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

18211 

Vol. 79, No. 62 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 28 

[AMS–CN–13–0085] 

RIN 0581–AD35 

User Fees for 2014 Crop Cotton 

Classification Services to Growers 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) is proposing to maintain 

user fees for cotton producers for 2014 

crop cotton classification services under 

the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act 

at the same level as in 2013. These fees 

are also authorized under the Cotton 

Standards Act of 1923. The 2013 crop 

user fee was $2.20 per bale, and AMS 

proposes to continue the fee for the 

2014 cotton crop at that same level. This 

proposed fee and the existing reserve 

are sufficient to cover the costs of 

providing classification services for the 

2014 crop, including costs for 

administration and supervision. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 16, 2014. 

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. 

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 and Executive 

Order 13563 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct agencies to access 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, reducing costs, 

harmonizing rules, and promoting 

flexibility. This action has been 

designated as a ‘‘non-significant 

regulatory action’’ under § 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866 and therefore 

has not been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

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. 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 20,000 cotton growers in 

the U.S. who voluntarily use the AMS 

cotton classing services annually, and 

the majority of these cotton growers are 

small business entities under the criteria 

established by the Small Business 

Administration (13 CFR 121.201). Small 

business entities that are growers in the 

U.S. cotton industry are defined as 

having annual receipts less than $750 

thousand. Continuing the user fee at the 

2013 crop level as stated will not 

significantly affect small businesses as 

defined in the RFA because: 

(1) The fee represents a very small 

portion of the cost per-unit currently 

borne by those entities utilizing the 

services. (The 2013 user fee for 

classification services was $2.20 per 

bale; the fee for the 2014 crop would be 

maintained at $2.20 per bale; the 2014 

crop is estimated at 13,400,000 bales); 

(2) The fee for services will not affect 

competition in the marketplace; 

(3) The use of classification services is 

voluntary. For the 2013 crop, 

approximately 12,600,000 bales were 

produced; and, almost all of these bales 

were voluntarily submitted by growers 

for the classification service; and 

(4) Based on the average price paid to 

growers for cotton from the 2012 crop of 

0.7477 cents per pound, 500 pound 

bales of cotton are worth an average of 

$373.85 each. The proposed user fee for 

classification services, $2.20 per bale, is 

a little more than one half percent of the 

value of an average bale of cotton. 

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 are currently approved by 

OMB and assigned OMB control number 

0581–0008, Cotton Classing, Testing, 

And Standards. 

Fees for Classification Under the Cotton 

Statistics and Estimates Act of 1927 

This proposed rule would maintain 

the 2013 user fee of $2.20 per bale as the 

fee charged producers for the 

classification of the 2014 cotton crop. 

The 2014 user fee was set in accordance 

to requirements in the Cotton Statistics 

and Estimates Act as amended by the 

provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill [Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

(Sec. 14201 3a)]. Amendments based on 

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18212 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

Section 14201 of the 2008 Farm Bill 

provided that: (1) the Secretary shall 

make available cotton classification 

services to producers of cotton, and 

provide for the collection of 

classification fees from participating 

producers or agents that voluntarily 

agree to collect and remit the fees on 

behalf of the producers; (2) 

classification fees collected and the 

proceeds from the sales of samples 

submitted for classification shall, to the 

extent practicable, be used to pay the 

cost of the services provided, including 

administrative and supervisory costs; (3) 

the Secretary shall announce a uniform 

classification fee and any applicable 

surcharge for classification services not 

later than June 1 of the year in which 

the fee applies; and (4) in establishing 

the amount of fees under this section, 

the Secretary shall consult with 

representatives of the United States 

cotton industry. At pages 313–314, the 

Joint Explanatory Statement of the 

committee of conference for section 

14201 stated the expectation that the 

cotton classification fee would continue 

to be a basic, uniform fee per bale fee 

as determined necessary to maintain 

cost-effective cotton classification 

service. Further, in consulting with the 

cotton industry, the Secretary should 

demonstrate the level of fees necessary 

to maintain effective cotton 

classification services and provide the 

Department of Agriculture with an 

adequate operating reserve, while also 

working to limit adjustments in the 

year-to-year fee. 

