[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 112 (Monday, June 12, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30786-30788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-14281]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 985

[Docket No. FV95-985-1FIR]


Spearmint Oil Produced in the Far West; Expenses and Assessment 
Rate for the 1995-96 Fiscal Year

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 an interim final rule 
that authorized expenses and established an assessment rate for the 
Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee (Committee) under Marketing 
Order No. 985 for the 1995-96 fiscal year. Authorization of this budget 
enables the Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and 
necessary to administer this program. Funds to administer this program 
are derived from assessments on handlers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1995, through May 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caroline C. Thorpe, 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 Robert Curry, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit and 
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 1220 [[Page 30787]] SW. Third Avenue, 
room 369, Portland, Oregon 97204, telephone: (503)326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Order No. 985 (7 CFR part 985), regulating the handling 
of spearmint oil produced in the Far West. 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 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, spearmint oil produced in the Far West is subject to 
assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate specified herein 
will be applicable to all assessable oil produced during the 1995-96 
fiscal year, beginning June 1, 1995, through May 31, 1996. 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 8 handlers of spearmint oil regulated under the marketing 
order each season and approximately 260 spearmint oil producers in the 
Far West. 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. A 
minority of these producers and handlers may be classified as small 
entities.
    The marketing order, administered by the Department, requires that 
the assessment rate for a particular fiscal year apply to all 
assessable spearmint oil 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 spearmint oil. 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 a public meeting. 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 spearmint 
oil. Because that 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 February 22, 1995, and unanimously recommended 
a total expense amount of $233,272 for its 1995-96 budget. This is 
$4,567 less in expenses than the 1994-95 budget.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$.10 per pound for the 1995-96 fiscal year, which is $.01 more than the 
assessment rate from the 1994-95 fiscal year. The assessment rate, when 
applied to anticipated shipments of 2,000,000 pounds from the 1995-96 
spearmint oil production, would yield $200,000 in assessment income. 
This, along with approximately $24,272 from the Committee's authorized 
reserves, and $9,000 interest will be adequate to cover estimated 
expenses.
    Major expense categories for the 1995-96 fiscal year include 
$101,300 for salaries, $20,000 for market development, and $23,000 for 
travel. Funds in the reserve at the beginning of the 1995-96 fiscal 
year are estimated at $160,000, which is within the maximum permitted 
by the order of one fiscal year's expenses.
    An interim final rule was issued on March 28, 1995, and published 
in the Federal Register on April 3, 1995 (60 FR 16770). That rule 
provided a 30-day comment period which ended May 3, 1995. 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 1995-96 fiscal year starts on June 1, 1995, and the 
marketing order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal 
year apply to all assessable spearmint oil handled during the fiscal 
year. In addition, handlers are aware of this rule which was 
recommended by the Committee at a public meeting and published in the 
Federal Register as an interim final rule with a 30-day comment period. 
No comments were received and the interim final rule is adopted without 
change.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 985

    Marketing agreements, Oils and fats, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Spearmint oil.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 985 is 
amended as follows:

PART 985--MARKETING ORDER REGULATING THE HANDLING OF SPEARMINT OIL 
PRODUCED IN THE FAR WEST

    Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 985 which 
was [[Page 30788]] published at 60 FR 16770 on April 3, 1995, is 
adopted a final rule without change.

    Dated: June 6, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-14281 Filed 6-9-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P