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

2178 

Vol. 89, No. 9 

Friday, January 12, 2024 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 989 

[Doc. No. AMS–SC–23–0039; 23–J–0080] 

Marketing Order for Raisins Produced 

From Grapes Grown in California (M.O. 

No. 989); Hearing 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notification of hearing on 

proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a 

public hearing to receive evidence on 

proposals recommended by the Raisin 

Administrative Committee (Committee) 

to amend Federal Marketing Order No. 

989 (Order). The proposed amendments 

would reduce Committee membership, 

eliminate the designated cooperative 

bargaining association member seat, 

lower quorum requirements, remove 

producer district representation, remove 

the requirement for separate member 

and alternate nominations, remove 

factors for establishing marketing 

policy, add language to clarify the 

quality of reconditioned raisins, add 

authority to accept voluntary 

contributions, and add language 

regarding ownership of intellectual 

property. The Committee recommended 

the proposed amendments after 

determining a significant reduction in 

the size of the industry has made it 

increasingly difficult to fill Committee 

positions and conduct business. The 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

also proposes to make additional 

changes to the Order as may be 

necessary to conform to any amendatory 

changes that result from the hearing. 

DATES: The hearing will be held 

February 13–14, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 

5:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) and, if 

deemed necessary by the presiding 

administrative law judge, will continue 

until such time or day as determined by 

the judge. 

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at 

the office of the Raisin Administrative 

Committee, 2445 Capitol Street, Suite 

200, Fresno, California 93721. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christy Pankey, Marketing Specialist, or 

Matthew Pavone, Chief, Rulemaking 

Services Branch, Market Development 

Division, Specialty Crops Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW, Stop 0237, Washington, DC 

20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

8085, or Email: Christy.Pankey@

usda.gov or Matthew.Pavone@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on this proceeding by 

contacting Richard E. Lower, Market 

Development Division, Specialty Crops 

Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–8085, or Email: 

Richard.Lower@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

administrative action is instituted 

pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing 

Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 

U.S.C. 601–674), hereinafter referred to 

as the ‘‘Act,’’ and the applicable rules of 

practice and procedure governing 

amendments to marketing agreements 

and orders (7 CFR part 900). This action 

is governed by the provisions of sections 

556 and 557 of title 5 of the United 

States Code and, therefore, is excluded 

from the requirements of Executive 

Order 12866, 13563 and 14094. AMS 

provided notice of the hearing to Tribal 

Governments through the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 

Office of Tribal Relations. 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) seeks to ensure that 

within the statutory authority of a 

program, the regulatory and 

informational requirements are tailored 

to the size and nature of small 

businesses. Interested persons are 

invited to present evidence at the 

hearing on the possible regulatory and 

informational impacts of the proposals 

on small businesses. 

The amendments proposed herein 

have been reviewed under Executive 

Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. They 

are not intended to have retroactive 

effect. 

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 the 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. A 

handler is afforded the opportunity for 

a hearing 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 

no later than 20 days after the date of 

the entry of the ruling. 

The Raisin Administrative Committee 

(Committee) is established under 

provisions of the Federal Marketing 

Order No. 989 (Order), which regulates 

the handling of raisins produced from 

grapes grown in California. The Order 

stipulates that the Committee may 

recommend to the Secretary 

amendments to the Order, and subject to 

USDA’s approval, shall establish rules 

and procedures as may be necessary to 

accomplish the purposes of the Act and 

the efficient administration of the Order. 

On October 20, 2022, the Committee 

recommended to USDA proposals to 

amend Committee size, composition, 

producer representation, and quorum 

requirements; to amend nomination 

procedures for small cooperative and 

independent producers; to remove two 

factors for establishing marketing 

policy, and to add language to clarify 

the quality of reconditioned raisins. The 

Committee voted on the above proposed 

amendments, 20 in favor and 10 

opposed, at its August 17, 2022, 

meeting. On August 16, 2023, the 

Committee also voted to recommend to 

USDA the inclusion of additional 

proposals that would add authority to 

accept voluntary contributions and add 

language regarding Committee 

ownership of intellectual property. AMS 

received the Committee’s unanimous 

proposal for those two 

recommendations on August 21, 2023. 

