[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 246 (Friday, December 22, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76899-76901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21911]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1207

[Docket No. AMS-FV-06-0177; FV-06-703-IFR]


Potato Research and Promotion Plan; Amendment of Administrative 
Committee Structure

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This rule amends the structure of the Administrative Committee 
(Committee) of the National Potato Promotion Board (Board) as 
prescribed in the Potato Research and Promotion Plan by increasing the 
number of Vice-Chairperson positions on the Committee from six to 
seven. The change is intended to more closely correlate the Committee's 
representation with potato production in the Northwest district--a five 
state region which accounts for more than half of all U.S. potato 
production.

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, or e-mail: [email protected]. 
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/rpb.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Broadbent or Gary Olson, 
Northwest Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order Administration 
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1220 SW Third Avenue, 
Suite 385, Portland, OR 97204; Telephone: (503) 326-2724, Fax: (503) 
326-7440, or E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under the Potato 
Research and Promotion Plan [7 CFR Part 1207], hereinafter referred to 
as the ``Plan.'' The Plan is authorized by the Potato Research and 
Promotion Act, as amended [7 U.S.C. 2611-2627], hereinafter referred to 
as the ``Act.''
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has waived the review 
process required by Executive Order 12866 for this action.
    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 311 of the Act, a 
person subject to a plan may file a petition with the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture (USDA) stating that such plan, any provision of such 
plan, or any obligation imposed in connection with such plan is not in 
accordance with law and request a modification of such plan or to be 
exempted therefrom. Such person 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 such person is an inhabitant, or has his or 
her principal place of business, has jurisdiction to review USDA's 
ruling on

[[Page 76900]]

