Raisins Produced From Grapes Grown in California; Expenses and Assessment Rate

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7 CFR Part 989

[Docket No. FV93-989-4FIR]

Raisins Produced From Grapes Grown in California; Expenses and

Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a

final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule

that authorized expenditures and established an assessment rate under

Marketing Order No. 989 for the 1993-94 fiscal period. Authorization of

this budget enables the Raisin Administrative Committee (Committee) to

incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the

program. Funds to administer this program are derived from assessments

on handlers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 1, 1993, through July 31, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.

Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone 202-720-

9918, or Richard P. Van Diest, California Marketing Field Office, Fruit

and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, suite 102B, 2202 Monterey Street,

Fresno, CA 93721, telephone 209-487-5901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing

Agreement and Order No. 989 (7 CFR Part 989), regulating the handling

of raisins produced from grapes grown in California. The marketing

agreement and order are 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 is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive

Order 12866.

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. Under the provisions of the marketing order now in

effect, California raisins are subject to assessments. It is intended

that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable to all

assessable raisins handled during the 1993-94 crop year, from August 1,

1993, through July 31, 1994. 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 the Secretary 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 requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted

therefrom. Such handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on

the petition. After the hearing the Secretary 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 in equity to review

the Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is

filed not later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.

Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this rule on small

entities.

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 5,000 producers of California raisins under

this marketing order, and approximately 25 handlers. Small agricultural

producers have been defined by the Small Business Administration (13

CFR 121.601) as those having annual receipts of less than $500,000, and

small agricultural service firms are defined as those whose annual

receipts are less than $3,500,000. The majority of California raisin

producers and handlers may be classified as small entities.

The budget of expenses for the 1993-94 fiscal period was prepared

by the Committee, the agency responsible for local administration of

the marketing order, and submitted to the Department for approval. The

members of the Committee are producers and handlers of California

raisins. They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the

costs of goods and services in their local area and are thus in a

position to formulate an appropriate budget. The budget was formulated

and discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons

have had an opportunity to participate and provide input.

The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by

dividing anticipated expenses by expected acquisitions of California

raisins. Because that rate will be applied to actual acquisitions, it

must be established at a rate that will provide sufficient income to

pay the Committee's expenses.

The Committee met October 5, 1993, and unanimously recommended a

1993-94 budget of $579,060, which is $11,940 less than the previous

year. Increases of $9,200 for executive salaries, $1,100 for fieldman

salaries, $2,500 for payroll taxes, $200 for group retirement, $4,000

for group medical insurance, $1,900 for rent, $100 for audit fees, $800

for objective measurement survey, $9,760 in reserve for contingencies,

and the addition of a $2,500 category for Valley weather service will

be offset by decreases of $5,000 for office salaries, $2,000 for

general insurance, $2,000 for Committee meeting expenses, and $30,000

for research and study for which no funding was recommended this year,

and an increase of $5,000 in the amount of income paid to the Committee

by the California Raisin Advisory Board (Board).

The Board is the administrative agency for the State marketing

order under which the California raisin industry conducts its marketing

promotion and paid advertising. Some of the Committee's employees also

perform services for the Board. Pursuant to an agreement between the

Committee and Board, the Board reimburses the Committee for the

services Committee employees perform for the Board.

Major expense items include $230,000 for executive salaries,

$90,000 for office salaries, $42,600 for fieldmen salaries, and $75,000

for Committee travel. Also, $55,810 is budgeted for contingencies.

The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of

$1.80 per ton, which is $0.20 less than last year. This rate, when

applied to anticipated acquisitions of 321,700 tons, will yield

$579,060 in assessment income, which will be adequate to cover

anticipated expenses. Any unexpended funds from the crop year are

required to be credited or refunded to the handlers from whom

collected.

An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on

December 6, 1993 (58 FR 64107). That interim final rule added

Sec. 989.344 which authorized expenses and established the assessment

rate for the Committee. That rule provided that interested persons

could file comments through January 5, 1994. No comments were received.

While this action will impose some additional costs on handlers,

the costs are in the form of uniform assessments on handlers. Some of

the additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these

costs will be offset by the benefits derived by the operation of the

marketing order. Therefore, the Administrator of the AMS has determined

that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

After consideration of all relevant matter presented, including the

information and recommendations submitted by the Committee and other

available information, it is hereby found that this rule, as

hereinafter set forth, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of

the Act.

It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the

effective date of this action until 30 days after publication in the

Federal Register (5 U.S.C. 553) because the Committee needs to have

sufficient funds to pay its expenses which are incurred on a continuous

basis. The 1993-94 crop year began on August 1, 1993. The marketing

order requires that the rate of assessment for the crop year apply to

assessable raisins handled during the crop year. In addition, handlers

are aware of this action which was recommended by the Committee at a

public meeting and published in the Federal Register as an interim

final rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 989

Grapes, Marketing agreements, Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 989 is

amended as follows:

PART 989--RAISINS PRODUCED FROM GRAPES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 989 continues to read as

follows:

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

Note: This section will not appear in the annual Code of Federal

Regulations.

Accordingly, the interim rule adding Sec. 989.344 which was

published at 58 FR 64107 on December 6, 1993, is adopted as a final

rule without change.

Dated: March 8, 1994.

Martha B. Ransom,

Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 94-6137 Filed 3-15-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P