After reviewing the proposals and 

other information submitted by the 

Committee, USDA has decided to 

schedule this matter for a public 

hearing. Testimony is invited on the 

following proposals or appropriate 

alternatives or modifications to such 

proposals as summarized below. These 

proposals submitted by the Committee 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Proposed Rules 2179 

have not received the approval of 

USDA. 

Proposal 1—Amend Committee 

Membership Size and Composition, 

Lower Quorum Requirements, and 

Remove Producer District 

Representation 

The Committee recommended 

reducing the Committee’s size and 

lowering quorum requirements after 

determining that a substantial reduction 

in the size of the California raisin 

industry over the past 20 years has 

made it increasingly difficult to fill 

Committee positions and at times meet 

quorum requirements. Further, the 

Committee recommended the 

elimination of the member and alternate 

position dedicated to the cooperative 

bargaining association, removal of 

producer district representation, and the 

addition of an unaffiliated producer 

member seat. The Committee believes 

the designated cooperative bargaining 

association position is no longer 

warranted after a substantial decrease in 

total raisin acquisitions. The 

amendments proposed are as follows: 

• Amend § 989.26 by reducing 

Committee membership from 47 to 21 

members. Corresponding changes would 

also be made to § 989.126. 

• Remove producer district 

representation in § 989.26(c), and add 

an unaffiliated producer member seat to 

§ 989.126(a)(1). Corresponding changes 

would also remove §§ 989.22 and 

989.122, and references to producer 

districts in §§ 989.29(b)(2), 989.126(a) 

and 989.129. 

• Remove the designated bargaining 

association seat in § 989.26. 

Corresponding changes would also 

remove the reference to the bargaining 

association position in § 989.30. 

• Amend § 989.38 by lowering 

quorum requirements from 25 to 14. 

Proposal 2—Remove Separate 

Nomination Procedures for 

Independent and Small Cooperative 

Producers 

Separate nomination procedures for 

independent producers or producers 

affiliated with small cooperative 

marketing associations’ member and 

alternate positions were added to the 

Order in 2018 due to the number of 

vacancies on the Committee, and to 

encourage participation by alternate 

members. However, the Committee now 

recommends eliminating the 

requirement that independent and small 

cooperative producers must be 

nominated separately for either a 

member or alternate position as it would 

not be necessary with a reduced 

Committee size. The amendment 

proposed is as follows: 

• Amend § 989.29 to eliminate the 

requirement for separate nominations 

for independent producers or producers 

affiliated with small cooperative 

marketing associations. 

Proposal 3—Update Marketing Policy 

and Quality Standards for 

Reconditioned Raisins 

The Committee recommended 

removing factor number 4, ‘‘An 

estimated desirable carryout at the end 

of the crop year;’’ and part of factor 

number 5, ‘‘, considering the estimated 

world raisin supply and demand 

situation’’ from the Committee’s 

marketing policy considerations. The 

Committee determined that factor 4 is 

no longer necessary since the Order no 

longer regulates volume, the authority 

for which was removed in 2018. Factor 

number 5 will continue to be part of the 

marketing policy. However, 

consideration of part of factor number 5 

relied on USDA’s National Agricultural 

Statistic Service (NASS) ‘‘Raisins: 

World Market and Trade Report’’ to 

determine the estimated world raisin 

supply and demand situation. NASS no 

longer publishes the report, and the 

Committee found it would be cost 

prohibitive to acquire such information 

by other means. 

Additionally, the Committee 

recommended adding language to 

§§ 989.24 and 989.58 clarifying that the 

quality of reconditioned raisins is the 

same as that of standard fruit. The 

Committee believes that there is a 

negative impression in the raisin market 

that the quality of reconditioned raisins 

that have been reworked and 

reinspected is somehow diminished. 

The Committee believes that the 

proposed language will help to dispel 

this negative impression, stating that 

natural condition raisins are any raisins 

that have been inspected and meet the 

Order’s minimum requirements, which 

would include reconditioned fruit. The 

amendments proposed are as follows: 

• In § 989.54(a), remove factor 

number 4 ‘‘An estimated desirable 

carryout at the end of the crop year;’’ 

and the last part of factor number 5 ‘‘, 

considering the estimated world raisin 

supply and demand situation.’’ 

