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.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

67977 

Vol. 78, No. 219 

Wednesday, November 13, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 905 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0074; FV13–905–3 

PR] 

Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and 

Tangelos Grown in Florida; Increased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

increase the assessment rate established 

for the Citrus Administrative Committee 

(Committee) for the 2013–14 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.008 to 

$0.009 per 4/5 bushel carton of Florida 

citrus handled. The Committee locally 

administers the Federal marketing 

order, which regulates the handling of 

oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and 

tangelos grown in Florida. Assessments 

upon Florida citrus handlers are used by 

the Committee to fund reasonable and 

necessary expenses of the program. The 

fiscal period begins August 1 and ends 

July 31. The assessment rate would 

remain in effect indefinitely unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

November 29, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments on 

this proposed rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Order and Agreement Division, Fruit 

and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: 

(202) 720–8938; or Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Comments should 

reference the document number and the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register and will be 

available for public inspection in the 

Office of the Docket Clerk during regular 

business hours, or can 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 the comments will be made 

public on the internet at the address 

provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Corey E. Elliott, Marketing Specialist, or 

Christian D. Nissen, Regional Director, 

Southeast Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (863) 324– 

3375, Fax: (863) 325–8793, or Email: 

Corey.Elliott@ams.usda.gov or 

Christian.Nissen@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed rule is issued under Marketing 

Order No. 905, as amended (7 CFR part 

905), 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 of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this proposed rule in 

conformance with Executive Orders 

12866 and 13563. 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. Under the marketing 

order now in effect, Florida citrus 

handlers are subject to assessments. 

Funds to administer the order are 

derived from such assessments. It is 

intended that the assessment rate as 

proposed herein would be applicable to 

all assessable Florida citrus beginning 

on August 1, 2013, and continue until 

amended, suspended, or terminated. 

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 USDA 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. Such 

handler is afforded the opportunity for 

a hearing on the petition. After the 

hearing, USDA 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 to 

review USDA’s ruling on the petition, 

provided an action is filed not later than 

20 days after the date of the entry of the 

ruling. 

This proposed rule would increase 

the assessment rate established for the 

Committee for the 2013–14 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.008 to 

$0.009 per 4/5 bushel carton of citrus. 

The Florida citrus marketing order 

provides authority for the Committee, 

with the approval of USDA, to formulate 

an annual budget of expenses and 

collect assessments from handlers to 

administer the program. The members 

of the Committee are producers and 

handlers of Florida citrus. They are 

familiar with the Committee’s needs and 

with the costs of goods and services in 

their local area and are therefore in a 

position to formulate an appropriate 

budget and assessment rate. The 

assessment rate is formulated and 

discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all 

directly affected persons have an 

opportunity to participate and provide 

input. 

For the 2012–13 and subsequent fiscal 

periods, the Committee recommended, 

and USDA approved, an assessment rate 

of $0.08 per 4/5 bushel carton of citrus 

that would continue in effect from fiscal 

period to fiscal period unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated by USDA 

upon recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

information available to USDA. 

The Committee met on July 16, 2013, 

and unanimously recommended 2013– 

14 expenditures of $190,000 and an 

assessment rate of $0.009 per 4/5 bushel 

carton of citrus. In comparison, last 

year’s budgeted expenditures were 

$223,500. The assessment rate of $0.009 

is $0.001 higher than the rate currently 

in effect. Over the past few years, the 

Committee’s reserve has been depleted 

as the Committee has used reserve funds 

to help meet its annual expenditures. 

Therefore, the Committee recommended 

increasing the assessment rate to 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
67978 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

generate additional funds to increase the 

Committee’s reserve balance. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2013–14 year include $92,400 for 

salaries, $25,000 for Florida Department 

of Agriculture and Consumer Services 

(FDACS) manifesting reports and 

statistics, and $13,000 for a retirement 

plan. Budgeted expenses for these items 

in 2012–13 were $116,200, $25,000, and 

$18,250, respectively. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee was derived by 

reviewing anticipated expenses, 

expected shipments of Florida citrus, 

interest income, and the need to add 

additional funds to the reserve. Florida 

citrus shipments for the year are 

estimated at 23.8 million 4/5 bushel 

cartons, which should provide $214,200 

in assessment income. Income derived 

from handler assessments and interest 

income would be adequate to cover 

budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve 

(projected at approximately $40,000) 

would be kept within the maximum 

permitted by the order of not to exceed 

one half of one fiscal period’s expenses 

as stated in § 905.42. 

