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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 49 (Monday, March 14, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13530-13532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5715]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1206

[Doc No. AMS-FV-10-0092]

Mango Promotion, Research, and Information Order; Reapportionment

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule proposes to adjust the number of members on the 
National Mango Board (Board) from 20 to 18 to reflect the elimination 
of two non-voting wholesaler/retailer positions. In accordance with the 
Mango Promotion, Research, and Information Order (Order), which is 
authorized under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act 
of 1996 (Act), a review of the composition of the Board must be 
conducted every five years. The Board has reviewed the production 
volumes and geographical distribution of domestic and imported mangos, 
and submitted this information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
with a recommendation that no changes be made to the number of 
importer, first handler, or producer seats on the Board. However, the 
Board recommends elimination of two non-voting wholesaler/retailer 
positions that have not been filled since 2007.

DATES: Comments must be received by April 13, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov. Comments may also be sent to the Research and 
Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Room 0632-S, Stop 0244, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20250-0244; fax: 202-205-2800. All comments should 
reference the document number and the date and page number of this 
issue of the Federal Register. Comments will be made available for 
public inspection in the above office during regular business hours, or 
may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov. All comments submitted in 
response to this proposed rule will be included in the record and will 
be made available to the public. Please be advised that the identity of 
the individuals or entities submitting comments will be made public on 
the Internet at the address provided above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Veronica Douglass, Marketing 
Specialist, Research and Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable 
Programs, AMS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 0244, Room 0632-S, 
1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0244; telephone: 
888-720-9917; fax: 202-205-2800; or e-mail: 
veronica.douglass@ams.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under the Mango 
Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order (Order) [7 CFR part 
1206]. The Order is authorized by the Commodity Promotion, Research, 
and Information Act of 1996 (Act) [7 U.S.C. 7411-7425].

Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has waived the review 
process required by Executive Order 12866 for this action.

Executive Order 12988

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. It is not intended to have a retroactive effect.
    Section 524 of the Act provides that the Act shall not affect or 
preempt any other State or Federal law authorizing promotion or 
research relating to an agricultural commodity.
    Under the Act, a person subject to an order may file a petition 
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Department) stating that an 
order, any provision of an order, or any obligation imposed in 
connection with an order, is not established in accordance with the 
law, and requesting a modification of an order or an exemption from an 
order. Any petition filed challenging an order, any provision of an 
order, or any obligation imposed in connection with an order, shall be 
filed within two years after the effective date of an order, provision, 
or obligation subject to challenge in the petition. The petitioner will 
have the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. Thereafter, the 
Department will issue a ruling on the petition. The Act provides that 
the district court of the United States for any district in which the 
petitioner resides or conducts business shall have the jurisdiction to 
review a final ruling on the petition, if the petitioner files a 
complaint for that purpose not later than 20 days after the date of the 
entry of the Department's final ruling.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 
601-612), AMS has considered the economic impact of this rule on small 
entities that would be affected by this rule. The purpose of the RFA is 
to fit regulatory action to scale on businesses subject to such action, 
so that small businesses will not be disproportionately burdened.
    The Small Business Administration defines small agricultural 
producers as those having annual receipts of no more than $750,000, and 
small agricultural service firms as those having annual receipts of no 
more than $7 million (13 CFR part 121). First handlers, importers, 
wholesalers, and retailers would be considered agricultural service 
firms. Currently, fewer than five first handlers and 193 importers are 
subject to assessment under the Order. The majority of producers would 
be considered small businesses. The majority of these first handlers 
and importers would be considered small businesses, while wholesalers 
and retailers would not.
    First handlers and importers who market or import less than 500,000 
pounds of mangos annually are exempt from the assessment. Mangos that 
are exported out of the United States are also exempt from assessment. 
In addition, domestic producers, foreign producers, wholesalers, and 
retailers are not subject to assessment under the Order, but such 
individuals are eligible to serve on the Board along with importers and 
first handlers.
    Section 1206.30 (c) of the Order requires that the Board review the 
volume and geographical distribution of mango production and imports at 
least once every five years. If warranted, the Board will recommend to 
the Department that membership on the Board be altered to reflect any 
changes

[[Page 13531]]

