11758 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 49 / Thursday, March 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

hereinafter referred to as independent

handlers.

Section 906.19 provides for a threeyear term of office for committee

members and their alternates. The terms

of office of the committee are staggered

so that one-third of the terms end every

third year. Members and alternates serve

in their designated positions during the

portion of the term of office for which

they are selected or until their

respective successors are selected and

have qualified.

Section 906.21 of the order authorizes

the committee, with the Secretary’s

approval, to reapportion membership

between cooperative producer and

handler members and independent

producer and handler members as

necessary to assure equitable

representation on the committee. Such

changes are authorized in order to

reflect structural changes within the

industry and changes in the amount of

fruit handled by cooperative handlers in

relation to fruit handled by independent

handlers.

On August 27, 1996, the committee

met to discuss, among other issues,

committee representation and to

determine whether any changes were

warranted to foster more equitable

representation. Changes in the Texas

citrus industry have resulted in a

reduction of the number of cooperative

handlers in that industry subsequently

resulting in a decrease in the amount of

fruit handled by cooperative handlers.

According to the committee’s records,

there were four cooperative

organizations operating until 1984, prior

to a freeze in the production area. From

1985 to 1995, there were two

cooperative organizations handling

Texas citrus. Presently, only one

cooperative handler remains in

operation.

As the number of cooperative

handlers has decreased, so has the

volume of fresh fruit accounted for by

cooperatives. At the time committee

membership was last reapportioned in

1969, cooperatives accounted for about

30 percent of fresh fruit shipments and

about 45 percent of fruit harvested

(which includes processed citrus). The

volume of fresh fruit shipments

accounted for by cooperatives has

declined since that time, particularly

after the last two freezes.

The committee is concerned that the

cooperative segment of the industry is

currently over-represented on the

committee and that committee

representation no longer reflects the

current structure of the industry. The

present situation has recently made it

difficult to acquire cooperative

representation on the committee, which

could lead to potential problems in the

future.

This final rule changes the

composition of the committee by

reducing cooperative producer positions

on the committee from four to two, and

increasing independent producer

member positions from five to seven. In

addition, cooperative handler

representation will be reduced from two

member positions to one, and

independent handler positions will be

increased from four to five. The change

will bring committee representation

more in line with the Texas citrus

industry’s current structure. This

change was unanimously recommended

by the committee at its August 27

meeting.

The committee further recommended

that current committee members

complete their current terms of office

where possible and new members be

nominated where applicable to provide

for full three-year terms of office for

unexpired terms. Presently, the term of

office of one of the four cooperative

producer members expires on July 31,

1997, and three expire on July 31, 1999.

The 1997 position, in addition to one of

the 1999 positions, will be relinquished

to independent producers. Also, there

are presently two cooperative handler

members, one of whose terms expires on

July 31, 1998, and the other on July 31,

1999. One of those positions will be

relinquished to independent handlers.

The three terms of office relinquished to

the independents will terminate on July

31 of the appropriate term.

Determination of which cooperative

producer and handler members

currently serving unexpired terms will

remain in their respective positions will

be made by lot at the committee’s

subsequent nomination meetings.

The Texas citrus industry has

historically demonstrated a policy of

maintaining equitable representation

among cooperative and independent

producers and handlers. When the order

was promulgated in 1960, two of the

nine producer member positions and

one of the six handler positions were

allocated to cooperative members. In

1969, committee membership was

reallocated to the present

apportionment to reflect changes in the

composition of the industry.

Cooperative producer member

positions were increased from two to

four and cooperative handler

representation was increased from one

to two. The changes also provided for a

reduction in the number of independent

producer and handler positions.

Following the two major freezes, only

one cooperative handler remains in

operation. The committee recommended

returning to the order’s original

apportionment to accommodate the shift

in production. Reducing the total

number of cooperative positions to three

will bring representation closer in line

with the proportion of fresh fruit

shipments accounted for by the

cooperative. Therefore, the committee’s

recommendation to revert to the

committee’s original apportionment will

be achieved by removing § 906.122,

which will result in reallocation of

cooperative and independent producers

and handlers to that reflected in

§ 906.18 of the order. Section 906.121,

which provides that the production area

be considered as one district for

purposes of committee representation,

will not be affected by this rule.

The proposed rule concerning this

action was published in the January 2,

1997, Federal Register (62 FR 55), with

a 30-day comment period ending

February 3, 1997. No comments were

received.

After consideration of all relevant

matter presented, including the

information and recommendations

submitted by the committee and other

available information, it is hereby found

that this rule, as hereinafter set forth,

will tend to effectuate the declared

policy of the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 906

Grapefruit, Marketing agreements,

Oranges, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 906 is amended as

follows:

PART 906—ORANGES AND

GRAPEFRUIT GROWN IN LOWER RIO

GRANDE VALLEY IN TEXAS

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 906 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

§ 906.122 [Removed and reserved]

2. Section 906.122 is removed and

reserved.

Dated: March 7, 1997.

Robert C. Keeney,

Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 97–6264 Filed 3–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

9 CFR Part 201

Regulations Issued Under the Packers

and Stockyards Act

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 49 / Thursday, March 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 11759

ACTION: Correcting amendment.