The proposed assessment rate would 

continue in effect indefinitely unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated by 

USDA upon recommendation and 

information submitted by the 

Committee or other available 

information. 

Although this assessment rate would 

be in effect for an indefinite period, the 

Committee would continue to meet 

prior to or during each fiscal period to 

recommend a budget of expenses and 

consider recommendations to modify 

the assessment rate. The dates and times 

of Committee meetings are available 

from the Committee or USDA. 

Committee meetings are open to the 

public and interested persons may 

express their views at these meetings. 

USDA would evaluate Committee 

recommendations and other available 

information to determine whether 

modification of the assessment rate is 

needed. Further rulemaking would be 

undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s 2013–14 budget and those 

for subsequent fiscal periods would be 

reviewed and, as appropriate, approved 

by USDA. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

considered the economic impact of this 

proposed rule on small entities. 

Accordingly, AMS has prepared this 

initial regulatory flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are 44 Florida citrus handlers 

subject to regulation under the 

marketing order and approximately 

8,000 producers of citrus in the 

production area. Small agricultural 

service firms are defined by the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) as those 

whose annual receipts are less than 

$7,000,000, and small agricultural 

producers are defined as those having 

annual receipts less than $750,000 (13 

CFR 121.201). 

Based on industry and Committee 

data, the average annual f.o.b. price for 

fresh Florida citrus during the 2011–12 

season was approximately $11.79 per 

4/5 bushel carton, and total fresh 

shipments were approximately 29.5 

million cartons. Using the average f.o.b. 

price and shipment data, about 48 

percent of the Florida citrus handlers 

could be considered small businesses 

under SBA’s definition. In addition, 

based on production data, grower prices 

as reported by the National Agricultural 

Statistics Service, and the total number 

of Florida citrus growers, the average 

annual grower revenue is below 

$750,000. Thus, assuming a normal 

distribution, the majority of handlers of 

Florida citrus may be classified as large 

entities and the majority of producers of 

Florida citrus may be classified as small 

entities. 

This proposal would increase the 

assessment rate for the 2013–14 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from the 

current rate of $0.008 to $0.009 per 

4/5 bushel carton of citrus. The 

Committee unanimously recommended 

the increased assessment rate, and 

2013–14 expenditures of $190,000. The 

increase was recommended to generate 

additional funds to add to the 

Committee’s reserve. As previously 

stated, income derived from handler 

assessments and interest would be 

adequate to meet this year’s anticipated 

expenses. 

A review of historical information and 

preliminary information pertaining to 

the upcoming season indicates that the 

grower price for the 2013–14 season 

should average around $5.05 per 4/5 

bushel carton of citrus. Utilizing this 

estimate and the proposed assessment 

rate of $0.009, estimated assessment 

revenue as a percentage of total grower 

revenue would be approximately 0.18 

percent for the season. 

Alternative expenditure and 

assessment levels were discussed prior 

to arriving at this budget. However, the 

Committee agreed on $190,000 in 

expenditures, reviewed the quantity of 

assessable citrus and the need to add 

additional funds to the reserve, and 

recommended an assessment rate of 

$0.009 per 4/5 bushel carton of citrus. 

This action would increase the 

assessment obligation imposed on 

handlers. While assessments impose 

some additional costs on handlers, the 

costs are minimal and uniform on all 

handlers. These costs would be offset by 

the benefits derived from the operation 

of the marketing order. In addition, the 

Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the Florida citrus 

industry and all interested persons were 

invited to attend the meeting and 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the July 16, 2013, meeting was 

a public meeting and all entities, both 

large and small, were able to express 

views on this issue. Finally, interested 

persons are invited to submit comments 

on this proposed rule, including the 

regulatory and informational impacts of 

this action on small businesses. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0189 Generic 

OMB Fruit Crops. No changes in those 

requirements as a result of this action 

are necessary. Should any changes 

become necessary, they would be 

submitted to OMB for approval. 

