[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 66 (Thursday, April 8, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18216-18218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07218]


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 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. 86, No. 66 / Thursday, April 8, 2021 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 18216]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 932

[Doc. No. AMS-SC-20-0102; SC21-932-1 PR]


Olives Grown in California; Increased Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would implement a recommendation from the 
California Olive Committee (Committee) to increase the assessment rate 
established for the 2021 and subsequent fiscal years. The proposed 
assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, 
suspended, or terminated.

DATES: Comments must be received by May 24, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this proposed rule. Comments must be sent to the Docket 
Clerk, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Specialty Crops Program, 
AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 0237, Washington, DC 
20250-0237; or internet: https://www.regulations.gov. Comments should 
reference the document 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, or can be viewed at: https://www.regulations.gov. All comments 
submitted in response to this rule will be included in the record and 
will be made available to the public. Please be advised that the 
identity of the individuals or entities submitting the comments will be 
made public on the internet at the address provided above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bianca Bertrand, Management and 
Program Analyst, California Marketing Field Office, or Andrew Hatch, 
Deputy Director, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Specialty 
Crops Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 356-8202 or emails: 
[email protected] or [email protected].
    Small businesses may request information on complying with this 
regulation by contacting Richard Lower, Marketing Order and Agreement 
Division, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue 
SW, STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720-2491, or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, 
proposes to amend regulations issued to carry out a marketing order as 
defined in 7 CFR 900.2(j). This proposed rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Order No. 932, as amended (7 CFR part 932), regulating 
the handling of olives grown in California. Part 932 (referred to as 
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 Committee locally administers the Order and is 
comprised of producers and handlers of olives operating within the 
production area.
    The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing this proposed rule 
in conformance with Executive Orders 13563 and 13175. This proposed 
rule falls within a category of regulatory actions that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) exempted from Executive Order 12866 review.
    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. Under the Order now in effect, California olive 
handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the Order are 
derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate 
would be applicable to all assessable olives for the 2021 fiscal year 
and continue until amended, suspended, or terminated.
    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. Such 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 no later than 20 days after the date of the 
entry of the ruling.
    This proposed rule would increase the assessment rate from $15.00 
per ton of assessable olives, the rate that was established for the 
2020 and subsequent fiscal years, to $30.00 per ton of assessable 
olives for the 2021 and subsequent fiscal years.
    The Order authorizes the Committee, with the approval of USDA, to 
formulate an annual budget of expenses and collect assessments from 
handlers to administer the program. The members are familiar with the 
Committee's needs and with the costs of goods and services in their 
local area and are able to formulate an appropriate budget and 
assessment rate. The assessment rate is formulated and discussed in a 
public meeting and all directly affected persons have an opportunity to 
participate and provide input.
    For the 2020 and subsequent fiscal years, the Committee 
recommended, and USDA approved, an assessment rate of $15.00 per ton of 
assessable olives. That assessment rate continues in effect from fiscal 
year to fiscal year unless modified, suspended, or terminated by USDA 
upon recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other 
information available to USDA.
    The Committee met on December 8, 2020, and unanimously recommended 
expenditures of $1,151,832, and an assessment rate of $30.00 per ton of 
assessable olives handled for the 2021 and subsequent fiscal years. In 
comparison, last year's budgeted expenditures were $1,035,406. The 
proposed assessment rate of $30.00 is $15.00 higher than the rate 
currently in effect. Handlers received 23,193 tons of assessable olives 
for the 2020 crop year. This is substantially less than the volume for 
the 2019 crop year, which was 81,689 tons of assessable olives.
    The Committee recommended increasing the assessment rate due to the 
smaller crop. The proposed

[[Page 18217]]

