# Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Expenses and Assessment Rate > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A94-7692 ## Record - **Collection:** Federal Register - **Document type:** Uncategorized Document - **Published:** March 31, 1994 ## Text DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 946 [Docket No. FV94-946-1IFR] Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Expenses and Assessment Rate AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenditures and establishes an assessment rate under Marketing Order No. 946 for the 1994-95 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the State of Washington Potato 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. DATES: Effective July 1, 1994, through June 30, 1995. Comments received by May 2, 1994, 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 in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, PO Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, FAX 202-720-5698. Comments should reference the docket 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. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, PO Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone 202-720-9918, or Dennis L. West, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, room 369, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, telephone 503-326- 2724. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing Agreement No. 113 and Order No. 946, both as amended (7 CFR part 946), regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Washington. 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 interim final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the provisions of the marketing order now in effect, Washington potatoes are subject to assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable to all assessable potatoes handled during the 1994-95 fiscal period, which begins July 1, 1994, and ends June 30, 1995. This interim final 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 450 producers of Washington potatoes under this marketing order, and approximately 35 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 Washington potato producers and handlers may be classified as small entities. The budget of expenses for the 1994-95 fiscal period was prepared by the State of Washington Potato 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 Washington potatoes. 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 shipments of Washington potatoes. Because that rate will be applied to actual shipments, it must be established at a rate that will provide sufficient income to pay the Committee's expenses. The Committee met February 23, 1994, and unanimously recommended a 1994-95 budget of $38,100, the same as the previous year. The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of $0.005 per hundredweight, the same as last season. This rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of 7.5 million hundredweight, will yield $37,500 in assessment income. This, along with $600 from the Committee's authorized reserve will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve at the beginning of the 1994-95 fiscal period, estimated at $51,953, will be within the maximum permitted by the order of two fiscal periods' expenses. An increase in the 1994-95 budget of $700 for compliance audits, $200 for salary expense, $100 for audit expense, and $500 for postage will be offset by a decrease of $1,000 in committee expense and $500 in the miscellaneous category. Major expense items include $4,000 for Committee member compensation for meeting attendance, $4,000 for Committee member expenses for meeting attendance, $2,000 for surveillance inspection, $1,800 for office supplies, $3,000 for postage, $1,500 for miscellaneous, $1,000 for audit, $2,400 for Washington Potato Commission contract fees, $11,200 for salaries, $1,800 for salary expense, and $5,200 for compliance audits. The Commission provides certain services to the Committee as specified in a memorandum of understanding. While this rule will impose some additional costs on handlers, the costs are in the form of uniform assessments on all 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 rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. After consideration of all relevant material presented, including the information and recommendation 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. 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 Committee needs to have sufficient funds to pay its expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis; (2) the fiscal period begins on July 1, 1994, and the marketing order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply to all assessable potatoes handled during the fiscal period; (3) handlers are aware of this rule which was unanimously recommended by the Committee at a public meeting and is similar to other budget rules issued in past years; and (4) this interim final rule provides a 30-day comment period, and all comments timely received will be considered prior to finalization of this rule. List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 946 Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 946 is amended as follows: PART 946--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN WASHINGTON 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 946 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674. 2. A new Sec. 946.246 is added to read as follows: Note: This section will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations. Sec. 946.246 Expenses and assessment rate. Expenses of $38,100 by the State of Washington Potato Committee are authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.005 per hundredweight of assessable potatoes is established for the fiscal period ending June 30, 1995. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve. Dated: March 25, 1994. Robert C. Keeney, Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division. [FR Doc. 94-7692 Filed 3-30-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-02-P --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A94-7692. Public record. Not legal advice.