• Amend §§ 989.24 and 989.58 by 

adding language to clarify the quality of 

reconditioned raisins as standard 

raisins. 

Proposal 4—Add Contribution 

Authority and Patent/Trademark 

Authority 

The Committee recommended the 

addition of authority to accept voluntary 

contributions, and recommended 

adding language that would establish 

provisions for the collection of 

voluntary contributions by the 

Committee. The Committee further 

recommended the addition of authority 

related to Committee ownership of and 

rights to intellectual property, including 

authority to collect royalties from 

intellectual property. The amendments 

proposed are as follows: 

• Add § 989.63 to establish the 

authority to accept voluntary 

contributions. 

• Add § 989.64 to establish authority 

related to ownership of and rights to 

intellectual property and add authority 

for the collection of rents/royalties from 

the same. 

In addition to the proposed 

amendments submitted by the 

Committee, AMS proposes to make any 

such conforming changes to the Order 

as may be necessary to conform to any 

amendment that may result from the 

proposals, or to correct minor 

inconsistencies and typographical 

errors. 

USDA will oversee this formal 

rulemaking proceeding. The issuance of 

this notice of public hearing is the first 

of several steps in the amendatory 

rulemaking process, including the 

issuance of a Recommended Decision, 

public comment period, Secretary’s 

Decision, and if the prior steps prove 

favorable, a grower referendum. 

At the hearing, interested persons 

may provide testimony in support of or 

in opposition to the proposed 

amendments. Interested persons are 

invited to testify on the possible 

regulatory and informational impacts of 

the proposed amendments on small 

businesses. 

Interested persons will also be 

provided the opportunity to file briefs in 

support of or in opposition to the 

proposed amendments after the hearing, 

as well as file exceptions to any 

Recommended Decision that may be 

issued. Finally, any proposed 

amendments will be required to be 

approved in a grower referendum before 

they can be implemented. 

USDA will hold the public hearing for 

the purposes of: (i) receiving evidence 

about the economic and marketing 

conditions which relate to the proposed 

amendments of the Order; (ii) 

determining whether there is a need for 

the proposed amendments to the Order; 

(iii) determining if there are other 

alternatives to the proposed 

amendments or duplicates of the 

proposed amendments; and (iv) 

determining whether the proposed 

amendments or appropriate 


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2180 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

modifications thereof will tend to 

effectuate the declared policy of the Act. 

All persons wishing to submit written 

material as evidence at the hearing 

should be prepared to submit four 

copies of such material at the hearing. 

Four copies of prepared testimony for 

presentation at the hearing should also 

be made available. To the extent 

practicable, eight additional copies of 

evidentiary exhibits and testimony 

prepared as an exhibit should be made 

available to USDA representatives on 

the day of appearance at the hearing. 

Any requests for preparation of USDA 

data for this rulemaking hearing should 

be made at least 10 days prior to the 

beginning of the hearing. 

From the time the notice of hearing is 

issued until the issuance of a final 

decision in this proceeding, USDA 

employees involved in the decisional 

process are prohibited from discussing 

the merits of the hearing issues on an ex 

parte basis with any person having an 

interest in the proceeding. The 

prohibition applies to employees who 

are or may reasonably be expected to be 

involved in the decisional process of the 

proceeding in the following 

organizational units: Office of the 

Secretary of Agriculture; Office of the 

Administrator, AMS; Office of the 

General Counsel; and the Specialty 

Crops Program, AMS. Procedural 

matters are not subject to the above 

prohibition and may be discussed at any 

time. 

Testimony is invited on the 

recommended proposals to amend 7 

CFR part 989, or appropriate 

alternatives or modifications to such 

proposals, as follows: 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 989 

Grapes, Marketing agreements, 

Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

PART 989—RAISINS PRODUCED 

FROM GRAPES GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 989 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

§ 989.22 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 2. Remove and reserve § 989.22. 

■ 3. Amend § 989.24 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 989.24 Standard raisins, off-grade 

raisins, other failing raisins, and raisin 

residual material. 

