[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 158 (Tuesday, August 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51052-51056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18774]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 17, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 51052]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary


Proposed Uniform Guidelines for Conducting Farm Service Agency 
County Committee Elections

AGENCY: Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) is issuing, and 
inviting public comment on, proposed uniform guidelines for conducting 
elections of Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committees. The Secretary 
is issuing the proposed uniform guidelines pursuant to section 10708 of 
the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171), 
(the 2002 Farm Bill), to ensure that FSA County Committees are fairly 
representative of the agricultural producers covered by the relevant 
county or counties, including fair representation of socially 
disadvantaged (SDA) farmers and ranchers on FSA County Committees. The 
uniform guidelines will address County Committee election outreach 
efforts, procedures for nomination and election of FSA County Committee 
members, and reporting and accountability requirements by FSA. FSA will 
be required to follow such uniform guidelines in conducting FSA County 
Committee elections.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 16, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The Secretary invites interested persons to submit comments 
on this notice. Comments may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     E-mail: Send comments to: 
[email protected].
     Mail: Send comments to: County Committee Election Reform 
Comments, Department of Agriculture, Room 3092-S, Mail Stop 0539, 1400 
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-0539.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver comments to the above 
address.
    All comments, including names and addresses, provided by 
respondents become a matter of public record. Comments may be inspected 
in the office of the Deputy Administrator for Field Operations, FSA, at 
the above address. Make inspection arrangements by calling (202) 720-
7890.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Nagel, Administrative Management 
Specialist, Office of the Deputy Administrator for Field Operations, 
FSA, at (202) 720-7890 or at [email protected]. Persons with 
disabilities who require alternative means for communication (Braille, 
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Target Center at 
(202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    FSA County Committees play an instrumental role in administering 
FSA programs at the local level, including carrying out FSA programs 
that have a financial impact on participating farmers and ranchers. The 
membership of each committee is comprised of three to five agricultural 
producers who participate or cooperate in FSA programs in the area 
under a committee's jurisdiction. 16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(ii). County 
Committee members are elected to their positions by agricultural 
producers who participate or cooperate in programs administered in the 
area under the jurisdiction of the County Committee. Id. By statute, 
County Committees must be ``fairly representative'' of the agricultural 
producers in the area under a committee's jurisdiction. 16 U.S.C. 
590h(b)(5)(B)(ii).
    The 2002 Farm Bill made significant changes to the process 
governing County Committee elections. The purpose of these changes was 
to ensure public transparency and accountability of election results, 
as well as to ensure the fair representation of SDA producers on County 
Committees. Adopting the definition set forth in 7 U.S.C. 2003, the 
Farm Bill defines an SDA group as a group whose members have been 
subject to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their 
identity as members of the group, without regard to their individual 
qualities. 7 U.S.C. 2003(e)(1). SDA producers have generally been 
defined to include African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native 
Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Subcontinent Asian-Americans, and 
women. By statute, USDA must solicit nominations for County Committee 
positions from organizations representing the interests of SDA groups. 
16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(III)(bb). Under current practice, when FSA 
concludes that SDA producers are underrepresented on a given County 
Committee, a person may be appointed to be an advisor to the County 
Committee. A County Committee advisor is a member of the County 
Committee without voting authority who represents the interests of 
SDAs.
    The first change made by the 2002 Farm Bill was to specifically 
define the class of agricultural producers who are eligible to vote for 
County Committee members as those producers who participate or 
cooperate in programs administered by FSA in the area under the 
committee's jurisdiction. 16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II) and 
(b)(5)(B)(iii)(III)(aa). The Farm Bill also mandates public access 
requirements relating to county elections, requiring FSA County 
Committees to open and count the ballots in public, allowing the public 
to observe the opening and counting of the ballots, and giving the 
public a 10-day notice of the date, time, and place that the ballots 
will be tabulated. 16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(IV).
    To further promote transparency and public accountability, the Farm 
Bill imposes several reporting requirements with regard to the results 
of County Committee elections. No later than 20 days after an election 
is conducted, each County Committee must file with the Secretary and 
the State FSA office a report on the election results. This local 
report must provide data including the number of eligible voters, the 
number of ballots cast and disqualified, and the race, ethnicity, and 
gender of the nominees for County Committee positions. 16 U.S.C. 
590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(V). Also, no later than 90 days after the date of 
the first election held after enactment of the Farm Bill (which would 
have been the 2002 election), the Secretary was required to compile a 
national report consolidating data on election results submitted by 
County Committees. Id. 16

