[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 169 (Thursday, August 31, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45325-45326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21652]



 ========================================================================
 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
 
 The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 
 Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each 
 week.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 169 / Thursday, August 31, 1995 / 
Rules and Regulations  


[[Page 45325]]


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 956

[Docket No. FV95-956-1FIR]


Sweet Onions Grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast 
Washington and Northeast Oregon; Expenses and Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

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 that 
generated funds to pay those expenses 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.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, PO 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 is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive 
Order 12866.
    This 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 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 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 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. 

[[Page 45326]]
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.
    An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on July 
5, 1995 (60 FR 34843). That interim final rule added Sec. 956.201 to 
authorize expenses and establish an assessment rate for the Committee. 
That rule provided that interested persons could file comments through 
August 4, 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 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 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.
    It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the 
effective date of this rule 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 period began on June 1, 1995. The marketing 
order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply 
to all assessable onions handled during the fiscal period. 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.

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

    Accordingly, the interim final rule adding Sec. 956.201 which was 
published at 60 FR 34843 on July 5, 1995, is adopted as a final rule 
without change.

    Dated: August 25, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-21652 Filed 8-30-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P