* * * * * 

(b) Off-grade raisins means raisins 

which do not meet the then effective 

minimum grade and condition 

standards for natural condition raisins: 

Provided, That raisins which are 

certified as off-grade raisins shall 

continue to be such until successfully 

reconditioned as standard raisins or 

become ‘‘other failing raisins.’’ 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Revise § 989.26 to read as follows: 

§ 989.26 Establishment and membership. 

A Raisin Administrative Committee is 

hereby established consisting of 21 

members of whom 12 shall represent 

producers, 8 shall represent handlers 

and 1 shall be a public member. 

(a) The producer members shall be 

selected as follows: 

(1) Producer members representing 

the cooperative marketing association(s) 

shall be members of such association(s) 

engaged in the handling of raisins, each 

of which acquired not less than 10 

percent of the total raisin acquisitions 

during the preceding crop year, and 

those members shall be equal to the 

product, rounded to the nearest whole 

number, obtained by multiplying 12 by 

the ratio the cooperative marketing 

association(s) raisin acquisitions are to 

the acquisitions of all handlers during 

the preceding crop year. 

(2) Producer members representing 

cooperative bargaining association(s) 

shall be members of such association(s), 

and the number of those members shall 

be equal to the product, rounded to the 

nearest whole number, obtained by 

multiplying 12 by the ratio the raisins 

acquired by handlers from bargaining 

association members are to the total 

acquisitions of all handlers during the 

preceding crop year. 

(3) All other producer members, who 

shall not be members of a cooperative 

bargaining association(s), cooperative 

marketing association(s) engaged in the 

handling of raisins which acquired 10 

percent or more of the total acquisitions 

during the preceding crop year, nor sold 

for cash to cooperative marketing 

association(s), shall represent all 

producers not defined in paragraphs 

(a)(1) or (2) of this section and shall be 

selected as designated in the rules and 

regulations. 

(b) The handler members shall be 

divided into two groups and include the 

following: 

(1) Handler members shall be selected 

from and represent cooperative 

marketing association(s) engaged in the 

handling of raisins each of which 

acquired not less than 10 percent of the 

total raisin acquisitions during the 

preceding crop year, and the number of 

those members shall be equal to the 

product, rounded to the nearest whole 

number, obtained by multiplying 8 by 

the ratio of the cooperative marketing 

association(s) raisin acquisitions are to 

the total acquisitions of all handlers 

during the preceding crop year. 

(2) The remaining handler members 

shall be selected from and represent all 

other handlers, which would include all 

independent handlers and small 

cooperative marketing association(s) 

who acquired less than 10 percent of the 

total raisin acquisitions during the 

preceding crop year. Handler nominees 

for this group shall be nominated by all 

handlers in the group in a manner 

determined by the Committee, with the 

approval of the Secretary, and specified 

in the rules and regulations. 

(c) The public member shall be 

nominated by the Committee and 

selected by the Secretary as public 

member. 

(d) For each member of the Committee 

there shall be an alternate member who 

shall have the same qualifications as the 

member for whom they are an alternate. 

■ 5. Amend § 989.29 by revising 

paragraphs (a) and (b)(1) and (2) to read 

as follows: 

§ 989.29 Initial members and nomination 

of successor members. 

(a) Initial members. Members and 

alternate members of the Committee 

serving immediately prior to the 

effective date of this amended subpart 

shall, if thereafter they are eligible, serve 

on the Committee until April 30, 2026, 

and until their respective successors 

have been selected and qualified. 

(b) * * * 

(1) The Committee shall notify the 

cooperative marketing association(s) 

engaged in handling not less than 10 

percent of the total raisin acquisitions 

during the preceding crop year, and 

cooperative bargaining association(s), of 

the date by which nominations to fill 

member and alternate member positions 

shall be made. The Committee shall give 

reasonable publicity of a meeting or 

meetings of producers who are not 

members of cooperative bargaining 

association(s), or cooperative marketing 

association(s) which handled 10 percent 

or more of the total raisin acquisitions 

during the preceding crop year, and of 

independent handlers and cooperative 

marketing association(s) who handled 

less than 10 percent of the total raisin 

acquisitions during the preceding crop 

year, for the purpose of making 

nominations to fill the member and 

alternate member positions prescribed 

in § 989.26 (a)(3) and (b): Provided, That 

member and alternate member 

nominations by independent handlers 

and cooperative marketing 

association(s) who acquired less than 10 

percent of the total raisin acquisitions 

during the preceding crop year may be 


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made to the Committee by mail in lieu 

of meetings. 