[[Page 51053]]

U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(VI). Such national reports on the 2002 and 
2003 elections were prepared and made public. These national reports 
may be viewed at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/EFOIA/efoiaread.htm.
    Most critically for present purposes, the 2002 Farm Bill gives the 
Secretary discretion to issue uniform guidelines governing the County 
Committee election process if she deems that such guidelines are 
necessary after analyzing the data from the national report. 16 U.S.C. 
590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(VII)(aa). If these guidelines are issued, they must 
contain provisions ensuring fair representation of SDA producers on 
County Committees where they are underrepresented in relation to their 
presence in the respective covered areas. 16 U.S.C. 
590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(VII)(bb). Further, the draft uniform guidelines must 
be published in the Federal Register once they are issued. Id.
    After reviewing the national reports on the 2002 and 2003 election, 
the Secretary has determined that issuing such uniform guidelines is 
appropriate. The Secretary recognizes the importance of ensuring that 
the County Committee election process is fair and transparent and that 
producers are fairly represented on FSA County Committees. Uniform 
guidelines issued by the Secretary are a useful vehicle to meet this 
goal. The publication of uniform guidelines will make public the 
principles and procedures under which FSA will conduct such elections, 
thus contributing to the transparency and accountability of the 
process. FSA will be required to follow such guidelines in conducting 
County Committee elections, and FSA regulations and directives on 
conducting such elections must conform to these guidelines.
    The proposed guidelines were prepared with the input of personnel 
from a number of USDA agencies, including FSA, the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, the Office of Budget and Policy 
Analysis, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and others. 
Before finalizing such guidelines, the Secretary is interested in 
obtaining comments and input on such guidelines from interested persons 
and groups. Accordingly, USDA is issuing proposed guidelines, and is 
providing a 30-day period for comments. USDA intends to act in 
accordance with the proposed guidelines in preparing for the 2004 FSA 
County Committee elections, even while comments are being made and 
reviewed.
    It should be noted that FSA already has undertaken a number of 
reforms and steps to ensure fair representation of SDA producers on 
County Committees. Such steps were taken in regard to the 2003 election 
and are being applied to the upcoming 2004 election. Reform steps taken 
to date include: (1) Centralization of ballot preparation and 
distribution; (2) improvements in the nominating process; (3) outreach 
to key local, State, and national organizations; and (4) initiation of 
processes to collect and analyze additional demographic data that will 
permit better identification of counties in which improved 
representation will be sought. The uniform guidelines will incorporate 
reforms already in progress, as well as provide additional election 
reforms.
    Specifically, the uniform guidelines will address outreach to 
producers, nomination and election procedures, and reporting and 
accountability requirements. The uniform guidelines are generally 
intended to ensure that all eligible producers have an opportunity to 
participate in the election process, that there are no obstacles to 
participation, and that the process is transparent and accountable.
    The proposed guidelines place a special emphasis on outreach 
efforts to producers eligible to vote, including SDA producers. USDA is 
committed to improving participation in the County Committee election 
process by increasing outreach efforts, providing more printed and 
electronic information to producers through a variety of sources and 
methods, and developing partnerships with groups representing the 
interests of producers, including SDA producers, as well as community-
based institutions and educational institutions. FSA will work with 
members of such groups and institutions to encourage eligible voters to 
participate in County Committee elections and to nominate SDA 
producers. The Secretary expects FSA to work closely with the Office of 
the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR), and relevant offices 
under the ASCR's jurisdiction such as the Office of Outreach, to 
improve FSA's outreach efforts.
    The proposed uniform guidelines also address procedures for the 
election process itself. Among the key provisions, which include steps 
FSA is already implementing as well as new procedures, are the 
following: (1) An annual review of the local administrative area (LAA) 
boundaries (the specific area within a county or counties that a single 
County Committee member represents) in order to determine if redrawing 
the boundaries or changing the number of LAAs in a county is 
appropriate to ensure fair representation of producers; (2) approval by 
the FSA State office of any changes in LAA boundaries or number of 
LAAs; (3) regular maintenance of lists of eligible voters; (4) review 
by the FSA State office of voter ineligibility determinations made by 
an FSA County Committee when review is sought by a producer; (5) direct 
mailing of nomination forms to eligible voters, as well as wider public 
accessibility of such forms; (6) when no nominations are filed, 
ensuring that the slate is filled with at least one member of an SDA 
group; (7) providing the Secretary with the authority to nominate 
candidates; (8) direct mailing of ballots to the State office, which 
will then provide the ballots to each county office in a sealed box to 
be opened at the public counting of ballots; and (9) a decrease in the 
term limits for County Committee members to two consecutive terms.
    Finally, the proposed uniform guidelines contain extensive 
reporting and accountability requirements. Each FSA county office will 
be required to submit several reports to the FSA State and national 
offices on its actions in complying with the uniform guidelines and FSA 
regulations on elections, including the county's outreach efforts. 
Based on this reporting, the FSA national office will provide feedback 
and guidance to county offices on their outreach efforts and on the 
election process. FSA will also be required to conduct training of 
county employees on implementation of the uniform guidelines and FSA's 
regulations.
    The uniform guidelines are not intended to be the final word on FSA 
County Committee election reform. USDA intends to continually monitor 
the effectiveness of election reform efforts in order to determine if 
the measures contained in these guidelines are sufficient to ensure 
fair representation of producers on County Committees. This will 
include efforts to improve the collection of data required to measure 
whether there is fair representation. USDA will also continue to 
improve the implementation of these guidelines, as well as to determine 
if additional efforts are necessary. Such additional efforts could 
include compliance reviews of particular counties and further 
centralization of the election process.
    One of the possible additional measures is provided for in the Farm 
Bill itself. The Farm Bill provides that the Secretary is permitted to 
ensure the inclusion of SDA producers on County Committees by enacting 
provisions allowing for the appointment of an additional voting member 
to the committee. Id. 16 U.S.C.

