[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 188 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50078-50079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24044]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 928

[Docket No. FV95-928-1FIR]


Papayas Grown in Hawaii; Expenses and Assessment Rate for the 
1995-96 Fiscal Year

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 the interim final rule 
which authorized expenses and established an assessment rate for the 
Papaya Administrative Committee (Committee) under M.O. No. 928 for the 
1995-96 fiscal year. Authorization of this budget enables the Committee 
to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer this 
program. Funds to administer this program are derived from assessments 
on handlers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1996.

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, D.C. 20090-6456, telephone: (202) 
720-5127; or Martin Engler, California Marketing Field Office, Fruit 
and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102 B, 
Fresno, California 93721, telephone: (209) 487-5901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Order No. 928 [7 CFR Part 928], regulating the handling 
of papayas grown in Hawaii. 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 final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 
Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order provisions now in 
effect, papayas grown in Hawaii are subject to assessments. It is 
intended that the assessment rate specified herein will be applicable 
to all assessable papayas handled during the 1995-96 fiscal year, 
beginning July 1, 1995, through June 30, 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 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. 

[[Page 50079]]

    There are approximately 120 handlers of papayas regulated under the 
marketing order each season and approximately 400 papaya producers in 
Hawaii. 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. A 
majority of these handlers and producers may be classified as small 
entities.
    The marketing order, administered by the Department, requires that 
the assessment rate for a particular fiscal year apply to all 
assessable papayas 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 Hawaii papayas. 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 a public meeting. 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 papayas. 
Because that 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 on April 28, 1995, and unanimously recommended 
expenses totaling $562,044 for its 1995-96 budget. The Committee met 
again on July 20, 1995, and unanimously recommended a new budget 
because the original budget contained inaccuracies. The revised 
recommendation contained expenses totaling $465,800 for the 1995-96 
budget. This is a $123,400 reduction in expenses compared to the 1994-
95 budget of $589,200.
    The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of 
$.0089 per pound for the 1995-96 fiscal year, which is the same as was 
recommended for the 1994-95 fiscal year. The assessment rate, when 
applied to anticipated shipments of 33 million pounds, would yield 
$293,700 in assessment income. Other sources of program income include 
$40,000 from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, $57,000 from the 
USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, $7,800 from the Japanese 
Inspection program, $3,000 in interest income, and $4,766 from the 
County of Hawaii. Income from all sources will be adequate to cover 
estimated expenses.
    Major expense categories for the 1995 fiscal year include $165,500 
for the market expansion program, $145,000 for research and 
development, and $67,600 for salaries. Funds in the reserve at the end 
of the 1995-96 fiscal year, estimated at $112,279 will be within the 
maximum permitted by the order of one fiscal year's expenses.
    An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register [60 FR 
43352, August 21, 1995] and provided a 30-day comment period for 
interested persons. 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 should be 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.
    It is found that the specified expenses for the marketing order 
covered in this rule are reasonable and likely to be incurred and that 
such expenses and the specified assessment rate to cover such expenses 
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 action 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 year for the program began July 1, 1995. The 
marketing order requires that the rate of assessment apply to all 
assessable papayas handled during the fiscal year. In addition, 
handlers are aware of this action which was recommended by the 
Committee at a public meeting and published in the Federal Register as 
an interim final rule. No comments were received concerning the interim 
final rule that is adopted in this action as a final rule without 
change.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 928

    Marketing agreements, Papayas, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

PART 928--PAPAYAS GROWN IN HAWAII

    Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 928 which 
was published at 60 FR 43351 on August 21, 1995, is adopted as a final 
rule without change.

    Dated: September 22, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-24044 Filed 9-27-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P