(2)(i) Any producer representing 

independent producers and producers 

who are affiliated with cooperative 

marketing association(s) handling less 

than 10 percent of the total raisin 

acquisitions during the preceding crop 

year must have produced grapes which 

were made into raisins. 

(ii) Each such producer whose name 

is offered in nomination to represent on 

the Committee independent producers 

or producers who are affiliated with 

cooperative marketing association(s) 

handling less than 10 percent of the 

total raisin acquisitions during the 

preceding crop year shall be given the 

opportunity to provide the Committee a 

short statement outlining qualifications 

and desire to serve if selected. These 

brief statements, together with a ballot 

and voting instructions, shall be mailed 

to all independent producers and 

producers who are affiliated with 

cooperative marketing associations 

handling less than 10 percent of the 

total raisin acquisitions during the 

preceding crop year of record with the 

Committee. The producer candidate 

receiving the highest number of votes 

shall be designated as the first member 

nominee for a member position in 

which they qualify, the second highest 

shall be designated as the second 

member nominee for a member position 

which they qualify, until nominees for 

all producer member positions have 

been filled. Similarly, after all producer 

member positions have been filled, the 

producer candidate receiving the 

highest number of votes shall be 

designated as the first alternate member 

nominee for a member position in 

which they qualify, the second highest 

shall be designated as the second 

alternate member nominee for a member 

position in which they qualify, until 

nominees for all alternate member 

positions have been filled. 

(iii) In the event there are no qualified 

candidates for any designated producer 

member or alternate member positions, 

such positions may be filled by other 

producer candidates not otherwise 

nominated for a position. 

(iv) Each independent producer or 

producer affiliated with cooperative 

marketing association(s) handling less 

than 10 percent of the total raisin 

acquisitions during the preceding crop 

year shall cast only one vote with 

respect to each position for which 

nominations are to be made. Write-in 

candidates shall be accepted. The 

person receiving the most votes with 

respect to each position to be filled, in 

accordance with paragraph (b)(2)(ii) and 

(iii) of this section, shall be the person 

to be certified to the Secretary as the 

nominee. The Committee may, subject 

to the approval of the Secretary, 

establish rules and regulations to 

effectuate this section. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Revise § 989.30 to read as follows: 

§ 989.30 Selection. 

The Secretary shall select producer, 

handler, and public members and 

alternate members in the number 

specified in § 989.26, as applicable, and 

with the qualifications specified in 

§ 989.27. Such selections may be made 

from nominations certified pursuant to 

§ 989.29 or from other eligible 

producers, or handlers. 

§ 989.38 [Amended] 

■ 7. Amend § 989.38 by removing the 

numeral ‘‘25’’ and adding in its place 

the numeral ‘‘14’’. 

§ 989.54 [Amended] 

■ 8. Amend § 989.54 by: 

■ a. Removing paragraph (a)(4); 

■ b. Redesignating paragraphs (a)(5) 

through (9) as paragraphs (a)(4) through 

(8), respectively; and 

■ c. In redesignated paragraph (a)(4), 

removing the text ‘‘, considering the 

estimated world raisin supply and 

demand situation’’. 

■ 9. Amend § 989.58 by adding 

paragraph (g) to read as follows: 

§ 989.58 Natural condition raisins. 

* * * * * 

(g) All raisins which have been 

inspected and certified as meeting the 

minimum grade, quality, and condition 

standards established pursuant to this 

section, whether upon incoming 

inspection or upon later inspection after 

reconditioning, shall be determined to 

be standard raisins, labelled 

accordingly, and shall be eligible for 

commercial disposition as natural 

condition raisins or packed raisins in 

normal outlets. 

■ 10. Add § 989.63 to read as follows: 

§ 989.63 Contributions. 

The Committee may accept voluntary 

contributions: Provided, That such 

contributions shall only be used to pay 

expenses authorized under § 989.79. 

