[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 9, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35982-35984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-17478]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1280

[Docket Number LS-96-006]


Sheep Promotion, Research, and Information Program

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service; USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Referendum; Referendum Order.

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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing that a 
second referendum will be conducted among eligible sheep producers, 
sheep feeders, and importers of sheep and sheep products to determine 
whether the Sheep and Wool Promotion, Research, Education, and 
Information Order (Order) will become effective as authorized under the 
Sheep Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1994 (Act). This 
action is a result of a review conducted by the Department of 
Agriculture (Department) that revealed that the referendum rules were 
applied inconsistently at the official polling places during the 
February 6, 1996, nationwide referendum. Consequently, the results of 
the February 6, 1996, nationwide referendum were voided.

DATES: Referendum Dates: In-person voting in the referendum will be 
conducted on October 1, 1996, by county Cooperative Extension Service 
(CES) offices. Absentee ballots will be available at county CES offices 
from August 26, 1996, through September 17, 1996. The representative 
period to establish voter eligibility will be the period from January 
1, 1994, through December 31, 1994.


[[Page 35983]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ralph L. Tapp, Chief, Marketing 
Programs Branch, Livestock and Seed Division, AMS, USDA, Room 2606-S; 
P.O. Box 96456; Washington, D.C. 20090-6456. Telephone number 202/720-
1115.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Act (7 U.S.C. 7101-7111), enacted 
October 22, 1994, provides for the establishment of a national sheep 
and wool promotion, research, education, and information program, 
designed to strengthen the sheep industry's position in the 
marketplace, maintain and expand existing markets, and develop new 
markets and uses for sheep and sheep products.
    The program will be funded by a mandatory assessment on domestic 
sheep producers, sheep feeders, and exporters of live sheep and greasy 
wool of 1 cent per pound on live sheep sold and 2 cents per pound on 
greasy wool sold. Importers will be assessed 1 cent per pound on live 
sheep imported and the equivalent of 1 cent per pound of live sheep for 
sheep products imported and 2 cents per pound of degreased wool or the 
equivalent of degreased wool for wool and wool products imported. 
Imported raw wool will be exempt from assessments. Each person who 
processes or causes to be processed sheep or sheep products of that 
person's own production, and who markets the processed products, will 
be assessed the equivalent of 1 cent per pound of live sheep sold and 2 
cents per pound of greasy wool sold. All assessment rates may be 
adjusted in accordance with applicable provisions of the Act.
    The Act requires that a referendum be conducted after an Order is 
issued to determine whether the Order will go into effect. An Order was 
published in the Federal Register on December 5, 1995 (60 FR 62298). 
The referendum is to be conducted among persons who were sheep 
producers, sheep feeders, or importers of sheep and sheep products 
during a representative period specified by the Secretary. Importers 
who import only raw wool are not eligible to participate in the 
referendum because raw wool is exempt from assessments under the Act. 
The Order would become operational only if it is approved by a majority 
of the producers, feeders, and importers voting in the referendum, or 
by producers, feeders, and importers voting in the referendum who 
account for at least two-thirds of the production represented by 
persons voting in the referendum. If the Order is not approved by 
persons voting in the referendum, the program will not become 
operational.
    To vote in the referendum, eligible persons will complete the 
registration and certification form, mark their ballots and, if they 
want to vote according to their volume of production, record that 
number on the ballot. Producers, feeders, and importers who vote their 
volume of production must determine that number before they register 
and vote in the referendum. For producers and feeders, the volume of 
production is the largest number of head of domestic sheep owned for 
any single, consecutive, 30-day period during the representative 
period. For importers, the volume of production is the number of live 
sheep or live sheep equivalents imported during the representative 
period. The final referendum rules published in the Federal Register on 
December 15, 1995 (60 FR 64297), provide guidance for calculating 
import volume of production in sheep equivalents.
    As required by the Act, the Department conducted an up-front 
referendum among eligible domestic sheep producers and sheep feeders, 
as well as importers of sheep and sheep products, to determine if the 
Order would become operational. To become effective, the Order had to 
be approved either by a majority of producers, feeders, and importers 
voting in the referendum or by voters who accounted for at least two-
thirds of the production represented by all persons voting in the 
referendum. Of the 19,801 valid ballots cast in the February 6, 1996, 
referendum, 10,707 (54 percent) favored implementation of the Order and 
9,094 (46 percent) opposed implementation of the Order.
    AMS published the final Order (61 FR 19514) on May 2, 1996, to 
implement a national sheep and wool, promotion, research, education, 
and information program, designed to strengthen the position of sheep 
and sheep products in the marketplace, as provided for under the Act. 
The effective date of the Order was May 3, 1996, except that the 
collection and remittance sections of the Order--Sec. 1280.224-
Sec. 1280.228--were scheduled to become effective on July 1, 1996. The 
final Rules and Regulations (61 FR 21053), which set forth the 
collection and remittance procedures to be used beginning July 1, 1996, 
and the Certification and Nomination procedures (61 FR 21049), which 
outline eligibility criteria and the nomination process used to obtain 
nominations for appointment to the National Sheep Promotion, Research, 
and Information Board which would administer the program, were both 
published on May 9, 1996.
    After the referendum was held, however, the Department received 
voter complaints of alleged inconsistencies in the application of the 
referendum rules in conducting the referendum. The Department initiated 
a review of these allegations. Based on findings of the review which 
revealed that the referendum rules were applied inconsistently, the 
Department voided the results of the February 6, 1996, referendum, 
suspended the Order and the Certification and Nomination Regulations 
and postponed indefinitely the announced July 1, 1996, effective date 
of (1) the implementing Rules and Regulations, (2) the collection of 
assessments, and (3) the collection and remittance sections of the 
Order--Sec. 1280.224-Sec. 1280.228. The second referendum will be 
conducted under the final referendum rules published December 15, 1995 
(60 FR 64297), in the Federal Register.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the 
information collection requirements concerning the conduct of a 
referendum including ballots and other voting materials. The control 
number assigned to the information collection requirements by OMB is 
OMB 0581-0093. It is estimated that it will take an average of 6.5 
minutes for each of the approximately 87,350 domestic sheep producers 
and sheep feeders and the approximately 9,000 importers of sheep and 
sheep products to cast a ballot.

Referendum Order

    It is hereby directed that a referendum be conducted among eligible 
sheep producers, sheep feeders, and importers of sheep and sheep 
products to determine whether an Order will become effective if 
approved by those eligible persons voting in the referendum. In-person 
voting in the referendum will be conducted on October 1, 1996, by the 
county CES offices. Absentee ballots will be available at the county 
CES offices from August 26, 1996, through September 17, 1996. The 
representative period to establish voter eligibility will be the period 
from January 1, 1994, through December 31, 1994.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1280

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Agricultural 
research, Marketing agreements, Sheep and sheep products, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7101-7111.


[[Page 35984]]


    Dated: July 3, 1996.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-17478 Filed 7-3-96; 3:48 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P