the petition, provided that a complaint is filed not later than 20 days 
after date of the entry of the ruling.
    This rule modifies the structure of the Board's Administrative 
Committee as prescribed in the Plan by increasing the number of Vice-
Chairperson positions on the Committee from six to seven. This 
additional position would be allocated, as provided in the Board's 
bylaws, to the Northwest district. With this action, Board 
representation at the executive level for potato producers in Montana, 
Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska increases from 25 percent to 33 
percent. The change was recommended by a large majority of the Board, 
with only 3 of 84 members dissenting at the Board's meeting on March 
18, 2006.
    Section 1207.327(b) of the Plan provides the authority to make 
rules and regulations, with USDA approval, to effectuate the terms and 
conditions of the Plan. Section 1207.328(a) of the Plan provides the 
authority to select from its members such officers as may be necessary 
and to adopt such rules for the conduct of its business as the Board 
may deem advisable.
    Section 1207.507(a) of the Plan's administrative rules delineates 
the structure of Board's Administrative Committee. The Committee is 
selected from among Board members and must be composed of producer 
members, one or more importer member(s), and the public member. The 
Board, through the adoption of their bylaws, may prescribe the manner 
of selection and the number of members; except that the regulations 
mandate that the Committee shall include a Chairperson and a fixed 
number of Vice-Chairpersons. The bylaws also designate the officers and 
the immediate past Chairperson as the Board's Executive Committee.
    Prior to this change, the Plan provided for six Vice-Chairperson 
positions on the Committee. Vice-Chairperson positions are allocated in 
the Board's bylaws to represent production districts as determined by 
the Board. This action increases the number of Vice-Chairperson 
positions to seven. The additional Vice-Chairperson would be allocated 
to the Northwest district, which historically has been the district 
with the greatest production.
    At its meeting on March 18, 2006, the Board discussed the structure 
of its model of governance as it relates to adequate representation of 
their constituents. The Board has been studying this issue for a number 
of years. Representatives from the potato producing districts that have 
experienced increases over the last 30 years expressed a desire for 
greater Board representation.
    The Northwest district, which includes the States of Montana, 
Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, has increased production such 
that the district now accounts for 49.5 percent of all potatoes 
produced by or imported into the U.S. Under the current Plan, the 
Northwest district accounts for 47.4 percent of the votes of the full 
Board, which the Board has determined to be equitable. In contrast, 
membership on the Executive Committee, the governing body of the 
Administrative Committee, is not representative of current production. 
The Northwest district has held only two of the eight executive 
positions, which represents only 25 percent of the Executive Committee 
vote, while production in the district has increased to nearly 50 
percent.
    The members agreed to a compromise solution to increase the number 
of officer positions on the Administrative Committee by one and, 
through a change in the Board's bylaws, to allocate the additional 
Vice-Chairperson position to the Northwest district. Eighty-one Board 
members voted in favor of the proposal and three members were opposed. 
Those in opposition represented the Northeast district and were 
concerned, even after the compromise proposal, that too much influence 
on the Board would shift to the West.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) [5 U.S.C. 
601 et seq.], the Agricultural Marketing Service has examined the 
impact of this rule on small entities. The purpose of the RFA is to fit 
regulatory actions to the scale of businesses subject to such action so 
that small businesses will not be disproportionately burdened.
    There are approximately 1,353 handlers, 5,223 producers, and 300 
importers of potatoes and potato products who are subject to the 
provisions of the Plan. The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines 
small agricultural service firms, which includes handlers and 
importers, as those having annual receipts of less than $6,500,000, and 
small agricultural producers are defined as those having annual 
receipts of less than $750,000. Most of the producers and handlers, and 
some of the importers would be classified as small businesses under the 
criteria established by the SBA (13 CFR 121.201). In addition, 
producers of less than 5 acres of potatoes are exempt from this 
program.
    This rule modifies the structure of the Administrative Committee of 
the Board, as delineated under Sec.  1207.507 of the Plan, by 
increasing the number of Vice-Chairperson positions from six to seven. 
The Plan requires that the Committee be comprised of producer Board 
members, one or more importer Board member(s), and the public Board 
member. The exact number of members seated on the Committee is 
determined by the Board through the Board's bylaws. Additionally, the 
Plan regulations require that the Board elect a Committee Chairperson 
and a fixed number of Vice-Chairpersons.
    The Board, through their bylaws, allocates the Committee's officer 
positions according to production districts, so as to provide equitable 
representation at the executive level. The Northwest district, which 
has historically represented a large percentage of total potato 
production, has in the past been allocated two officer positions, while 
the other five districts have each been allocated one. Currently, 
producers within the Northwest district collectively produce over 50 
percent of the total U.S. potato production. The additional Vice-
Chairperson position created by this would be allocated by the Board's 
bylaws to the Northwest district, thereby increasing representation for 
that district at the executive level from 25 percent to 33 percent. The 
authority for this action is provided in Sec. Sec.  1207.327 and 
1207.328 of the Plan.
    At their March 18, 2006, meeting, the Board discussed the factors 
leading up to this action and the potential impact on the industry 
after the change. However, there is no direct financial impact to 
producers, handlers, or importers as a result of this action.
    The Board discussed alternatives to this change, including reducing 
the number of districts, defining Committee representation as a ratio 
relative to Board members from each district, and reducing the size of 
the Board to the size of the existing Administrative Committee. None of 
the proposals garnered much support and were ultimately dropped from 
consideration because the changes were deemed to be too divisive to the 
industry.
    This rule will not impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements on either small or large potato handlers or importers. As 
with all Federal research and promotion programs, reports and forms are 
periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and 
duplication by industry and public sector agencies.

[[Page 76901]]

    AMS is committed to compliance with the Government Paperwork 
Elimination Act (GPEA), which requires Government agencies in general 
to provide the public the option of submitting information or 
transacting business electronically to the maximum extent possible.
    In addition, USDA has not identified any relevant Federal rules 
that duplicate, overlap or conflict with this rule.
    Further, the Board's meetings were widely publicized throughout the 
potato industry and all interested persons were invited to attend the 
meetings and participate in Board deliberations. Like all Board 
meetings, the March 18, 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.
    This rule invites comments on a change to the Administrative 
Committee structure as currently prescribed under the Plan. Any 
comments timely received will be considered prior to finalization of 
this rule.
    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) Making this change effective prior to that date will 
facilitate Committee operations; (2) this issue has been widely 
discussed at various industry and association meetings, and interested 
persons have had time to determine and express their positions; and (3) 
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 1207

    Advertising, Agricultural research, Imports, Potatoes, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1207 is amended 
as follows:

PART 1207--POTATO RESEARCH AND PROMOTION PLAN

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1207 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2611-2627.

0
2. Section 1207.507(a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  1207.507  Administrative Committee.

    (a) The Board shall annually select from among its members an 
Administrative Committee composed of producer members as provided for 
in the Board's bylaws, one or more importer members, and the public 
member. Selection shall be made in such manner as the Board may 
prescribe: Except that such committee shall include the Chairperson and 
seven Vice-Chairpersons, one of whom shall also serve as the Secretary 
and Treasurer of the Board.
* * * * *

    Dated: December 18, 2006.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
 [FR Doc. E6-21911 Filed 12-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P