[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 94 (Monday, May 15, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30920-30922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12153]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 94 / Monday, May 15, 2000 / Proposed 
Rules  

[[Page 30920]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 958

[Docket No. FV00-958-1 PR]


Onions Grown in Certain Designated Counties in Idaho, and Malheur 
County, Oregon; Decreased Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule would decrease the assessment rate established for 
the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee (Committee) under Marketing 
Order No. 958 for the 2000-2001 and subsequent fiscal periods from 
$0.09 to $0.08 per hundredweight of onions handled. The Committee is 
responsible for local administration of the marketing order which 
regulates the handling of onions grown in designated counties in Idaho, 
and Malheur County, Oregon. Authorization to assess Idaho-Eastern 
Oregon onion handlers enables the Committee to incur expenses that are 
reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The fiscal period 
begins July 1 and ends June 30. The assessment rate would remain in 
effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

DATES: Comments must be received by June 14, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this rule. Comments must be sent to the Docket Clerk, Fruit 
and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, P.O. Box 96456, 
Washington, DC 20090-6456; Fax: (202) 720-5698, or E-mail: 
[email protected]. 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: Robert J. Curry, Northwest Marketing 
Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 
Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1220 SW Third Avenue, room 385, 
Portland, Oregon 97204-2807; telephone: (503) 326-2724, Fax: (503) 326-
7440; or George Kelhart, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit 
and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, P.O. Box 96456, 
Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-
5698.
    Small businesses may request information on complying with this 
regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration 
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, P.O. Box 
96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 
720-5698, or E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 130 and Marketing Order No. 958, both as amended (7 CFR 
part 958), regulating the handling of onions grown in certain 
designated counties in Idaho, and Malheur County, Oregon, 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 rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. Under the order now in effect, Idaho-Eastern Oregon 
onion handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the 
order are derived from such assessments. It is intended that the 
assessment rate proposed herein would be applicable to all assessable 
onions beginning on July 1, 2000, and continue until amended, 
suspended, or terminated. This rule would 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. 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 to review the 
Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not 
later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
    This rule would decrease the assessment rate established for the 
Committee for the 2000-2001 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.09 
per hundredweight to $0.08 per hundredweight of onions handled.
    The order provides authority for the Committee, with the approval 
of the Department, to formulate an annual budget of expenses and 
collect assessments from handlers to administer the program. The 
Committee consists of six producer members, four handler members and 
one public member, each of whom is familiar with the Committee's needs 
and with the costs for goods and services in their local area and are 
thus in a position to formulate an appropriate budget and assessment 
rate. The budget and assessment rate were discussed at a public meeting 
and all directly affected persons had an opportunity to participate and 
provide input.
    For the 1998-99 and subsequent fiscal periods, the Committee 
recommended, and the Department approved, an assessment rate of $0.09 
per hundredweight that would continue in effect from fiscal period to 
fiscal period unless modified, suspended, or terminated by the 
Secretary upon recommendation and information submitted by the 
Committee or other information available to the Secretary.
    The Committee met on April 6, 2000, and unanimously recommended 
2000-2001 expenditures of $1,047,637 and an assessment rate of $0.08 
per hundredweight of onions handled during the 2000-2001 and subsequent 
fiscal periods. The Committee estimated that the 2000-2001 onion crop 
will approximate 9,600,000 hundredweight of onions. In comparison, the 
1999-

[[Page 30921]]