Furthermore, contributions shall be free 

from any encumbrances by the donor 

and the Committee shall retain complete 

control of their use. 

■ 11. Add § 989.64 to read as follows: 

§ 989.64 Patents, copyrights, trademarks, 

inventions, product formulations, and 

publications. 

(a) Any patents, copyrights, 

trademarks, inventions, product 

formulations, and publications 

developed through the use of funds 

received by the Committee under this 

subpart shall be the property of the U.S. 

Government, as represented by the 

Committee, and shall, along with any 

rents, royalties, residual payments, or 

other income from the rental, sales, 

leasing, franchising, or other uses of 

such patents, copyrights, trademarks, 

inventions, product formulations, or 

publications, inure to the benefit of the 

Committee; shall be considered income 

subject to the same fiscal, budget, and 

audit controls as other funds of the 

Committee and may be licensed subject 

to approval by the Secretary. 

(b) Upon termination of this subpart, 

§ 989.92 shall apply to determine 

disposition of any property, including 

patents, copyrights, trademarks, 

inventions, product formulations, and 

publications developed through the use 

of funds received by the Committee 

under this subpart. 

(c) Should patents, copyrights, 

trademarks, inventions, product 

formulations, or publications be 

developed through the use of funds 

collected by the Committee under this 

subpart and funds contributed by 

another organization or person, 

ownership and related rights to such 

patents, copyrights, trademarks, 

inventions, product formulations, or 

publications shall be determined by 

agreement between the Committee and 

the person or organization contributing 

funds towards the development of such 

patents, copyrights, inventions, 

trademarks, product formulations, or 

publications in a manner consistent 

with paragraph (a) of this section. 

(d) Should any patents, copyrights, 

trademarks, inventions, product 

formulations, or publications, be 

licensed to the Committee by another 

person or organization, the rights and 

obligations regarding such licensed 

patents, copyrights, trademarks, 

inventions, product formulations, or 

publications shall be determined by 

agreement between the Committee and 

the person or organization permitting 

licensure in a manner consistent with 

paragraph (a) of this section. 

§ 989.122 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 12. Remove and reserve § 989.122. 

■ 13. Revise § 989.126 to read as 

follows: 

§ 989.126 Representation of the 

Committee. 

(a) Pursuant to § 989.26(a)(3), and 

commencing with the term of office 

beginning May 1, 2026, apportionment 

of independent and small cooperative 

producers shall be: 


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(1) One producer member, selected 

from and representing all producers, 

who is unaffiliated with any handler 

(including, but not limited to, 

ownership, employment, or agent of any 

handler, and whose family members are 

similarly unaffiliated with any handler); 

and 

(2) The remaining producer 

member(s) selected from and 

representing all other independent and 

small cooperative producers. 

(b) Pursuant to section § 989.26(b)(2), 

and commencing with the term of office 

beginning May 1, 2026, apportionment 

of the independent and small 

cooperative marketing association 

handlers shall be: 

(1) Two members selected from and 

representing the four handler(s) other 

than major cooperative marketing 

association handler(s) who acquired the 

largest percentage of the total raisin 

acquisitions during the preceding crop 

year; and 

(2) The remaining member(s) selected 

from and representing all other 

handlers, including small cooperative 

marketing association handler(s) and all 

processors. 

■ 13. Revise § 989.129 to read as 

follows: 

§ 989.129 Voting at nomination meetings. 

Any person (defined in § 989.3 as an 

individual, partnership, corporation, 

association, or any other business unit) 

who is engaged, in a proprietary 

capacity, in the production of grapes 

which are sun-dried or dehydrated by 

artificial means to produce raisins and 

who qualifies under the provisions of 

§ 989.29(b)(2) shall be eligible to cast 

one ballot for a nominee for each 

producer member position and one 

ballot for a nominee for each producer 

alternate member position on the 

Committee which is to be filled. Such 

person must be the one who or which: 

Owns and farms land resulting in his or 

its ownership of such grapes produced 

thereon; rents and farms land, resulting 

in his or its ownership of all or a portion 

of such grapes produced thereon; or 

owns land which he or it does not farm 

and, as rental for such land, obtains the 

ownership of a portion of such grapes or 

the raisins. In this connection, a 

partnership shall be deemed to include 

two or more persons (including a 

husband and wife) with respect to land 

the title to which, or leasehold interest 

in which, is vested in them as tenants 

in common, joint tenants, or under 

community property laws, as 

community property. In a landlordtenant relationship, wherein each of the 

parties is a producer, each such 

producer shall be entitled to one vote 

for a nominee for each producer 

member position and one vote for each 

producer alternate member position. 

