[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 246 (Friday, December 22, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76897-76899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21910]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 246 / Friday, December 22, 2006 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 76897]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 915

[Docket No. AMS-FV-06-0170; FV07-915-1 IFR]


Avocados Grown in South Florida; Suspension of Weekly Handler 
Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This rule changes the reporting requirements currently 
prescribed under the marketing order for avocados grown in South 
Florida (order). The order regulates the handling of avocados grown in 
South Florida and is administered locally by the Avocado Administrative 
Committee (Committee). This rule indefinitely suspends the weekly 
handler reporting requirements specified under the order. The 
information from the weekly reports is no longer being used by the 
industry or the Committee staff and the germane information is 
available from other sources. This action reduces the reporting burden 
on handlers, while aligning information collection requirements with 
the needs of the industry.

DATES: Effective December 26, 2006; comments received by February 20, 
2007 will be considered prior to issuance of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this rule. Comments must be sent to the Docket Clerk, 
Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 
AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 
20250-0237; Fax: (202) 720-8938; E-mail: [email protected]; or 
Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments should reference the 
docket number and the date and page number of this issue of the Federal 
Register and will be made available for public inspection in the Office 
of the Docket Clerk during regular business hours, or can be viewed at: 
http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/moab.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William G. Pimental, Marketing 
Specialist, or Christian D. Nissen, Regional Manager, Southeast 
Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit 
and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (863) 324-3375, Fax: 
(863) 325-8793 or E-mail: [email protected] or 
[email protected], respectively.
    Small businesses may request information on complying with this 
regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration 
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 
720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-8938, or E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 121 and Marketing Order No. 915, both as amended (7 CFR 
part 915), regulating the handling of avocados grown in South Florida, 
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 (USDA) is issuing this rule in 
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
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 USDA 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 USDA 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 USDA'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 changes the reporting requirements currently prescribed 
under the order by indefinitely suspending the weekly handler reporting 
requirements. The information from the weekly report is no longer being 
used by the industry or the Committee staff and the germane information 
is available from other sources. This action reduces the reporting 
burden on handlers, while aligning information collection requirements 
with the needs of the industry. The Committee unanimously recommended 
this change at a meeting on April 19, 2006.
    Section 915.60 of the avocado marketing order provides authority 
for the Committee to require handlers to file reports and provide other 
information as may be necessary for the Committee to perform its 
duties. Section 915.150 of the order's rules and regulations specifies 
the requisite reporting requirements, containing, in part, provisions 
requiring handlers to submit a weekly report.
    This rule revises Sec.  915.150 by indefinitely suspending 
paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) which specify the weekly handler reporting 
requirements. Prior to this action, handlers were required to submit a 
weekly report to the Committee listing all avocados handled, the 
disposition of each lot of noncertified avocados removed from handler's 
premises, and each lot of noncertified avocados received from another 
district. The Committee provided a form to assist handlers with 
supplying the required information. This information was compiled into 
a report which was made available to the industry. The Committee also 
used this data for statistical reporting purposes, to assess handlers, 
and for program compliance.

[[Page 76898]]

