[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 12, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63610-63612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30232]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 959
[Docket No. FV95-959-2IFR; Amendment 1]
Onions Grown in South Texas; Increased Expenses and Establishment
of Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Amended interim final rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This interim final rule amends a previous interim final rule
which authorized administrative expenses for the South Texas Onion
Committee (Committee) under M.O. No. 959. This interim final rule
increases the level of authorized expenses and establishes an
assessment rate to generate funds to pay those expenses. Authorization
of this increased budget enables the Committee to incur additional
expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program.
Funds to administer this program are derived from assessments on
handlers.
DATES: Effective August 1, 1995, through July 31, 1996. Comments
received by January 11, 1996 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, 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: 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 Belinda G. Garza, McAllen Marketing Field Office, Fruit and
Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 1313 East Hackberry, McAllen, TX 78501,
telephone 210-682-2833.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 143 and Order No. 959, both as amended (7 CFR part 959),
regulating the handling of onions grown in South Texas, hereinafter
referred to as the ``order.'' The order is 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 amended interim final rule has been reviewed under Executive
Order 12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order provisions
now in effect, South Texas 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 began August 1, 1995, and ends July 31, 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
[[Page 63611]]
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 89 producers of South Texas onions under
this marketing order, and approximately 35 handlers. Since the interim
final rule was issued, information regarding an increase in the number
of producers from approximately 70 to 89 was received. 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
South Texas onion producers and handlers may be classified as small
entities.
The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared
by the South Texas 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 South Texas 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 South Texas
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.
Committee administrative expenses of $239,250 for personnel,
office, and compliance expenses were recommended in a mail vote. The
assessment rate and funding for the research and promotion projects
were to be recommended at a later Committee meeting. The Committee
administrative expenses of $239,250 were published in the Federal
Register as an interim final rule August 17, 1995 (60 FR 42774). That
interim final rule added Sec. 959.236, authorizing expenses for the
Committee, and provided that interested persons could file comments
through September 18, 1995. No comments were filed.
The Committee subsequently met on November 14, 1995, and
unanimously recommended an increase of $1,000 for insurance in the
recently approved 1995-96 budget. The Committee also unanimously
recommended $246,000 for promotion and $99,000 for onion breeding
research. Budget items for 1995-96 which have increased compared to
those budgeted for 1994-95 (in parentheses) are: Manager's salary,
$19,094 ($15,172), office salaries, $24,000 ($22,000), payroll taxes,
$4,000 ($3,100), insurance, $8,000 ($6,250), rent and utilities, $6,500
($5,000), supplies, $2,000 ($1,500), postage, $1,500 ($1,000),
telephone and telegraph, $4,000 ($2,500), furniture and fixtures,
$2,000 ($1,000), equipment rental and maintenance, $3,500 ($2,500),
contingencies, $6,706 ($3,978), manager travel, $5,000 ($3,000),
Canadian onion promotion, $5,000 ($4,450), $226,000 for the Thacker
Group for promotion ($200,000), onion breeding research, $99,000
($88,028), and $3,750 for deferred compensation (manager's retirement),
and $5,000 for miscellaneous promotion expenses, which were not line
item expenses last year. All other items are budgeted at last year's
amounts.
The initial 1995-96 budget, published on August 17, 1995, did not
establish an assessment rate. Therefore, by a vote of 11 to 1, the
Committee also recommended an assessment rate of $0.10 per 50-pound
container or equivalent of onions, $0.06 more than last year's
assessment rate. The no vote came from a grower who thought increasing
the assessment rate from $0.04 to $0.10 cents was too great an
increase. This rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of
approximately 6,000,000 million 50-pound containers or equivalents,
will yield $600,000 in assessment income, which, will be adequate to
cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve as of October 31, 1995,
were $408,314, which is within the maximum permitted by the order of
two fiscal periods' expenses.
While this action 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 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
period began on August 1, 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 recommended by the Committee at a public meeting and
is similar to that taken for the 1994-95 fiscal period; 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 959
Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 959 is
amended as follows:
[[Page 63612]]
PART 959--ONIONS GROWN IN SOUTH TEXAS
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 959 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. Section 959.236 is revised to read as follows:
Note: This section will not appear in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 959.236 Expenses and assessment rate.
Expenses of $585,250 by the South Texas Onion Committee are
authorized and an assessment rate of $0.10 per 50-pound container or
equivalent of onions is established for the fiscal period ending July
31, 1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.
Dated: December 6, 1995.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 95-30232 Filed 12-11-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P