[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 125 (Friday, June 28, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38846-38848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15578]


 ========================================================================
 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. 78, No. 125 / Friday, June 28, 2013 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 38846]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1207

[Document Number AMS-FV-13-0027]


Potato Research and Promotion Plan; Amend the Administrative 
Committee Structure and Delete the Board's Mailing Address

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposal invites comments on amending the structure of 
the Administrative Committee (Committee) of the U.S. Potato Board 
(Board) and deleting the Board's mailing address from the Potato 
Research and Promotion Plan. The Plan is administered by the Board with 
oversight by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the Plan, 
there are seven Committee Vice-Chairperson positions. The Board has 
recommended that these positions be increased to nine. This proposed 
change is intended to facilitate increased involvement in the Board's 
leadership opportunities. Further, the Board's office is being 
relocated and the address must be changed in the Plan. The deletion of 
the Board's mailing address from the Plan would require no further 
amendment to the Plan if the Board's office is relocated again.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 15, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this proposal. Comments may be submitted on the Internet at: 
http://www.regulations.gov or to the Promotion and Economics Division, 
Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., 
Room 1406-S, Stop 0244, Washington, DC 20250-0244; facsimile: (202) 
205-2800. 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, including name and address, if 
provided, in the above office during regular business hours or it can 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia A. Petrella, Marketing 
Specialist, Promotion and Economics Division, Fruit and Vegetable 
Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 1406-S, Stop 
0244, Washington, DC 20250-0244; telephone: (301) 337-5295; toll free 
(888) 720-9917; facsimile (202) 205-2800; or electronic mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule is issued under the 
Potato Research and Promotion Plan (Plan) (7 CFR part 1207). The Plan 
is authorized under the Potato Research and Promotion Act (Act) (7 
U.S.C. 2611-2627).

Executive Order 12866 and Executive Order 13563

    Executive Order 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all costs 
and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is 
necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits 
(including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety 
effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive order 13563 
emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, of 
reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. 
This rule has been designated as ``non-significant regulatory action'' 
under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) has waived the review process.

Executive Order 12988

    This proposal has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect.
    The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted 
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 311 of the Act (7 
U.S.C. 2620), a person subject to a plan may file a petition with 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 the petition, provided that 
a complaint is filed not later than 20 days after date of the entry of 
the ruling.

Background

    This proposed rule invites comments on amending the structure of 
the Committee of the Board and to delete the Board's mailing address 
from the Plan. The Plan is administered by the Board with oversight by 
USDA. Under the Plan, assessments are collected from handlers and 
importers and used for projects to promote potatoes and potato 
products.
    This proposed 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 seven to 
nine. These additional positions would be allocated, as provided in the 
Board's bylaws, to the Northwest and North Central caucuses. The 
Northwest district includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and 
Washington. The North Central district includes Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, 
and Wisconsin. With this action, Board representation at the executive 
level for potato producers in the Northwest district increases from 
28.5 percent to 33 percent and in the North Central district from 14 
percent to 22 percent.
    Section 1207.327(b) of the Plan provides the authority to the Board 
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 the Board 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 the Board's Administrative Committee. The Committee is 
selected from among Board members, and is composed mostly of producer 
members, with one or more importer member(s),

[[Page 38847]]

and the public member. The Board, through the adoption of its 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 proposed 
change is intended to facilitate increased involvement in the Board's 
leadership opportunities from the Northwest and North Central caucuses 
and possibly increase diversity at higher positions on the Board.
    Prior to this change, the Plan provided for seven 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 nine. The additional Vice-Chairpersons would be allocated 
to the Northwest and North Central caucuses, which historically have 
been the caucuses with the greatest production.
    The second proposed change would delete the Board's mailing address 
from the Plan's rules and regulations. Section 1207.501 of the Plan 
specifies that all communications in connection with the Plan shall be 
addressed to: National Potato Promotion Board, 7555 East Hampden 
Avenue, Suite 412, Denver, Colorado, 80231. The Board is in the process 
of moving to a new location within Denver, Colorado. Therefore, this 
section would need to be amended. However, USDA is recommending that 
this section be deleted so no further amendment would be required if 
the Board moves its office in the future. Interested persons wanting to 
contact the Board can reach them through their Web site, Facebook, or 
smartphone application.