2000 fiscal period budget was established at $1,133,785 on an estimated 
assessable onion harvest of 9,200,000 hundredweight of onions. The 
Committee recommended the decreased assessment rate to help offset the 
negative effects of the currently depressed onion market.
    The Committee anticipates that assessment income during the 2000-
2001 fiscal period will be approximately $768,000, which is $60,000 
less than the $828,000 assessment income estimated for its 1999-2000 
budget. The Committee now projects a total income of approximately 
$944,372 and expenditures of about $1,025,098 by June 30, 2000. At the 
time the 1999-2000 fiscal period budget was recommended, the Committee 
had estimated that it would draw up to $260,785 from its operating 
reserve. However, since current assessment income is greater than 
anticipated and expenditures are less than budgeted, the operating 
reserve may actually be depleted by about $80,726. Thus, the Committee 
has estimated that its operating reserve will be approximately $859,793 
on July 1, 2000, and, if it requires an estimated $234,637 from its 
monetary reserve as budgeted during the 2000-2001 fiscal period, 
approximately $625,156 on July 1, 2001. Lower assessment rates were 
considered, but not recommended because they would not generate the 
income necessary to administer the program with an adequate operating 
reserve.
    The major expenditures recommended by the Committee for the 2000-
2001 fiscal period include $235,105 for marketing order administration, 
which includes salary, office, travel and Committee expenses, $58,532 
for production research, $675,000 for market promotion including paid 
advertising, $54,000 for export market development, and $25,000 for 
marketing order contingencies. Budgeted expenses for these items in the 
1999-2000 fiscal period were $224,685, $69,100, $750,000, $60,000, and 
$30,000, respectively.
    The Committee has based its recommended assessment rate decrease on 
the 2000-2001 crop estimate and fiscal period expenditures estimate, 
the current condition of the onion market, and the current and 
projected size of its monetary reserve. The decreased assessment rate 
should provide $768,000 in income, which, when combined with interest 
income of $45,000 and operating reserve funds of $234,637, would be 
adequate to cover budgeted expenses. As noted above, the Committee 
estimates it will have approximately $859,793 in its operating reserve 
at the end of the 1999-2000 fiscal period, which should be adequate to 
cover any income shortages. This amount is within the maximum permitted 
by the order of approximately one fiscal period's expenditures 
(Sec. 958.44).
    The proposed assessment rate would continue in effect indefinitely 
unless modified, suspended, or terminated by the Secretary upon 
recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other 
available information.
    Although this assessment rate would be in effect for an indefinite 
period, the Committee would continue to meet prior to or during each 
fiscal period to recommend a budget of expenses and consider 
recommendations for modification of the assessment rate. The dates and 
times of Committee meetings are available from the Committee or the 
Department and are locally published. Committee meetings are open to 
the public and interested persons may express their views at these 
meetings. The Department would evaluate Committee recommendations and 
other available information to determine whether modification of the 
assessment rate is needed. Further rulemaking would be undertaken as 
necessary.
    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the 
economic impact this rule would have on small entities. Accordingly, 
the AMS has prepared this initial regulatory flexibility analysis.
    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 34 handlers of Idaho-Eastern Oregon onions 
who are subject to regulation under the order and approximately 270 
onion producers in the regulated production area. Small agricultural 
service firms have been defined by the Small Business Administration 
(13 CFR 121.201) as those having annual receipts of less than 
$5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those 
having annual receipts of less than $500,000. The majority of Idaho-
Eastern Oregon onion handlers and producers may be classified as small 
entities.
    This rule would decrease the assessment rate established for the 
Committee and collected from handlers for the 2000-2001 and subsequent 
fiscal periods from $0.09 per hundredweight to $0.08 per hundredweight 
of onions handled. Both the $0.08 assessment rate and the 2000-2001 
budget of $1,047,637 were unanimously recommended by the Committee at 
its April 6, 2000, meeting. The proposed assessment rate is $0.01 lower 
than the rate currently in effect. The Committee recommended a 
decreased assessment rate to help offset the negative effects of the 
currently depressed onion market. The anticipated crop of 9,600,000 
hundredweight is approximately 400,000 hundredweight larger than the 
crop estimate used to establish the 1999-2000 budget. The $0.08 rate 
should provide $768,000 in assessment income, which, when combined with 
interest income of $45,000 and $234,637 from the operating reserve, 
would be adequate to meet the 2000-2001 fiscal period's budgeted 
expenses.
    The Committee reviewed and unanimously recommended 2000-2001 
expenditures of $1,047,637 which include increases in administrative 
expenses, salaries, and committee expenses, and decreases in production 
research, market promotion, export market development, and contingency 
fund expenses. Prior to recommending this budget, the Committee 
considered information from various sources, including the Idaho-
Eastern Oregon Onion Executive, Research, Promotion and Export Market 
Development Committees. Alternative expenditure levels were discussed 
and rejected by these subcommittees, and ultimately by the full 
Committee, based upon the relative value of various research and 
promotion projects to the Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion industry.
    The major expenditures recommended by the Committee for the 2000-
2001 fiscal period include $235,105 for marketing order administration, 
which includes salary, office, travel and Committee expenses, $58,532 
for production research, $675,000 for market promotion including paid 
advertising, $54,000 for export market development, and $25,000 for 
marketing order contingencies. Budgeted expenses for these items in the 
1999-2000 fiscal period were $224,685, $69,100, $750,000, $60,000, and 
$30,000, respectively.
    A review of historical information and preliminary information 
pertaining to the upcoming season indicates that the F.O.B. price for 
the 2000-2001 onion season could average $5.50 per

[[Page 30922]]

hundredweight of onions. Therefore, the estimated assessment revenue 
for the 2000-2001 fiscal period ($768,000) as a percentage of the 
projected total F.O.B. revenue ($52,800,000) would be 0.0145 percent. 
This figure indicates that the $0.08 assessment rate recommended by the 
Committee would have a relatively insignificant impact on the Idaho-
Eastern Oregon onion industry.
    This action would decrease the assessment obligation imposed on 
handlers. While assessments impose some additional costs on handlers, 
the costs are minimal and uniform on all handlers. Some of the 
additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these costs 
would be offset by the benefits derived by the operation of the order. 
In addition, the Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout 
the Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion industry and all interested persons were 
invited to attend the meeting and participate in Committee 
deliberations on all issues. Like all Committee meetings, the April 6, 
2000, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and 
small, were able to express views on this issue. Finally, interested 
persons are invited to submit information on the regulatory and 
informational impacts of this action on small businesses.
    This proposed rule would impose no additional reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large onion handlers. As 
with all Federal marketing order programs, reports and forms are 
periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and 
duplication by industry and public sector agencies.
    The Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules that 
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this rule.
    A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and 
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at the 
following web site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/moab.html. Any questions 
about the compliance guide should be sent to Jay Guerber at the 
previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.
    A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons the 
opportunity to respond to this request for information and comments. 
Thirty days is deemed appropriate because: (1) The Committee needs to 
have sufficient funds to pay its expenses which are incurred on a 
continuous basis; (2) the 2000-2001 fiscal period begins on July 1, 
2000, and the order requires that the rate of assessment for each 
fiscal period apply to all assessable onions handled during such fiscal 
period; (3) this action decreases the assessment rate for assessable 
onions beginning with the 2000-2001 fiscal period; and (4) handlers are 
aware of this action which was unanimously recommended by the Committee 
at a public meeting and is similar to other assessment rate actions 
issued in past years.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 958

    Onions, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 958 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 958--ONIONS GROWN IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN IDAHO, AND 
MALHEUR COUNTY, OREGON

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 958 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. Section 958.240 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 958.240  Assessment rate.

    On and after July 1, 2000, an assessment rate of $0.08 per 
hundredweight is established for Idaho-Eastern Oregon onions.

    Dated: May 9, 2000.
Eric M. Forman,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable Programs.
[FR Doc. 00-12153 Filed 5-12-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P