[[Page 51054]]

590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(VII)(cc). The Secretary has the discretion whether 
to exercise this authority. The Secretary intends to continually 
evaluate whether the reforms set forth in the uniform guidelines are 
achieving their goal of ensuring fair representation of SDA producers. 
Based on such evaluations, the Secretary will determine whether to 
exercise her authority to appoint SDA producers to committees. In the 
event that the Secretary does decide to utilize the appointment 
authority, the Secretary will only do so after providing an opportunity 
for the public to comment on proposed provisions under which such 
appointment will be made.
    Accordingly, USDA hereby issues proposed Uniform Guidelines for 
Conducting FSA County Committee Elections, as follows:

Secretary of Agriculture

Uniform Guidelines for Conducting Farm Service Agency County Committee 
Elections

    Pursuant to section 10708 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 
Act of 2002, (Pub. L. 107-171)(7 U.S.C. 2279-1), the Secretary of 
Agriculture is issuing the following uniform guidelines for conducting 
elections to County Committees of the Farm Service Agency (FSA), United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The purpose of such guidelines 
is to ensure that such County Committees are fairly representative of 
the agricultural producers covered by the relevant county or counties, 
including to ensure fair representation of socially disadvantaged (SDA) 
farmers and ranchers on such committees, as well as to ensure public 
transparency and accountability of the election process.
    Accordingly, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) shall conduct elections 
of members to FSA County Committees in accordance with the following 
guidelines.