Board Recommendation

    The Board met on March 14, 2013, and unanimously recommended 
amending the Committee structure of the Board and amending the Board's 
mailing address from the Plan. This action would contribute to 
effective administration of the program.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 
601-612), AMS is required to examine the impact of the proposed rule on 
small entities. Accordingly, AMS has considered the economic impact of 
this action on small entities.
    According to the Board, it is estimated that in 2013 there are 
about 2,500 producers, 1,030 handlers and 240 importers of potatoes and 
potato products who are subject to the provisions of the Plan.
    The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
businesses subject to such actions so that small businesses will not be 
disproportionately burdened. The Small Business Administration defines, 
in 13 CFR part 121, small agricultural producers as those having annual 
receipts of no more than $750,000 and small agricultural service firms 
(domestic handlers and importers) as those having annual receipts of no 
more than $7.0 million. Under these definitions, the majority of the 
handlers, producers and importers that would be affected by this rule 
would be considered small entities.
    This proposed rule invites comments on amending the structure of 
the Administrative Committee of the Board and deleting the Board's 
mailing address from the Plan. The Plan is administered by the Board 
with oversight by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the 
Plan, there are seven Committee Vice-Chairperson positions. The Board 
has recommended that these positions be increased to nine Vice-
Chairpersons. This proposed change is intended to facilitate increased 
involvement in the Board's leadership opportunities. The deletion of 
the Board's mailing address would require no further amendment to the 
Plan if the Board's office is relocated. The Board's office is being 
relocated so an amendment change was necessary to the Plan.
    This proposed rule would amend section 1207.507(a) of the Plan by 
changing the number of Vice-Chairperson positions from seven to nine. 
Also, the Board's office address would be removed from 1207.501 of the 
Plan.
    Regarding the economic impact of this proposed rule on affected 
entities, this action would impose no costs on producers, handlers, and 
importers as a result of this action. Both changes are administrative 
in nature; it would merely provide additional opportunities for 
increased involvement by producers in the Board's leadership 
opportunities from the larger production areas.
    Regarding alternatives, one option to the proposed action would be 
to maintain the status quo and not change the Administrative Committee 
structure. This would not alleviate the concerns voiced by the 
Northwest and North Central caucuses for more representation and 
leadership opportunities. The Board also considered combining the 
Southwest caucus into the Northwest caucus. The Board concluded that 
this would cause the Southwest producers to lose their representation 
as there are more Northwest producers and the available seats could 
possibly be absorbed by all Northwest producers. Therefore, the 
proposed recommendation was approved, as it would allow greater 
opportunity for producers from the Board's two largest caucus districts 
to become engaged in the Board's leadership structure. This action 
would also make the representation on the Board more equitable 
according to production.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the information collection and recordkeeping requirements 
that are imposed by the Order have been approved previously under OMB 
control number 0581-0093. This proposed rule would not result in a 
change to the information collection and recordkeeping requirements 
previously approved and would impose no additional reporting and 
recordkeeping burden on potato producers, handlers and importers.
    As with all Federal promotion programs, reports and forms are 
periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and 
duplication by industry and public sector agencies. Finally, USDA has 
not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 
conflict with this proposed rule.
    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.
    Regarding outreach efforts, this action was discussed by the Board 
at meetings over the past year. Board members discussed the changes 
with their respective regions. The Board met in March 2013 and 
unanimously made its recommendation. All of the Board's meetings, 
including meetings held via teleconference, are open to the public and 
interested persons are invited to participate and express their views.
    We have performed this initial RFA regarding the impact of this 
proposed action on small entities and we invite comments concerning 
potential effects of this action on small businesses.
    A 15-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to 
respond to this proposal. Fifteen days is deemed appropriate because 
this rule would need to be in place as soon as possible so the 
additional Vice-Chairperson can participate in Committee meetings. In 
addition, the Board's office has already relocated so the address needs 
to be

[[Page 38848]]

deleted promptly. All written comments timely received will be 
considered before a final determination is made on this matter.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1207

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

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1207 is 
proposed to be 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 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.


Sec.  1207.501  [Removed and Reserved]

0
2. Section 1207.501 is removed and reserved.
0
3. 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 
nine Vice-Chairpersons, one of whom shall also serve as the Secretary 
and Treasurer of the Board.
* * * * *

    Dated: June 24, 2013.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2013-15578 Filed 6-27-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P