SUMMARY: This document contains

corrections to a final regulation which

was published July 10, 1996 (61 FR

36277). The regulation provides for

maintenance of a bond equivalent in

lieu of a required surety bond by

packers, market agencies or dealers.

DATES: March 13, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sharon Vassiliades, GIPSA, USDA, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, D.C. 20250, (202) 720–

1738.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The final regulation that is the subject

of this correction revised the

introductory paragraph of § 201.27(b)

applicable to packers, market agencies,

and dealers subject to the Packers and

Stockyards Act (7 U.S.C. 181, et seq.)

and became effective on August 9, 1996.

Need for Correction

As published, the final regulation

inadvertently omitted language which

was set forth in the proposed

rulemaking published August 21, 1995

(60 FR 43411). Language in the final

regulation may be confusing and is in

need of clarification.

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 201

Bonding, Dealer, Market agency,

Packer, Registration.

PART 201—REGULATIONS UNDER

THE PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS

ACT

Accordingly, 9 CFR 201.27(b) is

corrected by making the following

correcting amendment:

1. The authority citation for Part 201

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 204, 228; 7 CFR 2.17(e),

2.56.

2. In § 201.27, paragraph (b) is revised

to read as follows:

§ 201.27 Underwriter: equivalent in lieu of

bonds; standard forms.

* * * * *

(b) Any packer, market agency, or

dealer required to maintain a surety

bond under these regulations may elect

to maintain, in whole or partial

substitution for such surety bond, a

bond equivalent as provided below. The

total amount of any such surety bond,

equivalent, or combination thereof,

must be the total amount of the surety

bond otherwise required under these

regulations. Any such bond equivalent

must be in the form of:

(1) * * *

* * * * *

Done at Washington, D.C. this 7th day of

March 1997.

James R. Baker,

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration.

[FR Doc. 97–6263 Filed 3–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

13 CFR Part 107

Small Business Investment Companies

AGENCY: Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Small Business

Administration (SBA) is amending Part

107 Section 710 and Part 107 Section 50

of its Small Business Investment

Companies (SBIC) regulations by

deleting the term ‘‘Smaller Business’’

and replacing it with the statutory term

‘‘Smaller Enterprise.’’ These revisions to

SBA’s regulations are in accordance

with Section 208 of the Small Business

Programs Improvement Act of 1996

(SBPIAct).

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 13, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary

M. Jackson, Assistant Administrator for

Size Standards, 409 3rd Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20416, (202)205–6618.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Division D

of the Omnibus Consolidated

Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997

(Public Law 104–208) is the Small

Business Programs Improvement Act of

1996 (SBPIAct), which amended the

Small Business Investment Act of 1958

(SBIAct). Title II, Section 208 of the

SBPIAct adds Section 103(12) to the

SBIAct where it includes and defines

the term ‘‘smaller enterprise.’’ A

‘‘smaller enterprise’’ is a small business,

including its affiliates, with net

financial worth no greater than $6

million and average net income of no

more than $2 million, or that meets the

size standards established by SBA in 13

CFR Part 121.

Current regulations at 13 CFR

§ 107.710 require SBICs to make a

certain proportion of their total

financings into ‘‘smaller businesses,’’

which are defined in § 107.710(a).

Section 208 of the SBPIAct, however,

established the same size criteria for an

entity named ‘‘smaller enterprise’’ that

SBA has in its regulations for a ‘‘smaller

business.’’ Therefore, SBA is changing

the terminology of its regulations to

require SBICs to finance smaller

enterprises to be consistent with this

legislation.

SBA is issuing a final rule because

this constitutes only a change of

terminology with no substantive effect

upon current regulations. That is, SBA

is merely adopting no more than a

statutory change to a term. SBA is not

modifying or otherwise changing its

regulations in any way other than to the

extent that the statute directs the

Agency to do so.

Compliance With Executive Orders

12612, 12778, and 12866, the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601,

et seq.), and the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. Ch. 5)

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(RFA), SBA is not required to analyze

the impact on small businesses of this

revision of its SBIC Program regulations

because: the RFA applies to federal

rules that require public comment; and

this is a final rule, incorporating into the

Regulations the Congressionally

mandated definition of a smaller

enterprise. In any event, SBA does not

believe this rule has a significant impact

on small businesses, since the size

applicable to a ‘‘smaller enterprise’’

remains unchanged from that for a

‘‘smaller business’’ which definition it

replaces, and does not affect other SBA

programs.

For purposes of the Paperwork

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. Ch. 35, SBA

certifies that this final rule contains no

new reporting or recordkeeping

requirements. For purposes of Executive

Order 12612, SBA certifies that this rule

does not have federalism implications

warranting the preparation of a

Federalism Assessment. For purposes of

Executive Order 12778, SBA certifies

that this rule is drafted, to the extent

practicable, in accordance with the

standards set forth in Section 2 of that

Order.

List of Subjects in 13 CFR Part 107

Investment companies, Loan

Programs—business, reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Small

businesses.

PART 107—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for 13 CFR

part 107 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 662 (12).

2. Section 107.50 is amended by

removing the definition for ‘‘Smaller

Business’’ and by adding a new

definition in alphabetical order to read

as follows:

§ 107.50 Definition of terms.

* * * * *