Southeastern Potatoes; Expenses and Assessment Rate

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 953

[Docket No. FV95-953-1FIR]

Southeastern Potatoes; 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 expenses and established an assessment rate that

generated funds to pay those expenses. Authorization of this budget

enables the Southeastern 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.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1995, through May 31, 1996.

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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing

Agreement No. 104 and Order No. 953, both as amended (7 CFR part 953),

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in two southeastern

States (Virginia and North Carolina). 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.

[[Page 37935]]

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, Virginia-North Carolina potatoes are subject to assessments. It

is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be

applicable to all assessable potatoes during the 1995-96 fiscal period,

which began June 1, 1995, and ends May 31, 1996. This 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 request 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 150 producers of Southeastern potatoes

under this marketing order, and approximately 60 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 $5,000,000. The majority of

Southeastern potato producers and handlers may be classified as small

entities.

The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared

by the Southeastern 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 Southeastern 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 Southeastern

potatoes, based on last season's assessable shipments of approximately

1,124,736 hundredweight. 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 April 20, 1995, and unanimously recommended a

1995-96 budget of $12,000, $1,000 more than the previous year. The

budget item for 1995-96 which has increased compared to that budgeted

for 1994-95 (in parentheses) is: Manager's salary, $5,800 ($4,800). All

other items are budgeted at last year's amounts.

The Committee also recommended an assessment rate of $0.0050 per

hundredweight, $0.0025 less than last season's rate. When the Committee

met, planting for the 1995 crop had not been completed. Current

indications are that assessable shipments may be slightly higher than

last season and that about $6,000 in assessment income will be

generated. This, along with funds from the Committee's reserve, will be

adequate to cover the expenses incurred. Funds remaining at the end of

the 1995-96 fiscal period should be within the maximum permitted by the

order of approximately one fiscal period's expenses.

An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on June

2, 1995 (60 FR 28701). That interim final rule added Sec. 953.252 to

authorize expenses and establish an assessment rate for the Committee.

That rule provided that interested persons could file comments through

July 3, 1995. 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 rule 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 1995-96 fiscal period began on June 1, 1995. The marketing

order requires that the rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply

to all assessable Irish potatoes handled during the fiscal period. In

addition, handlers are aware of this rule 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 953

Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 953 is

amended as follows:

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

Regulations.

PART 953--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN SOUTHEASTERN STATES

Accordingly, the interim final rule adding Sec. 953.252 which was

published at 60 FR 28701, is adopted as a final rule without change.

Dated: July 20, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95-18245 Filed 7-24-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P