Under the provisions the Cotton 

Statistics and Estimates Act as amended 

by the section 14201 of the 2008 Farm 

Bill, a user fee (dollar amount per bale 

classed) is proposed for the 2014 cotton 

crop that, when combined with other 

sources of revenue, will result in 

projected revenues sufficient to 

reasonably cover budgeted costs— 

adjusted for inflation—and allow for 

adequate operating reserves to be 

maintained. Costs considered in this 

method include salaries, costs of 

equipment and supplies, and other 

overhead costs, such as facility costs 

and costs for administration and 

supervision. In addition to covering 

expected costs, the user fee is set such 

that projected revenues will generate an 

operating reserve adequate to effectively 

manage uncertainties related to crop 

size and cash-flow timing. Furthermore, 

the operating reserve is expected to 

meet minimum reserve requirements set 

by the Agricultural Marketing Service, 

which require maintenance of a reserve 

fund amount equal to at least four 

months of projected operating costs. 

The user fee proposed to be charged 

cotton producers for cotton 

classification in 2014 is $2.20 per bale, 

which is the same fee charged for the 

2013 crop. This fee is based on the 

preseason projection that 13,400,000 

bales will be classed by the United 

States Department of Agriculture during 

the 2014 crop year. 

Accordingly, § 28.909, paragraph (b) 

would reflect the continuation of the 

cotton classification fee at $2.20 per 

bale. 

As provided for in the 1987 Act, a 5 

cent per bale discount would continue 

to be applied to voluntary centralized 

billing and collecting agents as specified 

in § 28.909(c). 

Growers or their designated agents 

receiving classification data would 

continue to incur no additional fees if 

classification data is requested only 

once. The fee for each additional 

retrieval of classification data in 

§ 28.910 would remain at 5 cents per 

bale. The fee in § 28.910(b) for an owner 

receiving classification data from the 

National Database would remain at 5 

cents per bale, and the minimum charge 

of $5.00 for services provided per 

monthly billing period would remain 

the same. The provisions of § 28.910(c) 

concerning the fee for new classification 

memoranda issued from the National 

Database for the business convenience 

of an owner without reclassification of 

the cotton will remain the same at 15 

cents per bale or a minimum of $5.00 

per sheet. 

The fee for review classification in 

§ 28.911 would be maintained at $2.20 

per bale. 

The fee for returning samples after 

classification in § 28.911 would remain 

at 50 cents per sample. 

A 15-day comment period is provided 

for public comments. This period is 

appropriate because user fees are not 

changing and it is anticipated that the 

proposed fees, if adopted, would be 

made effective for the 2014 cotton crop 

on July 1, 2014. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 28 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Cotton, Cotton samples, 

Grades, Market news, Reporting and 

record keeping requirements, Standards, 

Staples, Testing, Warehouses. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 28 is proposed to 

be amended to read as follows: 

PART 28—[Amended] 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 28, Subpart D, continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 471–476. 

■ 2. In § 28.909, paragraph (b) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 28.909 Costs. 

* * * * * 

(b) The cost of High Volume 

Instrument (HVI) cotton classification 

service to producers is $2.20 per bale. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 28.911, the last sentence of 

paragraph (a) is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 28.911 Review classification. 

(a) * * * The fee for review 

classification is $2.20 per bale. 

* * * * * 

Dated: March 18, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–07015 Filed 3–31–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 121 

[Docket No.: FAA–2014–0205; Notice No. 

14–03] 

RIN 2120–AK17 

Disclosure of Seat Dimensions to 

Facilitate Use of Child Safety Seats on 

Airplanes During Passenger-Carrying 

Operations 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA Modernization and 

Reform Act of 2012 requires the Federal 

Aviation Administration to initiate 

rulemaking to require air carriers 

conducting domestic, flag, and 

supplemental operations to make 

available on their Web sites information 

to enable passengers to determine which 

child safety seats can be used on aircraft 

in these operations. To fulfill the 

requirements of the Act, the FAA 

proposes to require air carriers to make 

available on their Web sites the width 

of the widest passenger seat in each 

class of service for each make, model 

and series of airplane used in passengercarrying operations. If finalized as 

proposed, this rule would provide 

greater information to caregivers to help 

them determine whether a particular 

child restraint system will fit in an 

airplane seat. This proposal does not 

affect existing regulations regarding the 

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