Expenses and Assessment Rate for Marketing Order Covering Olives Grown in California

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7 CFR Part 932

[Docket No. FV96-932-1FIR]

Expenses and Assessment Rate for Marketing Order Covering Olives

Grown in California

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting without

change, the provisions of an interim final rule, that authorized

expenses and established an assessment rate for the California Olive

Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order No. 932 for the 1996 fiscal

year. The Committee is responsible for local administration of the

marketing order which regulates the handling of the California Olives.

Authorization of this budget enables the 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 beginning January 1, 1996, through December

31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Vawter, California Marketing

Field Office, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey

Street, suite 102B, Fresno, California 93721, telephone 209-487-5901;

or Tershirra T. Yeager, Marketing Order Administration Branch, F&V,

AMS, USDA, PO Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456;

telephone 202-720-5127.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing

Agreement No. 148 and Marketing Order No. 932 (7 CFR part 932), as

amended, regulating the handling of olives grown in California,

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 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, olives grown in California are subject to assessments. It is

intended that the assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable

to all assessable olives during the 1996 fiscal year, beginning January

1, 1996, through December 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. 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 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 5 handlers of olives grown in California who are subject

to regulation under the order and approximately 1,350 producers of

olives in the regulated area. 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

[[Page 17556]]

than $5,000,000. None of the olive handlers may be classified as small

entities, while the majority of olive producers may be classified as

small entities.

The order, administered by the Department, requires that the

assessment rate for a particular fiscal year apply to all assessable

olives handled during the appropriate crop year, which for this season

is August 1, 1995, through July 31, 1996. The budget of expenses for

the 1996 fiscal year was prepared by the Committee and submitted to the

Department for approval. The Committee consists of handlers and

producers. 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 an appropriate budget. The budget was

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 was derived by

dividing anticipated expenses by actual receipts of olives by handlers

during the crop year. Because that rate is applied to actual receipts,

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

to pay the Committee's expected expenses.

The recommended budget and rate of assessment is usually acted upon

by the Committee after the crop year begins and before the fiscal year

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

budget and assessment rate approval must be expedited so that the

Committee will have funds to pay its expenses.

The Committee met on December 14, 1995, and recommended 1996

marketing order expenditures of $2,600,785 for its budget. This is

$280,865 less in expenses than the previous year. The major budget

categories for the 1996 fiscal year include administration ($388,350),

research ($213,000), and market development ($1,999,435).

The Committee also recommended an assessment rate of $28.26 per ton

covering olives from the appropriate crop year. This is $1.78 less than

last year's assessment rate of $30.04. The assessment rate, when

applied to actual handler receipts of 62,182 tons from the 1995 olive

crop year, would yield $1,757,726 in assessment income. This along with

approximately $829,000 from the Committee's authorized reserves will be

adequate to cover estimated expenses. Reserve funds forwarded from the

1995 fiscal year are estimated at $210,000 which is within the maximum

permitted by the order of one fiscal year's expenses.

An interim final rule was issued on February 12, 1996, and

published in the Federal Register (61 FR 6306; February 20, 1996). That

rule provided a 30-day comment period which ended March 21, 1996. 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 Committee's recommendation, and other available information, it is

found that this final 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 because: (1) The Committee needs to have sufficient

funds to pay its expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis; (2)

the 1996 fiscal year began on January 1, 1996, and the marketing order

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

assessable olives handled during the fiscal year; (3) handlers are

aware of this rule which was recommended by the Committee at a public

meeting; and (4) an interim final rule was published in the Federal

Register providing a 30-day comment period, and no comments were

received.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 932

Marketing agreements, Olives, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR parts 932 are

amended as follows:

PART 932--OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA

Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 932 which

was published at 61 FR 6306 on February 20, 1996, is adopted as a final

rule without change.

Dated: April 16, 1996.

Eric M. Forman,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 96-9827 Filed 4-19-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P