assessment rate and funds from the reserve would cover the Committee's 
budgeted expenses for the 2021 fiscal year. Funds in the reserve are 
expected to remain within the Order's requirement of no more than 
approximately one fiscal year's budgeted expenses.
    The Order has both a fiscal year and a crop year that are 
independent of each other. The crop year is a 12-month period that 
begins on August 1 of each year and ends on July 31 of the following 
year. The fiscal year is the 12-month period that begins on January 1 
and ends on December 31 of each year.
    Olives are an alternate-bearing crop, with a small crop followed by 
a large crop. For the Committee, the actual crop year receipts, along 
with the proposed budget, are used to determine the assessment rate for 
the following fiscal year. The Committee expects fluctuations in the 
assessment rate, given the alternate-bearing characteristics of olives.
    The major expenditures recommended by the Committee for the 2021 
fiscal year include $531,300 for general administration expenses, 
$48,000 for inspection expenses, $334,532 for research, and $238,000 
for marketing expenses. Budgeted expenses for these items for the 2020 
fiscal year were $631,300, $55,000, $225,606, and $123,500 
respectively.
    The Committee derived the recommended assessment rate by 
considering anticipated fiscal year expenses, actual olive tonnage 
received by handlers during the 2020 crop year, and the amount of funds 
available in the authorized reserve. Income derived from handler 
assessments, calculated at $695,790 (23,193 tons assessable olives 
multiplied by $30.00 assessment rate), along with funds from the 
Committee's authorized reserve of $456,042, would be adequate to cover 
budgeted expenses of $1,151,832.
    The assessment rate proposed in this rule would continue in effect 
indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated by USDA 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 will continue to meet prior to or during each 
fiscal year 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 USDA. 
Committee meetings are open to the public and interested persons may 
express their views at these meetings. USDA 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. The Committee's 2021 fiscal year budget, 
and those for subsequent fiscal years, would be reviewed and, as 
appropriate, approved by USDA.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 
has considered the economic impact of this proposed rule 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 
businesses 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.
    There are approximately 800 producers of olives in the production 
area and two handlers subject to the regulation under the Order. Small 
agricultural producers are defined by the Small Business Administration 
(SBA) as those having annual receipts of less than $1,000,000, and 
small agricultural service firms have been defined as those whose 
annual receipts are less than $30,000,000 (13 CFR 121.201).
    According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 
the national average producer price for olives for the 2020 crop year 
was $791.00 per ton, and total assessable volume for the 2020 crop year 
was 23,193 tons. The total 2020 value of the olive crop was $18,345,663 
(23,193 tons times $791.00 per ton). Dividing the crop value by the 
estimated number of producers (800) yields an estimated average receipt 
per producer of $22,932, which classifies all olive producers as small 
agricultural producers.
    Based on information from the Committee regarding the volume 
handled by each handler, neither handler can be classified as a small 
agricultural service firm.
    As noted above, the average price received per ton by producers in 
the preceding crop year was $791.00 per ton of assessable olives. Given 
the total crop received by handlers of 23,193 tons, the total producer 
revenue is expected to be $18,345,663. The total assessment revenue is 
expected to be $695,790 (23,193 tons times $30.00 per ton). Thus, the 
total assessment revenue compared to total producer revenue is 0.038 
percent.
    This proposal would increase the assessment rate collected from 
handlers for the 2021 and subsequent fiscal years from $15.00 to $30.00 
per ton of assessable olives. The Committee unanimously recommended 
2021 expenditures of $1,151,832 and an assessment rate of $30.00 per 
ton of assessable olives. The proposed assessment rate of $30.00 per 
ton of assessable olives is $15.00 higher than the current rate. The 
volume of assessable olives from the 2020 fiscal year is 23,193 tons. 
Thus, the $30.00 per ton assessment rate would provide $695,790 in 
assessment income (23,193 tons assessable olives multiplied by $30.00 
assessment rate). Income derived from handler assessments, along with 
funds from the Committee's authorized reserve, would be adequate to 
cover budgeted expenses for the 2021 fiscal year.
    The major expenditures recommended by the Committee for the 2021 
fiscal year include $531,300 for general administration expenses, 
$48,000 for inspection expenses, $334,532 for research, and $238,000 
for marketing expenses. Budgeted expenses for these items in the 2020 
fiscal year were $631,300, $55,000, $225,606, and $123,500 
respectively.
    The Committee recommended increasing the assessment rate to provide 
adequate income to cover the Committee's budgeted expenses for the 2021 
fiscal year while maintaining its financial reserve within the 
requirements of the Order.
    Prior to arriving at this budget and assessment rate 
recommendation, the Committee received information from its Executive, 
Marketing, and Research subcommittees. At each subcommittee meeting, 
the members discussed various alternatives to both the assessment rate 
and the programs under their purview. The subcommittees deliberated the 
alternatives relative to their needs and the costs of the programs they 
oversee. The Research subcommittee, for example, discussed the 
production research proposals, their relative values, whether the costs 
associated with each project was appropriate, whether the project was 
appropriate in scale, and whether the project met the industry's needs. 
These types of deliberations are part of the annual discussion held by 
each subcommittee. The subcommittees then report their conclusions and 
recommendations to the Committee.

[[Page 18218]]

    Given all the information available to the Committee and its own 
deliberations, the Committee makes a recommendation to USDA on the 
assessment rate and the proposed budget.
    This proposed rule would increase the assessment obligation imposed 
on handlers. Assessments are applied uniformly on all handlers, and 
some of the costs may be passed on to producers. However, these costs 
would be offset by the benefits derived by the operation of the Order.
    The various subcommittees' meetings and the Committee's meeting 
were widely publicized throughout the California olive industry. All 
interested persons were invited to attend the meetings and encouraged 
to participate in any deliberations on all issues. Like all meetings, 
the subcommittee meetings held on November 5, 2020, and the full 
Committee meeting held on December 8, 2020, were public meetings and 
all entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this 
issue. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on this 
proposed rule, including the regulatory and information collection 
impacts of this action on small businesses.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the Order's information collection requirements have been 
previously approved by the OMB and assigned OMB No. 0581-0178, 
Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No changes in those requirements would 
be necessary as a result of this proposed rule. Should any changes 
become necessary, they would be submitted to OMB for approval.
    This proposed rule would not impose any additional reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large California olive 
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.
    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.
    USDA has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, 
overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule.
    A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and 
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: 
https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses. Any 
questions about the compliance guide should be sent to Richard Lower at 
the previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.
    A 45-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to 
respond to this proposed rule. All written comments timely received 
will be considered before a final determination is made on this matter.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 932

    Marketing agreements, Olives, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 932 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 932--OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA.

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 932 continues to read as 
follows:

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

0
2. Section 932.230 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  932.230  Assessment rate.

    On and after January 1, 2021, an assessment rate of $30.00 per ton 
is established for California olives.

Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-07218 Filed 4-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P