Hence, where two persons operate land 

as landlord and tenant on a share-crop 

basis, each person is entitled to one vote 

for each such position to be filled. 

Where land is leased on a cash rental 

basis, only the person who is the tenant 

or cash renter (producer) is entitled to 

vote. A partnership or corporation, 

when eligible, is entitled to cast only 

one vote for a nominee for each 

producer position to be filled. 

Erin Morris, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00492 Filed 1–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Part 1 

[REG–132569–17] 

RIN 1545–BO40 

Definition of Energy Property and 

Rules Applicable to the Energy Credit; 

Correction 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; 

correction. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (REG– 

132569–17) published in the Federal 

Register on November 22, 2023, 

containing proposed regulations that 

would amend the regulations relating to 

the energy credit for the taxable year in 

which eligible energy property is placed 

in service. 

DATES: Written or electronic comments 

are still being accepted and must be 

received by January 22, 2024. The 

public hearing on these proposed 

regulations is scheduled to be held on 

February 20, 2024, at 10 a.m. ET. 

Requests to speak and outlines of topics 

to be discussed at the public hearing 

must be received by January 22, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Commenters are strongly 

encouraged to submit public comments 

electronically. Submit electronic 

submissions via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at https://

www.regulations.gov (indicate IRS and 

REG–132569–17). Once submitted to the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal, comments 

cannot be edited or withdrawn. The 

Department of the Treasury (the 

Treasury Department) and the IRS will 

publish for public availability any 

comment submitted to its public docket. 

Send paper submissions to: 

CC:PA:01:PR (REG–132569–17), Room 

5203, Internal Revenue Service, P.O. 

Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, 

Washington, DC 20044. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Concerning the proposed regulations, 

Office of Associate Chief Counsel 

(Passthroughs & Special Industries) at 

(202) 317–6853 (not a toll-free number); 

concerning submissions of comments or 

the public hearing, Vivian Hayes, (202) 

317–6901 (not toll-free number) or by 

email to publichearings@irs.gov 

(preferred). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The notice of proposed rulemaking 

(REG–132569–17) that is the subject of 

this correction is under section 48 of the 

Internal Revenue Code. 

Need for Correction 

As published, the notice of proposed 

rulemaking (REG–132569–17) contains 

errors that need to be corrected. 

Correction of Publication 

Accordingly, the notice of proposed 

rulemaking (REG–132569–17), which 

was the subject of FR Doc. 2023–25539, 

published on November 22, 2023, at 88 

FR 82188 is corrected: 

§ 1.48–9 [Corrected] 

■ 1. On page 82214, the third column, 

the third line of paragraph (f)(2)(ii)(A) is 

corrected to read, ‘‘paragraph (f)(2)(ii)(B) 

of this section,’’. 

§ 1.48–13 [Corrected] 

■ 2. On page 82218, the first column, 

the third line of paragraph (e)(1) is 

corrected to read, ‘‘generating energy 

property, use the’’. 

■ 3. On page 82218, the first column, 

the fourth line of paragraph (e)(2) is 

corrected to read, ‘‘9(e)(10)(ii)), use the 

storage device’s’’. 

§ 1.48–14 [Corrected] 

■ 4. On page 82219, the second column, 

the tenth line of paragraph (c)(2) is 

corrected to read, ‘‘paragraph (f)(8) of 

this section, in no’’. 

■ 5. On page 82220, the second column, 

the fifth line from the bottom of 

paragraph (f)(2)(i) is corrected to read, 

‘‘used as an integral part (as defined in’’. 

■ 6. On page 82221, the second column, 

first line of paragraph (f)(6)(i) is 

corrected to read, ‘‘or any successor 

form(s), filed with its’’. 

■ 7. On page 82221, the second column, 

the eighth line from the bottom of 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS