[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 5, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34843-34844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-16409]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 128 / Wednesday, July 5, 1995 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 34843]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 956
[Docket No. FV95-956-1IFR]
Sweet Onions Grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast
Washington and Northeast Oregon; Expenses and Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenditures and
establishes an assessment rate under Marketing Order No. 956 for the
1995-96 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the Walla
Walla Sweet Onion 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 June 1, 1995, through May 31, 1996. Comments received
by August 4, 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 Robert J. Curry, 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 and Order No. 956 (7 CFR part 956) regulating the handling of
Sweet Onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast Washington
and Northeast Oregon. 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
Walla Walla Sweet Onion handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to
administer the Walla Walla Sweet Onion order are derived from such
assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein
will be applicable to all assessable onions during the 1995-96 fiscal
period, which began June 1, 1995, and ends May 31, 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 50 producers of Walla Walla Sweet Onions
under this marketing order, and approximately 9 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
Walla Walla Sweet Onion producers and handlers may be classified as
small entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared
by the Walla Walla Sweet Onion 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 Walla Walla Sweet 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 Walla Walla
Sweet 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.
The order became effective May 19, 1995, and the Committee met on
June 7, 1995, and unanimously recommended
[[Page 34844]]
an initial budget of $72,000. Expense items include $12,000 for a
manager or management services, $15,000 for management support
services, $1,000 for a financial audit, $1,000 for staff travel, $2,500
for Committee travel, $10,000 for research projects, $12,000 for
promotion projects, $3,000 for compliance, $6,000 for Perishable
Agricultural Commodities Act expenses, and $9,500 for a miscellaneous
fund for contingency and reserve.
The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of
$0.12 per 50 pound bag or equivalent. This rate when applied to
anticipated onion shipments of 600,000 bags will yield $72,000 in
assessment income, which will be adequate to cover budgeted 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 began on June 1, 1995, 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 (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 956
Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 956 is
amended as follows:
PART 956--SWEET ONIONS GROWN IN THE WALLA WALLA VALLEY OF SOUTHEAST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST OREGON
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 956 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. A new Sec. 956.201 is added to read as follows:
Note: This section will not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 956.201 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $72,000 by the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Committee are
authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.12 per 50 pound bag or
equivalent of assessable onions is established for the fiscal period
ending May 31, 1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.
Dated: June 28, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-16409 Filed 7-3-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P