This proposed rule would impose no 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

Florida citrus handlers. As with all 

Federal marketing order programs, 

reports and forms are periodically 

reviewed to reduce information 

requirements and duplication by 

industry and public sector agencies. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

more opportunities for citizens to access 

Government information and services, 

and for other purposes. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this action. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / Proposed Rules 67979 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Jeffrey Smutny 

at the previously-mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

A 15-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposed rule. Fifteen days is 

deemed appropriate because: (1) The 

2013–14 fiscal period began on August 

1, 2013, with shipments beginning in 

September, and the marketing order 

requires that the rate of assessment for 

each fiscal period apply to all assessable 

Florida citrus handled during such 

fiscal period; (2) the Committee needs to 

have sufficient funds to pay its 

expenses, which are incurred on a 

continuous basis; and (3) handlers are 

aware of this action, which was 

unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at a public meeting and is 

similar to other assessment rate actions 

issued in past years. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 905 

Grapefruit, Oranges, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Tangelos, 

Tangerines. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 905 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 905—ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, 

TANGERINES, AND TANGELOS 

GROWN IN FLORIDA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 905 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 905.235 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 905.235 Assessment rate. 

On and after August 1, 2013, an 

assessment rate of $0.009 per 4/5 bushel 

carton or equivalent is established for 

Florida citrus covered under the order. 

Dated: November 5, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–27018 Filed 11–12–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1211 

[Document Number AMS–FV–11–0074; 

PR–B] 

RIN 0581–AD24 

Hardwood Lumber and Hardwood 

Plywood Promotion, Research and 

Information Order; Referendum 

Procedures 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule invites 

comments on procedures for conducting 

a referendum to determine whether 

issuance of a proposed Hardwood 

Lumber and Hardwood Plywood 

Promotion, Research and Information 

Order (Order) is favored by domestic 

manufacturers of hardwood lumber and 

hardwood plywood. Hardwood lumber 

and hardwood plywood are used in 

products like flooring, furniture, 

moldings, doors, and kitchen cabinets. 

The procedures would also be used for 

any subsequent referendum under the 

Order. The proposed Order is being 

published separately in this issue of the 

Federal Register. This proposed rule 

also announces the Agricultural 

Marketing Service’s (AMS) intent to 

request approval by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) of new 

information collection requirements to 

implement the program. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

January 13, 2014. Pursuant to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 

comments on the information collection 

burden that would result from this 

proposal must be received by January 

13, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments may be 

submitted on the Internet at: http://

www.regulations.gov or to the 

Promotion and Economics Division, 

Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, 

USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Room 1406–S, Stop 0244, 

Washington, DC 20250–0244; facsimile: 

(202) 205–2800. All comments should 

reference the document number and the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register and will be made 

available for public inspection, 

including name and address, if 

provided, in the above office during 

regular business hours or it can be 

viewed at http://www.regulations.gov. 

Pursuant to the PRA, comments 

regarding the accuracy of the burden 

estimate, ways to minimize the burden, 

including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, or any other 

aspect of this collection of information, 

should be sent to the above address. In 

addition, comments concerning the 

information collection should also be 

sent to the Desk Office for Agriculture, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, OMB, New Executive Office 

Building, 725 17th Street NW., Room 

725, Washington, DC 20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patricia A. Petrella, Marketing 

Specialist, Promotion and Economics 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Room 1406, Stop 0244, 

Washington, DC 20250–0244; telephone: 

(301) 334–2891; facsimile (301) 334– 

2896; or electronic mail: 

Patricia.Petrella@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed rule is issued pursuant to the 

Commodity Promotion, Research and 

Information Act of 1996 (1996 Act) 

(7 U.S.C. 7411–7425). 

Executive Order 12866 and Executive 

Order 13563 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. This action 

has been designated as ‘‘non-significant 

regulatory action’’ under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, 

OMB has waived the review process. 

Executive Order 13175 

This action has been reviewed in 

accordance with the requirements of 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments. The review reveals that 

this regulation would not have 

substantial and direct effects on Tribal 

governments and would not have 

significant Tribal implications. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. Section 524 of 

the 1996 Act provides that it shall not 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS