This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

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new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

1269 

Vol. 75, No. 6 

Monday, January 11, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 980 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–08–0018; FV08–980–1 C] 

Vegetable Import Regulations; 

Modification of Potato Import 

Regulations; Correction 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service is correcting a final rule that 

appeared in the Federal Register of 

December 10, 2009. The rule modified 

the import regulations for Irish potatoes 

and made minor administrative changes 

to the potato, onion, and tomato import 

regulations to update informational 

references. This document corrects two 

Code of Federal Regulation citations in 

the informational references that were 

cited incorrectly. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 11, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barry Broadbent or Gary D. Olson, 

Northwest Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1220 SW. Third Avenue, 

Suite 385, Portland, OR 97204; 

Telephone: (503) 326–2724, Fax: (503) 

326–7440, or E-mail: 

Barry.Broadbent@usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In FR Doc. 

AMS–FV–08–0018; FV08–980–1 FR in 

the Federal Register of Thursday, 

December 10, 2009 (74 FR 65390), the 

following corrections are made: 

§ 980.117 [Corrected] 

■ 1. On page 65394, in the second 

column, amendatory instruction 5(c) is 

revised to read ‘‘Amend paragraph (h) by 

removing the references ‘(7 CFR 

2851.3195 through 2851.3209),’ ‘(7 CFR 

2851.3955 through 2851.3970),’ and ‘(7 

CFR 2851.2830 through 2851.2854)’ and 

by adding in their places the references 

‘(7 CFR 51.3195 through 51.3209),’ ‘(7 

CFR 51.3955 through 51.3970),’ and ‘(7 

CFR 51.2830 through 51.2854)’, 

respectively.’’ 

Dated: January 6, 2010. 

David R. Shipman, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–314 Filed 1–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 993 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–09–0048; FV09–993–1 

FIR] 

Dried Prunes Produced in California; 

Decreased Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim final rule 

as final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

final rule that decreased the assessment 

rate established for the Prune Marketing 

Committee (Committee), for the 2009–10 

and subsequent crop years from $0.30 to 

$0.16 per ton of salable dried prunes. 

The Committee locally administers the 

marketing order that regulates the 

handling of dried prunes in California. 

The interim final rule was necessary to 

align the Committee’s expected revenue 

with decreases in its proposed budget 

for the 2009–10 and subsequent crop 

years, which began on August 1. The 

assessment rate will remain in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 12, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Debbie Wray, Marketing Specialist, or 

Kurt J. Kimmel, Regional Manager, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487– 

5901, Fax: (559) 487–5906, or E-mail: 

Debbie.Wray@ams.usda.gov or 

Kurt.Kimmel@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may obtain 

information on complying with this, 

and other marketing order and 

agreement regulations by viewing a 

guide at the following Web site: 

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/

ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=

TemplateN&page=MarketingOrders

SmallBusinessGuide; or by contacting 

Jay Guerber, Marketing Order 

Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–2491, Fax: (202) 

720–8938, or E-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

No. 110 and Marketing Order No. 993, 

both as amended (7 CFR part 993), 

regulating the handling of dried prunes 

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 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

Under the order, California dried 

prune handlers are subject to 

assessments, which provide funds to 

administer the order. Assessment rates 

issued under the order are intended to 

be applicable to all assessable salable 

dried prunes for the entire crop year, 

and continue indefinitely until 

amended, suspended, or terminated. 

The Committee’s fiscal period begins on 

August 1 and ends on July 31. 

In an interim final rule published in 

the Federal Register on September 9, 

2009, and effective on September 10, 

2009 (74 FR 46310, Doc. No. AMS–FV– 

09–0048; FV09–993–1 IFR), § 993.347 

was amended by decreasing the 

assessment rate established for the 

Committee for the 2009–10 and 

subsequent crop years from $0.30 to 

$0.16 per ton of California salable dried 

prunes. The decrease in the per-ton 

assessment rate was possible due to 

significant decreases in operating 

expenses and contingencies, and a 

significant increase in the crop estimate 

for the 2009–10 crop year. 

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1270 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

has considered the economic impact of 

this rule on small entities. Accordingly, 

AMS has prepared this final regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

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 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 approximately 900 

producers of salable dried prunes in the 

production area and approximately 20 

handlers subject to regulation under the 

marketing order. The Small Business 

Administration (13 CFR 121.201) 

defines small agricultural producers as 

those whose annual receipts are less 

than $750,000, and small agricultural 

service firms are defined as those whose 

annual receipts are less than $7,000,000. 

Committee data indicates that about 

64 percent of the handlers ship under 

$7,000,000 worth of dried prunes. 

Dividing the average prune crop value 

for 2008–09 reported by the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of 

$196,080,000 by the number of 

producers (900) yields an average 

annual producer revenue estimate of 

about $217,867. Based on the foregoing, 

the majority of handlers and dried 

prune producers may be classified as 

small entities. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that decreased the assessment 

rate established for the Committee and 

collected from handlers for the 2009–10 

and subsequent crop years from $0.30 to 

$0.16 per ton of salable dried prunes. 

The Committee met on June 25, 2009, 

and unanimously recommended 

expenses of $54,138 and a decreased 

assessment rate of $0.16 per ton of 

salable dried prunes for the 2009–10 

crop year. The Committee’s budget of 

expenses of $54,138 includes a slight 

increase in personnel expenses and 

decreases in operating expenses and for 

contingencies. Most of the Committee’s 

expenses reflect its portion of the joint 

administrative costs of the Committee 

and the California Dried Plum Board 

(CDPB). The Committee believes that 

extra assessment income carried in from 

the 2008 crop year, plus interest income 

and 2009–10 crop year assessment 

income, is adequate to cover its 

estimated expenses of $54,138. 

The assessment rate of $0.16 per ton 

of salable dried prunes is $0.14 per ton 

of salable dried prunes lower than the 

rate currently in effect. The quantity of 

salable dried prunes for the 2009–10 

crop year is currently estimated at 

160,000 tons, compared to 125,373 tons 

of salable dried prunes for the 2008–09 

crop year. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2009–10 crop year include $26,450 for 

salaries and benefits, $11,780 for 

operating expenses, and $15,908 for 

contingencies. In comparison, budgeted 

expenses for these items in 2008–09 

were $26,248 for salaries and benefits, 

$12,893 for operating expenses, and 

$26,459 for contingencies. 

The 2009–10 assessment rate was 

derived by considering the handler 

assessment revenue needed to meet 

anticipated expenses, the estimated 

salable tons of California dried prunes, 

excess funds carried forward into the 

2009–10 crop year, and estimated 

interest income. Therefore, the 

Committee recommended an assessment 

rate of $0.16 per ton of salable dried 

prunes. 

Prior to arriving at its budget of 

$54,138, the Committee considered 

information from various sources, 

including the Committee’s Executive 

Subcommittee. The Executive 

Subcommittee reviewed the 

administrative expenses shared between 

the Committee and the CDPB in recent 

years. The Executive Subcommittee 

then recommended the $54,138 budget 

and $0.16 per ton assessment rate to the 

Committee. The Committee 

recommended the same budget and 

assessment rate to USDA. 

Section 993.81(c) of the order 

provides the Committee the authority to 

use excess assessment funds from the 

2008–09 crop year (estimated at 

$28,533) for up to 5 months beyond the 

end of the crop year to meet 2009–10 

crop year expenses, which are estimated 

to be $54,138. At the end of the 5 

months, the Committee either refunds or 

credits excess funds to handlers. 

To calculate the percentage of grower 

revenue represented by the assessment 

rate for 2008, the assessment rate of 

$0.30 per ton is divided by the 

estimated average grower price 

(according to the NASS). This results in 

estimated assessment revenue for the 

2008–09 crop year as a percentage of 

grower revenue of .02 percent ($0.30 

divided by $1,520 per ton). NASS data 

for 2009 is not yet available. However, 

applying the same calculations above 

using the average grower price for 2006– 

08 would result in estimated assessment 

revenue as a percentage of total grower 

revenue of .01 percent for the 2009–10 

crop year ($0.16 divided by $1,453 per 

ton). Thus, the assessment revenue 

should be well below 1 percent of 

estimated grower revenue in 2009. 

This action continues in effect the 

decreased assessment obligation 

imposed on handlers. Assessments are 

applied uniformly on all handlers, and 

some of the costs may be passed on to 

producers. However, decreasing the 

assessment rate reduces the burden on 

handlers, and may reduce the burden on 

producers. In addition, the Committee’s 

meeting was widely publicized 

throughout the California dried prune 

industry and all interested persons were 

invited to attend the meeting and 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the June 25, 2009, meeting 

was a public meeting and all entities, 

both large and small, were able to 

express views on this issue. 

This action imposes no additional 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

on either small or large dried prune 

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. 

In addition, USDA has not identified 

any relevant Federal rules that 

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this 

rule. 

Comments on the interim final rule 

were required to be received on or 

before November 9, 2009. No comments 

were received. Therefore, for the reasons 

given in the interim final rule, we are 

adopting the interim final rule as a final 

rule, without change. 

To view the interim final rule, go to: 

http://www.regulations.gov/search/

Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=

0900006480a1f26c. 

This action also affirms information 

contained in the interim final rule 

concerning Executive Orders 12866 and 

12988, the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35), and the E-Gov Act 

(44 U.S.C. 101). 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, it is found that 

finalizing the interim final rule, without 

change, as published in the Federal 

Register (74 FR 46310, September 9, 

2009) will tend to effectuate the 

declared policy of the Act. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 993 

Marketing agreements, Plums, Prunes, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 6 / Monday, January 11, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 1271 

PART 993—DRIED PRUNES 

PRODUCED IN CALIFORNIA 

[AMENDED] 

■ Accordingly, the interim final rule 

amending 7 CFR part 993 which was 

published at 74 FR 46310 on September 

9, 2009, is adopted as a final rule, 

without change. 

Dated: January 5, 2010. 

Rayne Pegg, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–163 Filed 1–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

20 CFR Part 416 

[Docket No. SSA 2008–0034] 

RIN 0960–AG66 

Technical Revisions to the 

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 

Regulations on Income and Resources 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration. 

ACTION: Final rules. 

SUMMARY: We are amending our 

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 

regulations by making technical 

revisions to our rules on income and 

resources. Many of these revisions 

reflect legislative changes found in the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act of 

2001 (CAA), the Economic Growth and 

Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 

(EGTRRA), an amendment to the 

National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

(NFIA), the Energy Employees 

Occupational Illness Compensation 

Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA), and 

the Social Security Protection Act of 

2004 (SSPA). We are also amending our 

SSI rules to extend the home exclusion 

to beneficiaries who, because of 

domestic abuse, leave a home that had 

otherwise been an excludable resource. 

Finally, we are updating our 

‘‘conditional-payment’’ rule to eliminate 

the liquid-resource requirement as a 

prerequisite to receiving conditionalbenefit payments. 

DATES: These final rules are effective on 

February 10, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donna Gonzalez, Social Insurance 

Specialist, Social Security 

Administration, Office of Income 

Security Programs, 252 Altmeyer 

Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, 

Baltimore, MD 21235–6401, (410) 965– 

7961, for information about this notice. 

For information on eligibility or filing 

for benefits, call our national toll-free 

number, 1–800–772–1213 or TTY 

1–800–325–0778, or visit our Internet 

site, Social Security Online, at http:// 

www.socialsecurity.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Version 

The electronic file of this document is 

available on the date of publication in 

the Federal Register at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Explanation of Changes 

We are revising and making final the 

rules we proposed in the notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published 

in the Federal Register on December 9, 

2008 (73 FR 74663). These conforming 

changes revise our regulations to reflect 

legislation enacted during the past 

several years and to address two policy 

concerns. 

Background 

The primary goal of the SSI program 

is to ensure a minimum level of income 

to people who are aged 65 or older, 

blind, or disabled, and who have 

limited income and resources. The law 

provides that SSI payments can be made 

only to people who have income and 

resources below specified amounts. 

Therefore, income and resources are 

major factors in deciding SSI eligibility 

and the amount of any SSI payments. 

The Changes We Are Making in These 

Final Rules 

We discuss below the changes we are 

making in these final rules. We have 

grouped the changes by the policy areas 

affected. 

Statutory Employees 

Statutory employees are certain 

independent contractors, including 

agent-drivers or commission-drivers, 

certain full-time life insurance 

salespersons, home workers, and 

traveling or city salespersons. Social 

Security Act (Act) at 210(j)(3) (42 U.S.C. 

410(j)(3)). We are revising section 

416.1110(b) to update the definition of 

net earnings from self-employment to 

include the earnings of statutory 

employees, as provided under section 

519 of the CAA, which amended section 

1612(a)(1) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 

1382a(a)(1)). See Public Law 106–554, 

app. A, 519 (Dec. 21, 2000). Previously, 

we treated statutory employees the same 

as employees for SSI eligibility and 

payment-amount purposes and 

considered their wages as earned 

income. After this change to the Act, we 

now treat statutory employees as selfemployed individuals and count only 

their net earnings, deducting business 

expenses before calculating their 

income. 

Exclusion of Child Tax Credit (CTC) 

From Income and Resources 

We exclude from income the payment 

of a refundable CTC pursuant to the 

EGTRRA. Public Law 107–16, section 

203, 115 Stat. 49 (June 7, 2001) 

(referring to Internal Revenue Code 

section 24, 26 U.S.C. 24). This 

exclusion, which was effective for SSI 

purposes for taxable years beginning on 

or after January 1, 2001, is not currently 

in our regulations. We also exclude the 

payment of a refundable CTC from 

resources for the 9 months following the 

month of receipt. Currently the resource 

exclusion is included under section 

416.1236, titled ‘‘Exclusions from 

resources; provided by other statutes.’’ 

This resource exclusion is now 

provided in the Act at 1613(a)(11) (42 

U.S.C. 1382b(a)(11)), as amended by the 

SSPA, Public Law 108–203, 431 (Mar. 2, 

2004). We are making the following 

revisions to conform to these changes: 

• We are adding new paragraph (m) 

under the heading ‘‘V. Other,’’ in the 

appendix to subpart K to exclude from 

income a refundable CTC paid under 

section 24 of the Internal Revenue Code 

of 1986. This appendix section lists 

types of income excluded under the SSI 

program as provided by Federal laws 

other than the Act. 

• We are amending section 416.1235 

to correctly reflect that the exclusion for 

payment of a refundable CTC is now 

provided under the Act. This provision 

previously appeared in our rules at 

section 416.1236(a)(24) within a list of 

exclusions provided by other statutes. 

We are moving this exclusion to section 

416.1235 but we are not making any 

substantive changes to it. Under this 

provision, a CTC payment is excluded 

from resources for SSI purposes during 

the month the payment is received and 

the following month for payments 

received before March 2, 2004, and for 

the 9 months following the month of 

receipt for payments received on or after 

March 2, 2004. We also are changing the 

title of this section to more accurately 

reflect its contents. 

• We are adding new paragraph (v) to 

section 416.1210, which provides a list 

of general resources we do not count 

when determining SSI eligibility. This 

new paragraph excludes from resources 

the payment of a refundable CTC and 

includes a cross-reference to section 

416.1235. 

• We are removing from section 

416.1236(a) former paragraph (24), 

which had excluded from resources the 

payment of a refundable CTC. As 

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