I. County Committee Election Outreach and Communication Efforts

    A. FSA will ensure that outreach efforts are taken at the national, 
State, and local levels to ensure the fair representation of 
agricultural producers in a given county or area, including fair 
representation of SDA farmers and ranchers. Such efforts must be 
designed to increase the participation of eligible producers in the 
County Committee election process.
    B. Each FSA county office will work with the State office to 
prepare an outreach plan, with specific steps that the county office 
will take on a year-long basis to increase the participation of 
producers generally and SDA producers specifically. A report detailing 
county office outreach efforts shall be submitted to the Office of the 
Deputy Administrator for Field Operations, FSA prior to the end of the 
nomination period.
    C. FSA county and State offices, with guidance from the FSA 
national office, will prepare a list of group contacts with which FSA 
will work on its outreach efforts. Such group contacts should include, 
as appropriate, land grant colleges, Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges, American 
Indian tribal organizations, community-based organizations, civic or 
charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, groups 
representing minorities and women, groups specifically representing the 
interests of SDA producers, and similar groups and individuals in the 
community.
    D. FSA county and State offices will either develop partnerships 
with the group contacts or work with them on outreach efforts as 
appropriate to assist FSA in outreach efforts to SDA producers. County 
and State offices will also ensure that all group contacts are provided 
with all appropriate election materials on a timely basis, including 
fact sheets, posters, brochures, and nominations forms.
    E. FSA State Outreach Coordinators, State Communications 
Coordinators, Field Public Affairs Specialists, and other relevant 
State office personnel shall work together in developing and 
implementing State communications plans for the election process.
    F. FSA county offices shall ensure maximum publicity to remind and 
inform SDA farmers and ranchers of both the nomination and the election 
deadlines. FSA county offices shall ensure that all written election 
material is available in the county office, is prominently displayed 
and disseminated in the local area, and is provided to all group 
contacts. FSA shall ensure that all communications on the election 
process are available in languages other than English and in 
alternative formats when appropriate. County Committee election 
communications materials (nomination forms, fact sheets, posters, etc.) 
shall be posted on FSA's Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/elections/.
    G. County offices shall ensure that information relating to 
elections is widely communicated, including the use of traditional and 
non-traditional media outlets. Media outlets should include television, 
radio, public service announcements, SDA organization newsletters, and 
other minority publications.
    H. FSA county offices, as monitored by the FSA State offices and 
State committees, shall actively locate and recruit eligible candidates 
identified as SDA farmers and ranchers as potential nominees for the 
County Committee elections using any reasonable means necessary. FSA 
shall work with leaders within the SDA community to identify eligible 
nominees. Community leaders who are eligible producers should be 
encouraged to become candidates for County Committee membership.
    I. FSA State offices shall ensure that county offices are taking 
all appropriate outreach and communication efforts, including follow-up 
visits to county offices.
    J. The FSA national office shall provide specific written guidance 
to State and county offices on County Committee election outreach and 
communication efforts. The national office shall also develop 
partnerships with appropriate national organizations to assist in 
outreach efforts. The national office shall work closely with the 
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in developing and 
implementing outreach policy and activities.

II. County Committee Election Procedures

A. Local Administrative Areas
    1. County Committees shall continue to annually review and provide 
State Committees with proposed changes in local administrative area 
(LAA) boundaries within each FSA county office jurisdiction no later 
than May 1 of each year. County Committees shall ensure that any LAA 
changes are in effect no later than July 15 of each year. Each FSA 
county office shall post the LAA boundaries in the county office, as 
well as locally publicize such boundaries in the county office 
newsletter and local media.
    2. The FSA national office shall provide guidelines to County 
Committees on how to conduct the annual review of LAA boundaries. Such 
guidelines shall require the County Committees, in conducting the 
annual review of LAA boundaries, to determine whether redrawing the LAA 
boundaries or increasing the number of LAAs in a given area will assist 
in ensuring the fair representation of SDA producers in the area over 
which the committee has jurisdiction.
    3. If a County Committee determines that LAA boundaries should be 
redrawn or that the number of LAAs should be changed, the FSA State 
Committee must

