Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida; Expenses and Assessment Rate for 1995-96 Fiscal Year

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 905

[Docket No. FV95-905-2IFR]

Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida;

Expenses and Assessment Rate for 1995-96 Fiscal Year

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenses and establishes an

assessment rate for the 1995-96 fiscal year under Marketing Order No.

905. Authorization of this budget enables the Citrus 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.

DATES: Effective August 1, 1995, through July 31, 1996. Comments

received by July 28, 1995, will be considered prior to any finalization

on this interim final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments

concerning this rule to: Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division,

AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456 or by

Fax: (202) 720-5698. Three copies of all written material shall be

submitted, and they will be made available for public inspection in the

office of the Docket Clerk during regular business hours. All comments

should reference the docket number, date, and page number of this issue

of the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caroline C. Thorpe, Marketing Order

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

Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202)

720-5127; or William Pimenthal, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Fruit

& Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida

33883-2276; telephone: (813) 299-4770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This interim final rule is issued under

Marketing Agreement and Marketing Order No. 905 (7 CFR part 905), as

amended, regulating the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines,

and tangelos grown in Florida, hereinafter referred to as the order.

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 Department of Agriculture (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 marketing order provisions now

in effect, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in

Florida are subject to assessments. It is intended that the assessment

rate as issued herein will be applicable to all assessable citrus fruit

during the 1995-96 fiscal year, beginning August 1, 1995, through July

31, 1996. 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 8c(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 date of the entry of the ruling.

Pursuant to 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 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 100 citrus handlers subject to regulation

under the marketing order covering fresh oranges, grapefruit,

tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida, and approximately 10,200

producers of these fruits in Florida. 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 $5,000,000. A minority of these handlers and a majority

of these producers may be classified as small entities.

This marketing order, administered by the Department, requires that

the assessment rate for a particular fiscal period shall apply to all

assessable citrus fruit handled from the beginning of such period. An

annual budget of expenses and assessment rate is prepared by the

Committee and submitted to the Department for [[Page 33330]] approval.

The Committee members are handlers and producers of Florida citrus.

They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the costs for

goods, services, and personnel in their local area and are thus in a

position to formulate appropriate budgets. The budget is formulated and

discussed in public meetings. Thus, all directly affected persons have

an opportunity to participate and provide input.

The assessment rate recommended by the Committee is derived by

dividing anticipated expenses by the expected cartons (\4/5\ bushels)

of fruit shipped. Because that rate is applied to actual shipments, it

must be established at a rate which will produce sufficient income to

pay the Committee's expected expenses. The annual budget and assessment

rate are usually recommended by the Committee shortly before a season

starts, and expenses are incurred on a continuous basis. Therefore,

budget and assessment rate approvals must be expedited so that the

Committee will have funds to pay its expenses.

The Committee met May 23, 1995, and unanimously recommended

expenses of $215,000 for the 1995-96 fiscal year, with an assessment

rate of $0.00325 per \4/5\ bushel carton of fresh fruit shipped.

In comparison, 1994-95 budget expenses were $210,000 with an

approved assessment of $0.003. Thus, for the 1995-96 fiscal year,

expenses are being increased $5,000 and the assessment rate is being

increased $0.00025 from the levels established in 1994-95.

The assessment rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of

66,000,000 cartons of assessable fruit, will yield a total of $214,500

in assessment income. Interest income for 1995-96 is estimated at

$3,500. Income will be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. Funds in

the reserve at the end of the 1995-96 fiscal year, estimated at

$100,000, will be within the maximum permitted by the order of

approximately one-half of one fiscal year's expenses.

Major expense categories for the 1995-96 fiscal year include

$101,740 for salaries, $36,000 for the Manifest Department, and $13,350

for insurance and bonds.

While this action 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 from 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 material presented, including

the information and recommendation submitted by the Committee and other

available information, it is hereby found that this interim final 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 action 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

1995-96 fiscal year begins on August 1, 1995, and the marketing order

requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal year apply to all

assessable oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos handled during

the fiscal year; (3) handlers are aware of this action which was

unanimously recommended by the Committee at a public meeting and is

similar to other budget actions 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

action.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 905

Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, Oranges, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Tangelos, Tangerines.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 905 is

amended as follows:

PART 905--ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, TANGERINES, AND TANGELOS GROWN IN

FLORIDA

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 905 continues to read as

follows:

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

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

Regulations.

2. A new Sec. 905.234 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 905.234 Expenses and assessment rate.

Expenses of $215,000 by the Citrus Administrative Committee are

authorized and an assessment rate of $0.00325 per \4/5\ bushel carton

of assessable fruit is established for the fiscal year ending July 31,

1996. Any unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.

Dated: June 22, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95-15859 Filed 6-27-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P