[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7407-7408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4502]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 40 /  Wednesday, February 28, 1996 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 7407]]


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 959

[Docket No. FV95-959-2FIR]


South Texas Onions; Increased Expenses and Establishment of 
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 amended interim final 
rule that increased the level of authorized expenses and established an 
assessment rate that generated funds to pay those expenses under 
Marketing Order No. 959 for the 1995-96 fiscal period. Authorization of 
this budget enables the South Texas 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: August 1, 1995, through July 31, 1996.

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 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 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 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. A 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. 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 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 
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 areas 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 

[[Page 7408]]
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 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 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 December 31, 1995, were $408,314, 
which is within the maximum permitted by the order of two fiscal 
periods' expenses.
    An amended interim final rule was published in the Federal Register 
on December 12, 1995 (60 FR 63610). That interim final rule amended 
Sec. 959.236 to increase the level of authorized expenses to $585,250 
and establish an assessment rate of $0.10 per 50-pound container or 
equivalent of onions for the Committee. That rule provided that 
interested persons could file comments through January 11, 1996. No 
comments were received.
    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.
    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 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. 
In addition, handlers are aware of this rule which was unanimously 
recommended by the Committee at a public meeting and published in the 
Federal Register as an amended interim final rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 959

    Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

PART 959--ONIONS GROWN IN SOUTH TEXAS

    Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 959 which 
was published at (60 FR 63610) on December 12, 1995, is adopted as a 
final rule without change.

    Dated: February 22, 1996.
Martha B. Ransom,
Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 96-4502 Filed 2-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P