[[Page 51055]]

approve any such determination before such a change is implemented.
    4. Apart from the annual review of LAAs by County Committees, the 
FSA national office and State Committees shall conduct annual reviews 
of selected County Committees in order to determine whether redrawing 
the LAA boundaries or increasing the number of LAAs in a given area 
will assist in ensuring the fair representation of SDA producers in the 
area over which the committee has jurisdiction. The FSA national office 
and State Committees shall select such County Committees for annual 
reviews when they deem such reviews are appropriate based on evidence 
of possible under-representation of SDAs on a given County Committee.
B. Eligible Voters
    1. County Committees shall maintain in the county office no later 
than July 15 of each year a current and updated list of eligible voters 
for each LAA conducting an election during the year. County Committees 
shall provide the list to any nominee requesting the list. County 
Committees shall maintain updated lists of eligible voters throughout 
the nomination and election period. Any person may contact a county 
office, either in person or in writing, in order to ascertain whether 
they are on the eligible voters list.
    2. Any producer deemed to be ineligible to vote and who is not on 
the list of eligible voters who believes that he or she should be on 
the list may file a written challenge with the County Committee at any 
time. The County Committee must provide a response to the challenge 
within 15 calendar days. If the County Committee denies the challenge, 
the producer may appeal such denial to the State Committee.
    3. The County Committee shall provide to the State Committee a 
report of any producer who the County Committee has specifically 
declared ineligible as a voter. The State Committee may overturn any 
ineligibility determination and direct that the County Committee add 
that producer to the list of eligible voters.
C. Nominations
    1. Nomination forms shall be directly mailed to every eligible 
voter no later than July 15 of each year. Such nomination forms may be 
mailed to eligible voters by including the form as part of the mailing 
of an FSA county newsletter mailed to producers.
    2. Nomination forms shall be easily accessible to the public, 
including on the FSA Internet site year round. Nomination forms shall 
be readily available at FSA county offices and provided to the public 
upon request. The FSA State and county offices shall provide 
reproducible nomination forms to all of their group contacts.
    3. The official nominating period for County Committee election 
candidacy shall run for 6 weeks after the official opening date.
    4. Individuals desiring to file a nomination may nominate 
themselves or may nominate another eligible candidate. Nominees, 
whether self nominated, or nominated by another, must attest to their 
willingness to serve by signing the nomination form. Organizations 
representing SDA farmers and ranchers may nominate any eligible 
candidate.
D. Slate of Candidates
    1. If at least one nomination for candidacy is filed for an LAA for 
the County Committee election, the County Committee shall not add names 
to the slate of candidates after the close of the nomination period.
    2. If no valid nominations are filed, the Secretary may exercise 
her authority to nominate up to two individuals to be placed on the 
ballot. If the Secretary chooses not to exercise her authority, then 
the State Committee may exercise its authority to nominate up to two 
individuals to be placed on the ballot. If neither the Secretary nor 
the State Committee chooses to exercise their authority, then the 
respective County Committee shall nominate two individuals to be placed 
on the ballot.
    3. Write-in candidates shall be accepted on ballots. The write-in 
candidate must meet eligibility criteria and attest to willingness to 
serve prior to being certified as a member or alternate member. Write-
in candidates may serve as County Committee members or as alternates 
depending on the number of votes received.
    4. Notwithstanding the above guidelines, the Secretary may nominate 
an eligible SDA producer to a slate regardless of whether any 
nominations have been filed. A nomination by the Secretary may include 
the current advisor for the County Committee.
E. Balloting and Vote Tabulation
    1. Ballots shall be mailed to all eligible voters contained in the 
County Office records in the LAA conducting the election. Ballots shall 
be mailed no less than 4 calendar weeks prior to the date of the 
election. Ballots will be printed and mailed to eligible voters from a 
central location. Ballots shall be provided to anyone requesting a 
ballot. Voter eligibility shall be determined prior to tabulating the 
votes. Ballots shall state the date, time, and location that votes will 
be counted.
    2. County Committee elections will be held the first Monday of 
December each year, unless announced otherwise. Voters shall mail or 
deliver ballots to the FSA State office. Ballots must be postmarked by 
the election date or, if delivered, received by the election date.
    3. The FSA State office shall deliver the ballots in a sealed box 
to the FSA county office. There shall be a 10-day advance notice to the 
public of the date of the vote counting. Ballot opening and vote 
counting shall be fully open and readily accessible to the public. The 
seal on the ballot box from the State office shall not be broken except 
at the public ballot counting.
F. Challenges
    1. Any nominee shall have the right to challenge an election in 
writing, in person, or both within 15 days after the results of the 
election are posted. Appeals to the election shall be made to the 
County Committee, which will provide a decision on the challenge to the 
appellant within 7 calendar days. The County Committee's decision may 
be appealed to the State Committee within 15 days of receipt of the 
notice of the decision if the appellant desires.
    2. In the event that an election is nullified as a result of an 
appeal or an error in the election process, a special election shall be 
conducted by the county office and closely monitored by the FSA State 
office. A special election shall be held according to the processes for 
a regular election, but with different dates.
G. Term Limits
    1. No member of a County Committee may serve more than two 
consecutive terms. This provision shall take effect with the 2005 
election.

