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. FV95-905-2FIR]

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

Expenses and Assessment Rate for 1995-96 Fiscal Year

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, this provisions of the interim final rule

which authorized expenses and established an assessment rate for the

1994-95 fiscal year under Marketing Order No. 905. Authorization of

this budget enables the Citrus Administration 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: Effective August 1, 1995, through July 31, 1996.

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.

[[Page 40057]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 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 is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive

Order 12866.

This 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 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.

The Committee budget was authorized by an interim final rule issued

on June 22, 1995, and published in the Federal Register [60 FR 33329,

June 28, 1995]. A 30-day comment period was provided for interested

persons. No comments were received.

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 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; and (3)

handlers are aware of this action which was unanimously recommended by

the Committee at a public meeting and published in the Federal Register

as an interim final rule that is adopted in this action as a final rule

without change.

[[Page 40058]]

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

Accordingly, the interim final rule that revised 7 CFR part 905

which was published at 60 FR 33329 on June 28, 1995, is adopted as a

final rule without change.

Dated: July 31, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95-19328 Filed 8-4-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P