[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 159 (Thursday, August 17, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42770-42772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-20353]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 927

[Docket No. FV95-927-1IFR]


Expenses and Assessment Rate for the 1995-96 Fiscal Year; Winter 
Pears Grown in Oregon, Washington, and California

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenses and establishes an 
assessment rate for the Winter Pear Control Committee (Committee) under 
Marketing Order No. 927 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 beginning July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996. 
Comments received by September 18, 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: Britthany E. Beadle, 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, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, room 
369, Portland, Oregon, telephone: (503) 326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This interim final rule is issued under 
Marketing Agreement and Order No. 927 (7 CFR Part 927) regulating the 
handling of winter pears grown in Oregon, Washington, and California. 
The 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 provisions now 
in effect, winter pears grown in Oregon, Washington, and California are 
subject to assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate 
specified herein will be applicable to all assessable pears handled 
during the 1995-96 fiscal year, 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 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 approximately 90 handlers of winter pears regulated under 
the marketing order each season and approximately 1,850 winter pear 
producers in Oregon, Washington, and California. Small agricultural 
producers have been defined by the Small Business Administration [13 
CFR Sec. 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 these 
handlers and producers may be classified as small entities.

    The Oregon, Washington, and California winter pear marketing order, 
administered by the Department, requires that the assessment rate for a 
particular fiscal year apply to all assessable winter pears 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 Oregon, Washington, and California winter pears. 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 public meetings. 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 pears. 
Because this 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 June 27, 1995, and unanimously recommended total 
expenses of $7,384,440 for the 1995-96 fiscal year. In comparison, the 
1994-95 fiscal year expense amount was $6,835,926, which is $548,514 
less than the amount recommended for the current fiscal year.

    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$0.405 per standard box, or equivalent for winter pears. The Committee 
did not recommend a supplemental assessment rate for Anjou variety 
pears this fiscal year. In comparison, this rate of assessment is 
$0.025 less the the $0.43 assessment rate approved for the 1994-95 
fiscal year.

    The rate of assessment, when applied to anticipated winter pear 
shipments of 16,171,000 boxes or equivalent, will yield a total of 
$6,549,296 in assessment income. Assessment income, along with $340,000 
from other income sources, and $645,144 from the Committee's reserve 
funds, will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses.


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    Major expense categories for the 1995-96 fiscal year include 
$6,064,163 for advertising, $417,934 for contingency, $323,422 for 
winter pear improvement, and $147,152 for salaries.
    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.
    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 year 
for the Committee began July 1, 1995, and the marketing order requires 
that the rate of assessment for the fiscal year apply to all assessable 
winter pears handled during the fiscal year; (3) handlers are aware of 
this action which was recommended by the Committee at public meetings 
and which is similar to budgets 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 927

    Marketing agreements and orders, Pears, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 927 is 
amended as follows:

PART 927--WINTER PEARS GROWN IN OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND CALIFORNIA

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 927 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. A new Sec. 927.235 is added to read as follows:

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


Sec. 927.235  Expenses and assessment.

    Expenses of $7,384,440 by the Winter Pear Control Committee are 
authorized and an assessment rate of $0.405 per standard box, or 
equivalent, on assessable winter pears is established for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a 
reserve.

    Dated: August 11, 1995.
Terry C. Long,
Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-20353 Filed 8-16-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P