III. Reporting and Accountability Requirements

    A. Not later than 20 days after the date an election is held, each 
County Committee shall file an election report on the results of the 
election with the FSA State and national offices. The FSA national 
office shall provide specific guidance to county offices on the form 
and contents of this report. At a minimum, the report must include:
    1. The number of eligible voters in the LAAs conducting the 
election (including the percentage of eligible voters that cast 
ballots);
    2. The number of ballots cast by eligible voters;
    3. The number of ballots disqualified in the election;

[[Page 51056]]

    4. The percentage that the number of ballots disqualified is of the 
number of ballots received;
    5. The number of nominees for each seat up for election;
    6. The race, ethnicity, and gender of each nominee, and
    7. The final election results (including the number of ballots 
received by each nominee).
    B. After each election, the FSA national office shall compile the 
county election reports into a national election report to the 
Secretary. The national election report shall also be available to 
anyone requesting a paper copy of the report and also shall be posted 
to the FSA Web-site. The national election report shall include 
election data on SDA County Committee representation by county.
    C. Not later than 90 days after the date an election is held, each 
County Committee shall file a separate written election reform report 
with the FSA State and national offices detailing its efforts to comply 
with the uniform guidelines and FSA regulations and directives on 
County Committee elections. This report must contain a detailed 
description of county office outreach efforts. The FSA national office 
shall provide specific guidance to the county offices on the form and 
contents of this report.
    D. Based on the county election reports and the county election 
reform reports, the FSA national office shall provide feedback and 
guidance to FSA county and State offices on the election process, 
including outreach efforts. The FSA national office shall also, based 
on its review of the county election reform reports, as well as its 
analysis of the data on SDA representation, submit an annual report to 
the Secretary on election reform efforts, including recommendations on 
further improvements in the County Committee election process.

IV. Additional Election Reform Efforts

    A. USDA shall consider additional efforts to ensure such fair 
representation. Such additional efforts may include, but are not 
limited to, compliance reviews of selected counties by FSA's and USDA's 
Offices of Civil Rights; consideration of at-large seats or cumulative 
voting for certain County Committees; further centralization of the 
election process; and the issuance of provisions allowing for the 
appointment of an SDA voting member to particular committees pursuant 
to the 2002 Farm Bill.

V. Implementation of Uniform Guidelines

    A. The FSA national office shall ensure that it issues all 
appropriate regulations, instructions, directives, notices, and manuals 
to implement the terms of these uniform guidelines.
    B. FSA shall institute a comprehensive monitoring process, 
including spot checks on selected counties, to ensure compliance with 
these guidelines and FSA regulations and directives on the County 
Committee process.
    C. The FSA national office shall ensure that appropriate training 
of FSA county offices, including County Committees, is conducted on the 
implementation of these guidelines and of FSA's regulations and 
directives on the County Committee election process.
    D. These uniform guidelines shall take effect immediately unless 
the date for a specific action in these guidelines has passed upon 
issuance of the guidelines.

    Signed in Washington, DC, August 11, 2004.
Ann M. Veneman,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 04-18774 Filed 8-16-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P