Winter Pears Grown in Oregon, Washington, and California; Revision of Reporting Requirements

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7 CFR Part 927

[FV95-927-2FIR]

Winter Pears Grown in Oregon, Washington, and California;

Revision of Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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

which reduced the reporting requirements for handlers who have shipped

less than 2,500 standard western pear boxes during any two-week

reporting period of the shipping season. This action decreases the

reporting burden on such handlers while maintaining the information

collection necessary for the efficient operation of the program. This

rule was recommended by the Winter Pear Control Committee (Committee),

the agency responsible for the local administration of the marketing

order for winter pears.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 27, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britthany Beadle, Marketing

Specialist, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable

Division, AMS, USDA, room 2522-S, PO Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-

6456; telephone: (202) 720-5331; or Teresa L. Hutchinson, Marketing

Specialist, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 1220 SW

Third Avenue, room 369, Portland, Oregon 97204-2807; telephone: (503)

326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing Order

No. 927 (7 CFR part 927), regulating the handling of winter pears grown

in Oregon, Washington, and California, hereinafter referred to as the

``order.'' This 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 rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.

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 request a modification of the order or to be exempted

therefrom. A 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 action 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

[[Page 58200]]

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 90 handlers of winter pears subject to

regulation under the order and approximately 1,800 producers of winter

pears in the regulated production area. Small agricultural service

firms have been defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR

121.601) as those having annual receipts of less than $5,000,000, and

small agricultural producers are defined as those whose annual receipts

are less than $500,000. The majority of winter pear handlers and

producers may be classified as small entities.

This rule finalizes changes in the reporting requirements

prescribed under the winter pear marketing order. The Winter Pear

Control Committee (Comittee) meets prior to each season to consider

recommendations for modification, suspension, or termination of the

regulatory requirements for winter pears which have been issued on a

continuing basis. Committee meetings are open to the public and

interested persons may express their views at these meetings. The

Department reviews Committee recommendations and information submitted

by the Committee and other available information, and determines

whether modification, suspension, or termination of the regulatory

requirements would tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.

The Committee met on June 2, 1995, and unanimously recommended

revising Sec. 927.125 of the winter pear marketing order. This section

governs the reporting requirements for handlers of winter pears.

Section 927.70 authorizes the Committee, subject to the approval of

the Secretary, to request information from handlers necessary to

perform its duties under the order. Section 927.125 provides that each

handler shall furnish to the Committee, as of every other Friday, a

``Handler's Statement of Pear Shipments'' and a ``Handler's Packout

Report'' containing information used by the Committee for the

collection of assessments and the development of statistical data.

This rule revises the reporting requirements to allow handlers who

have shipped less than 2,500 standard western pear boxes during any

two-week period of the shipping season to report less frequently while

maintaining the information collection necessary for the efficient

operation of the program.

The interim final rule was issued on September 11, 1995, and

published in the Federal Register (60 FR 47858, September 15, 1995),

with an effective date of September 15, 1995. That rule amended

Sec. 927.125(d) of the rules and regulations in effect under the order.

That rule provided a 30-day comment period which ended October 16,

1995. No comments were received.

Prior to implementation of the interim final rule, handlers were

required to submit the ``Handler's Statement of Pear Shipments'' and

the ``Handler's Packout Report'' every other Friday regardless of the

quantity of pears shipped in the preceding two-week reporting period.

Industry members have acknowledged that this can be burdensome for

small handlers, who have shipments of less than 2,500 standard western

pear boxes, to report every two-weeks.

The Committee also determined that submission of such winter pear

shipment data of less than 2,500 standard western pear boxes is not

necessary on a biweekly basis for the efficient administration of the

program. As an alternative, handlers may, at their option, not report

until their accumulated shipments reach 2,500 standard western pear

boxes, provided that they submit the following: a ``Handler's Packout

Report'' at the end of harvest which includes a preliminary packout

estimate; a ``Handler's Statement of Pear Shipments'' and a ``Handler's

Packout Report'' after completion of shipments from regular storage

(i.e., non-Controlled Atmosphere storage), at mid-season for Controlled

Atmosphere storage, and at the completion of shipments. If the

preliminary packout estimate varies from the actual shipments, an

explanation of the difference will be required with the final shipment

report. The two final reports shall be marked ``final report'' and

include an explanation of the actual shipments versus the original

estimate, if different.

Information collection requirements will continue to be

periodically reviewed by the Committee to ensure that they place a

minimal burden on handlers required to file the information. Committee

procedures will also continue to be reviewed and streamlined to assure

efficiency in administering information collections. The information

collection requirements contained in these regulations have been

previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and

have been assigned OMB Control Number 0581-0089.

Based on these considerations, the Administrator of the AMS has

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

substantial number of small entities and that the action set forth

herein will benefit producers and handlers of winter pears.

After consideration of all relevant material presented, the

information and recommendations submitted by the Committee, and other

information, it is found that finalizing the interim final rule without

change as published in the Federal Register (60 FR 47858, September 15,

1995) will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 927

Marketing agreements, Pears, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 927 is

amended as follows:

PART 927--WINTER PEARS GROWN IN OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND CALIFORNIA

Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 927 which

was published at 60 FR 47858 on September 15, 1995, is adopted as a

final rule without change.

Dated: November 20, 1995.

Martha B. Ransom,

Acting Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95-28773 Filed 11-24-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P