[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 151 (Monday, August 7, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40058-40059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19329]



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


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 931

[Docket No. FV95-931-1IFR]


Fresh Bartlett Pears Grown in Oregon and Washington; Expenses and 
Assessment Rate for the 1995-96 Fiscal Year

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenses and establishes an 
assessment rate for the Northwest Fresh Bartlett Pear Marketing 
Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order No. 931 for the 1995-96 
fiscal year. Authorization of this budget enables the Committee to 
incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the 
program. Funds to administer the program are derived from assessments 
on handlers.

DATES: Effective July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996. Comments received 
by September 6, 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, or by 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: Karen T. Chaney, 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 Teresa L. Hutchinson, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit 
and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, Room 
369, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204, telephone: 
503-326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 141 and Marketing Order No. 931, both as amended [7 CFR 
Part 931], regulating the handling of fresh Bartlett pears grown in 
Oregon and Washington. 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, 
Bartlett pears grown in Oregon and Washington are subject to 
assessments. Funds to administer the Bartlett pear marketing order are 
derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate 
as specified herein will be applicable to all assessable pears handled 
during the 1995-96 fiscal year which began 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 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 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 65 handlers regulated under the marketing 
order each year and approximately 1,800 producers of Bartlett pears. 
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 
Bartlett pear handlers and producers in Oregon and Washington may be 
classified as small entities.
    The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal year was prepared by 
the 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 Bartlett pears. 
They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the costs for 
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 fresh Bartlett 
pears grown in Oregon and Washington. 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 June 1, 1995, and unanimously recommended 
total expenses of $92,254 with an assessment rate of $0.02 per standard 
box or equivalent for the 1995-96 fiscal year. In comparison, 1994-95 
budgeted expenses were $96,410, with an approved assessment rate of 
$0.02 per standard box or equivalent. This 

[[Page 40059]]
represents a $4,156 decrease in expenses, and no change in the 
assessment rate from the amounts recommended for the current fiscal 
year.
    The assessment rate, when applied to anticipated pear shipments of 
3,152,300 standard boxes or equivalent, will yield $63,046 in 
assessment income. Assessment income, combined with $4,000 from other 
income sources, and $25,208 from the Committee's authorized reserve, 
will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. The withdrawal of $25,208 
from the Committee's authorized reserve fund will result in no reserve 
remaining at the end of the 1995-96 fiscal year.
    Major expense categories for the 1995-96 fiscal year include 
$44,135 for salaries, $9,195 for unshared contingency, and $4,989 in 
employee health benefits.
    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 material presented, including 
the information and recommendation 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 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 year began on July 1, 1995, and 
the marketing order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal 
year apply to all assessable Bartlett pears handled during the fiscal 
year; (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 931

    Marketing agreements, Pears, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 931 is 
amended as follows:

PART 931--FRESH BARTLETT PEARS GROWN IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 931 continues to read as 
follows:

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

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

    2. A new Sec. 931.230 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 931.230   Expenses and assessment rate.

    Expenses of $92,254 by the Northwest Fresh Bartlett Pear Marketing 
Committee, are authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.02 per standard 
box or equivalent of assessable pears is established for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a 
reserve.

    Dated: July 31, 1995.
Martha B. Ransom,
Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-19329 Filed 8-4-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P