[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 19, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48361-48362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23192]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 181 / Tuesday, September 19, 1995 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 48361]]


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 955

[Docket No. FV95-955-2IFR]


Vidalia Onions Grown in Georgia; 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. 955 for the 
1995-96 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the Vidalia 
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 September 16, 1995, through September 15, 1996. 
Comments received by October 19, 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. 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 Aleck J. Jonas, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Fruit and 
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, FL 33883-
2276, telephone 941-299-4770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Order No. 955 (7 CFR part 955), regulating the handling 
of Vidalia onions grown in Georgia. 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 provisions of the marketing 
order now in effect, Vidalia onions are subject to assessments. It is 
intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable 
to all assessable onions handled during the 1995-96 fiscal period, 
which begins September 16, 1995, and ends September 15, 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 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. 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 250 producers of Georgia Vidalia onions 
under this marketing order, and approximately 145 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 
Vidalia onion producers and handlers may be classified as small 
entities.
    The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared 
by the Vidalia Onion Committee, the agency responsible for local 
administration of the marketing order, and submitted to the Department 
of Agriculture for approval. The members of the Committee are producers 
and handlers of Vidalia 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 Vidalia 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 Committee met July 20, 1995, and unanimously recommended a 
1995-96 budget of $343,000, $11,000 more than the previous year. Budget 
items for 1995-96 which have increased compared to those budgeted for 
1994-95 (in parentheses) are: Dues and subscriptions, $2,500 ($2,000), 
equipment maintenance, $1,600 ($750), office overhead, $6,000 ($3,000), 
office supplies, $3,500 ($3,000), telephone, $5,000 ($4,000), printing, 
$2,200 ($2,000), postage and courier, $6,000 ($5,000), employee 
salaries, $65,000 

[[Page 48362]]
($60,000), miscellaneous general and administrative, $1,700 ($1,000), 
marketing, $146,500 ($132,000), $6,500 for retirement, which was 
included in the employee benefits category last year, and $25,400 for a 
newly created compliance category. Items which have decreased compared 
to those budgeted for 1994-95 (in parentheses) are: Equipment 
purchases, $2,000 ($3,000), FICA employer, $3,100 ($4,250), employee 
benefits (health and dental), $7,000 ($13,500), research, $48,500 
($80,000), and ($8,000) for contract outside labor, for which no 
funding was recommended this year.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$0.10 per 50-pound bag or equivalent of Vidalia onions, the same as 
last year. This rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of 
3,017,500 50-pound bags or equivalents of Vidalia onions, would yield 
$301,750. The Committee also anticipates shipments of 50,000 50-pound 
bags of previously unassessed Vidalia onions which have been in 
storage, which will yield an additional $5,000 in assessment income. 
This, along with $4,250 in interest income and $32,000 from the 
Committee's authorized reserve, will be adequate to cover budgeted 
expenses. Funds in the Committee's authorized reserve of $167,766 are 
within the maximum permitted by the order of three fiscal periods' 
expenses.
    While this rule will impose some additional costs on handlers, the 
costs are in the form of uniform assessments on 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 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 begins on September 16, 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 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 955

    Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 955 is 
amended as follows:

PART 955--VIDALIA ONIONS GROWN IN GEORGIA

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 955 is revised to read as 
follows:

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

    2. A new Sec. 955.208 is added to read as follows:

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


Sec. 955.208  Expenses and assessment rate.

    Expenses of $343,000 by the Vidalia Onion Committee are authorized, 
and an assessment rate of $0.10 per 50-pound bag or equivalent of 
Vidalia onions is established for the fiscal period ending September 
15, 1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.

    Dated: September 13, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-23192 Filed 9-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P