    When instituted, the information from the weekly reports was 
adequate for industry and Committee needs. However, for the past 
several seasons, the industry has stopped requesting the reports 
compiled from the weekly data. The Committee believes timely data is 
necessary for the information to be valuable. The industry is still 
interested in the volume of avocados handled, but weekly reports are 
not timely enough to be beneficial when it comes to using such 
information to help growers and handlers make harvesting and packing 
decisions.
    In addition to the weekly reporting information, the Committee 
staff also receives daily shipment information for all avocado handlers 
from the Federal-State Inspection Service (FSIS). This information is 
collected from handlers at the time of inspection and includes 
information on the volume packed. The Committee staff uses this 
information to generate daily shipping reports. The reports generated 
from the FSIS information are more accurate and timely, and the 
industry finds this information to be more beneficial. As such, the 
Committee staff has stopped generating reports based on the weekly 
information.
    Further, the Committee has found reporting at the time of 
inspection to be an effective and efficient way of collecting 
information. Recently, the rules and regulations were amended to 
require handlers to report added information to the FSIS at the time of 
inspection (70 FR 59622, October 13, 2005). With that change, handlers 
are now required to provide information regarding the number of 
avocados packed per container, in addition to the previous requirement 
that handlers provide the number and sizes of containers packed.
    In comparison, handlers find weekly reporting to be time consuming 
and that it places an additional burden on their staff to ensure weekly 
reports are submitted. Also, with some of the information contained in 
the weekly report already being reported at the time of inspection, it 
represents a duplication of effort.
    At one time, the Committee staff used the information from the 
weekly handler reports for statistical reporting purposes, to assess 
handlers, and for program compliance. However, they too have found the 
information in the daily shipment reports to be more useful, and of 
more interest to the industry. Further, the Committee staff has not 
been using the weekly reports to support program operations or for 
compliance purposes for some time. The information needed for Committee 
operations, marketing policies, and compliance is available from the 
daily inspection information provided by FSIS and from other sources.
    In addition, damages sustained from hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 
resulted in a substantial reduction in assessment income. This rule 
reduces the amount of time required by the Committee staff to monitor 
handler reports. Thus, this rule offers the potential for cost savings.
    This action indefinitely suspends the provisions requiring the 
submission of the weekly handler report. The information collected 
under this requirement is no longer being utilized and is not necessary 
for the operations of the order. This action reduces the reporting 
burden on handlers and lessens the reporting oversight demands on the 
Committee staff. Therefore, the Committee voted unanimously to suspend 
Sec.  915.150 paragraphs (a), (b), and (c).
    Section 8e of the Act provides that when certain domestically 
produced commodities, including avocados, are regulated under a Federal 
marketing order, imports of that commodity must meet the same or 
comparable grade, size, quality, and maturity requirements. As this 
rule changes the reporting requirements under the domestic handling 
regulations, no corresponding changes to the import regulations are 
required.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the 
economic impact of this action on small entities. Accordingly, 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 300 producers of avocados in the production 
area and approximately 35 handlers subject to regulation under the 
order. Small agricultural producers are defined by the Small Business 
Administration (SBA) as those having annual receipts of less than 
$750,000, and small agricultural service firms are defined as those 
whose annual receipts are less than $6,500,000 (13 CFR 121.201).
    According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service and 
Committee data, the average price for Florida avocados during the 2005-
06 season was around $46.75 per 55-pound bushel container, and total 
shipments were near 470,000 55-pound bushel equivalents. Using the 
average price and shipment information provided by the Committee, the 
majority of avocado handlers could be considered small businesses under 
the SBA definition. In addition, based on avocado production, grower 
prices, and the total number of Florida avocado growers, the average 
annual grower revenue is less than $750,000. Thus, the majority of 
Florida avocado producers may also be classified as small entities.
    This rule changes the reporting requirements currently prescribed 
under the order. This rule suspends the weekly handler reporting 
requirements required under the order. The information from the weekly 
report is no longer being used by the industry or the Committee staff 
and the germane information is available from other sources. This 
action reduces the reporting burden on handlers, while aligning 
information collection requirements with the needs of the industry. 
This rule revises Sec.  915.150, which specifies the requisite 
reporting requirements. Authority for this action is provided for in 
Sec.  915.60 of the order. The Committee unanimously recommended this 
change at a meeting held on April 19, 2006.
    This rule is not expected to result in any additional costs for 
handlers. This rule reduces the reporting burden on handlers by 
indefinitely suspending the provisions requiring the submission of a 
weekly report. It also reduces the amount of time required by the 
Committee staff to monitor and review handler reports. Thus, this rule 
offers the potential for cost savings. The potential reduction in costs 
would benefit all handlers regardless of their size. Consequently, the 
benefits of this rule are expected to be equally available to all.
    The Committee discussed keeping the weekly reporting requirements 
in place as an alternative to this action. However, the Committee 
believes continuing to collect information that is no longer being 
utilized by the industry or the Committee staff is unnecessary. 
Therefore, this alternative was rejected.
    This rule will not impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements on either small or large avocado handlers. The form, FV-
215, ``Avocado Handlers Weekly Report Form'' is currently approved 
under OMB No. 0581-0189, Generic OMB

[[Page 76899]]

Fruit Crops. The suspension of the reporting requirement would reduce 
the overall burden for that collection by 54 hours. 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. In addition, USDA has not identified any 
relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap or conflict with this 
rule.
    The AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to 
promote the use of the Internet and other information technologies to 
provide increased opportunities for citizen access to Government 
information and services, and for other purposes.
    Further, the Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout 
the avocado industry and all interested persons were invited to attend 
the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations. Like all 
Committee meetings, the April 19, 2006, meeting was a public meeting 
and all entities, both large and small, were able to express their 
views on this issue. Finally, interested persons are invited to submit 
information on the regulatory and informational impacts of this action 
on small businesses.
    A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and 
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: 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.
    This rule invites comments on changes to the reporting requirements 
currently prescribed under the Florida avocado marketing order. Any 
comments received will be considered prior to finalization of this 
rule.
    After consideration of all relevant material presented, including 
the Committee's recommendation, and other information, it is found that 
this interim final 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 rule until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register 
because: (1) The season has started and handlers are filing reports at 
this time; (2) this rule relaxes the reporting burden on handlers; (3) 
the Committee unanimously recommended these changes at a public meeting 
and interested parties had an opportunity to provide input; and (4) 
this rule provides a 60-day comment period and any comments received 
will be considered prior to finalization of this rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 915

    Avocados, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 915 is amended as 
follows:

PART 915--AVOCADOS GROWN IN SOUTH FLORIDA

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 915 continues to read as 
follows:

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


Sec.  915.150  [Suspended in part]

0
2. In Sec.  915.150, paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) are suspended 
indefinitely.

    Dated: December 18, 2006.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
 [FR Doc. E6-21910 Filed 12-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P