in the volume and geographical distribution of mango production and 
imports.
    The Order currently provides for a Board of 20 members including 
eight importers, one first handler, two domestic producers, seven 
foreign producers, and two non-voting wholesalers and/or retailers. At 
its November 16, 2010 meeting, the Board reviewed the volume and 
geographic distribution of mango production and imports from 2006 
through 2009. Based on U.S. Customs data, the volume of mango imports 
to the U.S. declined from 666,772,761 pounds in 2006 to 627,271,605 
pounds in 2009. The Board's eight importer seats are allocated based on 
the volume of mangos imported into each of the four Districts defined 
in the Order. The current allocation is two seats for District I, three 
seats for District II, two seats for District III, and one seat for 
District IV. The percentage of the total mango import volume imported 
into District I remained at 25 percent from 2006 to 2009. Imports into 
District II grew from 35 percent of the total in 2006 to 41 percent in 
2009. Imports into District III fell from 28 percent of the total in 
2006 to 23 percent in 2009. Imports into District IV fell from 12 
percent of the total in 2006 to 11 percent in 2009. Much of the 
domestic mango production was adversely affected by Hurricanes during 
the early 2000s. Accordingly, data provided by the Board shows that in 
2006, no assessments were collected on domestic mangos, while in 2009 
assessments were collected on 1,539,306 pounds of domestic mangos. 
After reviewing the data regarding mango imports and domestic 
production, the Board voted to recommend that no changes be made at 
this time to the number of importer, first handler, domestic producer, 
or foreign producer seats; or to the allocation of importer seats among 
the four districts.
    At the same meeting, the board voted to request elimination of the 
wholesaler/retailer positions from the Order. These positions were 
included so that the board would include members with direct customer 
sales experience. The Board has made numerous attempts to nominate 
individuals to those positions; however, wholesalers and retailers are 
not interested in or do not have the time to serve on the Board. As a 
result, the two wholesaler/retailer positions have been vacant since 
2008. These two positions do not represent assessment payers. If the 
wholesaler/retailer positions are eliminated, the Board would consist 
of a total of 18 members including eight importers, one first handler, 
two domestic producers, and seven foreign producers.
    Nominations and appointments to the Board are conducted pursuant to 
sections 1206.31 and 1206.33 of the Order. Appointments to the Board 
are made by the Secretary from a slate of nominated candidates. 
Pursuant to section 1206.31 of the Order, candidates for the importer, 
first handler, and domestic producer positions are nominated by their 
peers. Nominations for the foreign producer positions are solicited 
from foreign mango producer organizations. The Board nominates the 
wholesaler/retailer members. The Order requires that two nominees be 
submitted for each vacant position.
    In accordance with OMB regulation [5 CFR part 1320], which 
implements information collection requirements imposed by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.], there are no new 
requirements contained in this rule. In fact a decrease of .33 hours in 
the information collection burden for the mango program is expected. 
The information collection requirements have been previously approved 
by OMB under OMB control number 0581-0093.
    The Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules that 
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule.

Background

    The Order, which became effective November 3, 2004, is authorized 
under the Act and administered by the Board. The Order provides for a 
20-member Board consisting of eight importers, one first handler, two 
domestic producers, seven foreign producers, and two non-voting 
wholesalers and/or retailers.
    Under the Order, the Board administers a nationally coordinated 
program of promotion, research, and information designed to strengthen 
the position of mangos in the marketplace and to develop, maintain, and 
expand the demand for mangos in the United States. The program is 
financed by an assessment of \1/2\ cent per pound on first handlers and 
importers who market or import 500,000 pounds or more of mangos 
annually. Under the Order, first handlers remit assessments directly to 
the Board, and assessments paid by importers are collected and remitted 
by the United States Customs Service.
    Pursuant to section 1206.30(c) of the Order, at least once in each 
five-year period, the Board shall review the volume and geographical 
distribution of mango production and imports and, if warranted, make a 
recommendation to the Secretary to alter the Board's membership. On 
November 16, 2010, at its fall meeting, the Board voted to recommend 
that no changes be made to the importer, first handler, domestic 
producer, or foreign producer positions, but that the non-voting 
wholesaler/retailer positions be eliminated. If the wholesaler/retailer 
positions are eliminated, the Board's membership would be reduced from 
20 to 18.
    Accordingly, the proposed rule would delete the definition of 
retailer in section 1206.19 and wholesaler in section 1206.24 and 
references to wholesalers in sections 1206.31 and 1206.32.
    A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to 
respond to this proposal. Thirty days is deemed appropriate so that the 
proposed amendments, if adopted, may be implemented before the Board's 
2012 term of office, which begins on January 1, 2012. All written 
comments received in response to this rule by the date specified will 
be considered prior to finalizing this action.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1206

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Consumer 
information, Marketing agreements, Mango Promotion, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 1206 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 1206--MANGO PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1206 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411-7425 and 7 U.S.C. 7401.

Sec.  1206.19  [Reserved]

    2. Remove and reserve Sec.  1206.19.

Sec.  1206.24  [Reserved]

    3. Remove and reserve Sec.  1206.24.
    4. Amend Sec.  1206.30 by revising paragraph (a) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  1206.30  Establishment of the National Mango Promotion Board.

    (a) Establishment of the National Mango Promotion Board. There is 
hereby established a National Mango Promotion Board composed of eight 
importers, one first handler, two domestic producers, and seven foreign 
producers. The chairperson shall reside in the United States and the 
Board office shall also be located in the United States.
* * * * *

[[Page 13532]]

Sec.  1206.31  [Amended]

    5. Amend Sec.  1206.31 by removing paragraph (h), and redesignating 
paragraph (i) as paragraph (h).
    6. Revise Sec.  1206.32 to read as follows:

Sec.  1206.32  Term of office.

    The term of office for first handler, importer, domestic producer, 
and foreign producer members of the Board will be three years, and 
these members may serve a maximum of two consecutive three-year terms. 
When the Board is first established, the first handler, two importers, 
one domestic producer, and two foreign producers will be assigned 
initial terms of four years; three importers, one domestic producer, 
and two foreign producers will be assigned initial terms of three 
years; and three importers and three foreign producers will be assigned 
initial terms of two years. Thereafter, each of these positions will 
carry a full three-year term. Members serving initial terms of two or 
four years will be eligible to serve a second term of three years. Each 
term of office will end on December 31, with new terms of office 
beginning on January 1.

    Dated: March 4, 2011.
Rayne Pegg,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-5715 Filed 3-11-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
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