d) 
and (e) of this section shall be as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  No. of
                              Unit                               members
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Illinois.......................................................       4 
Iowa...........................................................       4 
Minnesota......................................................       3 
Indiana........................................................       3 
Missouri.......................................................       3 
Ohio...........................................................       3 
Arkansas.......................................................       3 
Nebraska.......................................................       3 
Mississippi....................................................       2 
Kansas.........................................................       2 
Louisiana......................................................       2 
South Dakota...................................................       2 
Tennessee......................................................       2 
North Carolina.................................................       2 
Kentucky.......................................................       2 
Michigan.......................................................       2 
Virginia.......................................................       2 
Maryland.......................................................       2 
Wisconsin......................................................       2 
Georgia........................................................       1 
South Carolina.................................................       1 
Alabama........................................................       1 
North Dakota...................................................       1 
Delaware.......................................................       1 
Texas..........................................................       1 
Pennsylvania...................................................       1 
Oklahoma.......................................................       1 
New Jersey.....................................................       1 
Eastern Region (New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Florida,          
 Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, West Virginia,            
 District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico)........................       1 
Western Region (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho,          
 Utah, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Hawaii,         
 and Alaska)...................................................       1 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 1220.212, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 1220.212   Duties.

* * * * *
    (a) To meet not less than three times annually, or more often if 
required for the Board to carry out its responsibilities pursuant to 
this subpart.
* * * * *
    Dated: June 1, 1995.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-13921 Filed 6-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P