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[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9330-9331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02811]

========================================================================
Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 27 / Friday, February 8, 2013 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 9330]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 27

[Doc. AMS-CN-12-0024]
RIN 0581-AD26

Revision of Regulations Defining Bona Fide Cotton Spot Markets

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is proposing to amend 
the regulation that specifies which states compose bona fide cotton 
spot markets in order to assure consistency with the revised Cotton 
Research and Promotion Act. Updated bona fide spot market definitions 
will allow for published spot quotes to consider spot prices of cotton 
marketed in Kansas and Virginia. AMS is also proposing to amend 
references to the ``New York Cotton Exchange'' to read the 
``Intercontinental Exchange.''

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 11, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may comment on the proposed rule using 
the following procedures:
     Internet: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Comments may be submitted by mail to: Darryl 
Earnest, Deputy Administrator, Cotton & Tobacco Programs, AMS, USDA, 
3275 Appling Road, Room 11, Memphis, TN 38133. Comments should be 
submitted in triplicate. All comments should reference the docket 
number and the date and the page of this issue of the Federal Register. 
All comments will be available for public inspection during regular 
business hours at Cotton & Tobacco Program, AMS, USDA, 3275 Appling 
Road, Memphis, TN 38133. A copy of this notice may be found at: 
www.ams.usda.gov/cotton/rulemaking.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darryl Earnest, Deputy Administrator, 
Cotton & Tobacco Programs, AMS, USDA, 3275 Appling Road, Room 11, 
Memphis, TN 38133. Telephone (901) 384-3060, facsimile (901) 384-3021, 
or email darryl.earnest@ams.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866; and, therefore has not been reviewed 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Executive Order 12988

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
There are no administrative procedures that must be exhausted prior to 
any judicial challenge to the provisions of this rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), AMS has considered the economic impact of 
this action on small entities and has determined that its 
implementation will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small businesses.
    The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
businesses subject to such actions so that small businesses will not be 
disproportionately burdened. There are an estimated 25,000 cotton 
growers in the U.S. who voluntarily use the AMS cotton classing 
services annually, and the majority of these cotton growers are small 
businesses under the criteria established by the Small Business 
Administration (13 CFR 121.201). Revisions to the regulations 
concerning bona fide spot market definitions are necessary to assure 
consistency with the revised Cotton Research and Promotion Act and to 
allow for published spot quotes to consider spot prices of cotton 
marketed in Kansas and Virginia. Changes in spot market definitions as 
stated will not significantly affect small businesses as defined in the 
RFA because:
    (1) How spot prices are estimated are not expected to be impacted 
by this action;
    (2) Business practices of the U.S. cotton industry are not expected 
to change as a result of this action;
    (3) Costs associated with providing market news services will not 
be significantly changed by this action;
    (4) Market news services are paid for by appropriated funds, 
therefore users are not charged fees for the provision of the services.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In compliance with OMB regulations (5 CFR part 1320), which 
implement the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501), the 
information collection requirements contained in the provisions to be 
amended by this proposed rule have been previously approved by OMB and 
were assigned OMB control number 0581-0009, Cotton Classification and 
Market New Service.

Background

    The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized under the United States 
Cotton Futures Act (7 U.S.C. 15b) to designate at least five bona fide 
spot markets from which cotton price information can be collected. A 
spot market--also called the ``cash market'' or ``physical market''--is 
a market where commodities are sold on the spot for cash at current 
market prices and delivered immediately. Designation of these bona fide 
spot markets and the determination of which counties and states compose 
each of these spot markets was most recently published in the Federal 
Register on August 4, 1988 (53 FR 29327). For each of these bona fide 
spot markets, the Cotton and Tobacco Programs of the Agricultural 
Marketing Service collects market price information under the United 
States Cotton Futures Act (7 U.S.C. 15b), the Cotton Statistics and 
Estimates Act (7 U.S.C. 473b) and the Agricultural Marketing Act of 
1946 (7 U.S.C. 1622(g)). This price information is then used to 
calculate price differences for cotton futures contracts.
    The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-234, 
122 Stat. 923, enacted May 22, 2008, H.R. 2419) amended Section 17(f) 
of the Cotton Research and Promotion Act (7 U.S.C. 2116(f)), 
designating Kansas, Virginia, and Florida as cotton producing states 
for purposes of the Cotton Research and Promotion Act. To achieve 
consistency with the revised Cotton Research and Promotion Act and to 
allow for

[[Page 9331]]

published spot quotes to consider spot prices of cotton marketed in the 
aforementioned states, Sec.  27.93 would be amended to add all the 
counties of Virginia to the Southeastern spot market, and Kansas to the 
East Texas and Oklahoma spot market.
    On September 14, 2006, New York Board of Trade--the parent company 
of the New York Cotton Exchange--agreed to become a unit of 
Intercontinental Exchange. This transaction was completed on January 
12, 2007. To reflect this organizational change in the regulations, 
Sec.  27.94 would amend references to the ``New York Cotton Exchange'' 
to read as the ``Intercontinental Exchange.''

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 27

    Commodity futures, Cotton.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 27 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 27--[Amended]

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 27 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 15b, 7 U.S.C. 473b, 7 U.S.C. 1622(g).

0
2. In Sec.  27.93, definitions of the Southeastern market and the East 
Texas and Oklahoma market are revised to read as follows:

Sec.  27.93  Bona fide spot markets.

* * * * *

Southeastern

    All counties in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia and all counties in the state of 
Tennessee east of and including Stewart, Houston, Humphreys, Perry, 
Wayne and Hardin counties.
* * * * *

East Texas and Oklahoma

    All counties in the states of Kansas and Oklahoma and the Texas 
counties east of and including Montague, Wise, Parker, Erath, Comanche, 
Mills, San Saba, Mason, Sutton, Edwards, Kinney, Maverick, Webb, 
Zapata, Star and Hidalgo counties.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec.  27.94, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:

Sec.  27.94  Spot markets for contract settlement purposes.

* * * * *
    (a) For cotton delivered in settlement of any No. 2 contract on the 
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE); Southeastern, North and South Delta, 
Eastern Texas and Oklahoma, West Texas, and Desert Southwest.
* * * * *

    Dated: February 4, 2013.
David R. Shipman,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-02811 Filed 2-7-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
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