[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 5, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46017-46018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21936]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 171 / Tuesday, September 5, 1995 / 
Rules and Regulations  


[[Page 46017]]


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 945

[Docket No. FV95-945-1FIR]


Irish Potatoes Grown in Certain Designated Counties in Idaho, and 
Malheur County, OR; Expenses and Assessment Rate

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 that 
generated funds to pay those expenses under Marketing Order No. 945 for 
the 1995-96 fiscal period. That rule also increased the level of 
authorized expenses for the 1993-94 fiscal period. Authorization of 
this budget enables the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Potato Committee 
(Committee) to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to 
administer the program. Authorization of the increase in the level of 
authorized expenses for the 1993-94 fiscal period is necessary because 
the Committee exceeded its budget for that period. Funds to administer 
this program are derived from assessments on handlers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Section 945.248 is effective August 1, 1995, through 
July 31, 1996. The amendment to Sec. 945.246 was effective August 1, 
1993, through July 31, 1994.

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 Dennis L. West, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit and 
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, room 369, 
1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97205, telephone 503-326-
2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 98 and Order No. 945, both as amended (7 CFR part 945), 
regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in designated counties 
in Idaho, and Malheur County, 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 provisions of the marketing order now in 
effect, Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes are subject to assessments. Funds 
to administer the Idaho-Eastern Oregon potato marketing order are 
derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate 
as issued herein will be applicable to all assessable potatoes handled 
during the 1995-96 fiscal period, which began August 1, 1995, and ends 
July 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 2,100 producers of Idaho-Eastern Oregon 
potatoes under this marketing order, and approximately 60 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 
Idaho-Eastern Oregon potato producers and handlers may be classified as 
small entities.
    The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared 
by the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Potato 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 Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes. 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 fresh Idaho-
Eastern Oregon potatoes. 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 June 6, 1995, and unanimously recommended a 1995-
96 budget of $111,732, $11,853 more than the previous year. Budget 
items for 1995-96 which have increased compared to those budgeted for 
1994-95 

[[Page 46018]]
(in parentheses) are: Salaries, $63,232 ($55,479), meetings and 
miscellaneous, $2,500 ($2,000), Federal payroll taxes, $5,300 ($4,700), 
and reserve/auto purchase, $9,000 ($6,000). All other items are 
budgeted at last year's amounts.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$0.0026 per hundredweight, the same as each year for the past decade. 
This rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of 34,000,000 
hundredweight, will yield $88,400 in assessment income. This, along 
with $23,332 from the Committee's authorized reserve, will be adequate 
to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the Committee's authorized reserve 
at the beginning of the 1995-96 fiscal period, estimated at about 
$80,000, will be within the maximum permitted by the order of one 
fiscal period's expenses.
    The 1993-94 budget was published in the Federal Register as an 
interim final rule on July 16, 1993 (58 FR 38274) and finalized on 
October 28, 1993 (58 FR 57957). That rule authorized Committee expenses 
of $98,942. The Committee exceeded its authorized expenses by $713, for 
total expenses of $99,655. Funds to cover this increase were taken from 
the Committee's authorized reserve. The 1993-94 budget is amended to 
cover this increase.
    An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on July 
17, 1995 (60 FR 36339). That interim final rule added Sec. 945.248 to 
authorize expenses and establish an assessment rate for the Committee. 
That rule also amended Sec. 945.246 to increase the level of authorized 
expenses for the 1993-94 fiscal period. That rule provided that 
interested persons could file comments through August 16, 1995. No 
comments were received.
    While this rule 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 rule 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 August 1, 1995. The marketing 
order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply 
to all assessable potatoes 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, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 945 is 
amended as follows:

PART 945--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN 
IDAHO AND MALHEUR COUNTY, OREGON

    Accordingly the interim final rule amending Sec. 945.246 and adding 
Sec. 945.248, which was published at 60 FR 36339 on July 17, 1995, is 
adopted as a final rule without change.

    Dated: August 29, 1995.
Ron Cioffi,
Acting Deputy, Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-21936 Filed 9-1-95; 8:45 am]
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