[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 71 (Monday, April 14, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18021-18023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9477]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 946

[Docket No. FV97-946-1 IFR]


Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; Amended Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This interim final rule decreases the assessment rate 
established for the State of Washington Potato Committee (Committee) 
under Marketing Order No. 946 for the 1997-98 and subsequent fiscal 
periods. The Committee is responsible for local administration of the 
marketing order which regulates the handling of Irish potatoes grown in 
Washington.

[[Page 18022]]

Authorization to assess potato handlers enables the Committee to incur 
expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program.

DATES: Effective on July 1, 1997. Comments received by May 14, 1997, 
will be considered prior to issuance of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this rule. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the Docket 
Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 
2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, FAX 202-720-5698. Comments should 
reference the docket 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. 
Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone 202-720-
9918; FAX 202-720-5698, or Dennis L. West, Northwest Marketing Field 
Office, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal 
Building, room 369, 1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204; 
telephone 503-326-2724; FAX 503-326-7440. Small businesses may request 
information on compliance with this regulation by contacting Jay 
Guerber, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable 
Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-
6456; telephone 202-720-2491; FAX 202-720-5698.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 113 and Order No. 946, both as amended (7 CFR part 946) 
regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Washington, 
hereinafter referred to as the ``order.'' The marketing agreement and 
order are 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 (Department) is issuing this rule in 
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect, Washington 
potato handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the 
order are derived from such assessments. It is intended that the 
assessment rate as issued herein will be applicable to all assessable 
potatoes beginning July 1, 1997, and continuing until amended, 
suspended, or terminated. This rule will not preempt any State or local 
laws, regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable 
conflict with this rule.
    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 Secretary 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 the Secretary 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 the 
Secretary'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 rule decreases the assessment rate established for the 
Committee for the 1997-98 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.003 to 
$0.002 per hundredweight.
    The Washington potato marketing order provides authority for the 
Committee, with the approval of the Department, 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 
Washington potatoes. They are familiar with the Committee's needs and 
with the costs for goods and services in their local area and are thus 
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 1996-97 and subsequent fiscal periods, the Committee 
recommended, and the Department approved, an assessment rate that would 
continue in effect from fiscal period to fiscal period indefinitely 
unless modified, suspended, or terminated by the Secretary upon 
recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other 
information available to the Secretary.
    The Committee met on February 7, 1997, and unanimously recommended 
1997-98 expenditures of $44,400 and an assessment rate of $0.002 per 
hundredweight of potatoes. In comparison, last year's budgeted 
expenditures were $42,500. The assessment rate of $0.002 is $0.001 less 
than the rate currently in effect. As the Committee's reserve exceeds 
the amount authorized in the order of two fiscal periods' operational 
expenses, the Committee voted to lower its assessment rate and use more 
of the reserve to cover its expenses. The Committee discussed 
alternatives to this rule, including alternative expenditure levels, 
but recommended that the major expenditures for the 1997-98 fiscal 
period should include $18,800 for an agreement with the Washington 
State Potato Commission to provide miscellaneous services to the 
Committee and $6,000 for compliance audits. Budgeted expenses for these 
items in 1996-97 were $17,400 and $6,000, respectively.
    The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by 
dividing anticipated expenses by expected shipments of Washington 
potatoes. Potato shipments for the year are estimated at 10,000,000 
hundredweight, which should provide $20,000 in assessment income. 
Income derived from handler assessments, along with funds from the 
Committee's authorized reserve, will be adequate to cover budgeted 
expenses. Funds in the reserve will be kept within the maximum 
permitted by the order.
    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the 
economic impact of this action 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 
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. Thus, both statutes have small 
entity orientation and compatibility.
    There are approximately 450 producers of Washington potatoes in the 
production area and approximately 40 handlers subject to regulation 
under the marketing order. Small agricultural producers have been 
defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those 
having annual receipts less than $500,000 and small agricultural 
service firms are defined as those whose annual receipts are less than 
$5,000,000. The majority of Washington potato producers and handlers 
may be classified as small entities.

[[Page 18023]]

    This rule decreases the assessment rate established for the 
Committee and collected from handlers for the 1997-98 and subsequent 
fiscal periods from $0.003 to $0.002 per hundredweight. The Committee 
unanimously recommended 1997-98 expenditures of $44,400 and an 
assessment rate of $0.002 per hundredweight of potatoes. The assessment 
rate of $0.002 is $0.001 less than the rate currently in effect. As the 
Committee's reserve exceeds the amount authorized in the order of two 
fiscal periods' operational expenses, the Committee voted to lower its 
assessment rate and use more of the reserve to cover its expenses.
    The Committee discussed alternatives to this rule, including 
alternative expenditure levels, but recommended that the major 
expenditures for the 1997-98 fiscal period should include $18,800 for 
an agreement with the Washington State Potato Commission to provide 
miscellaneous services to the Committee and $6,000 for compliance 
audits. The Committee also discussed the alternative of not decreasing 
the assessment rate. However, it decided against this course of action 
because continuation of the higher rate would not allow it to bring its 
operating reserve in line with the maximum amount authorized under the 
order. The reduced assessment rate will require the Committee to use 
more of its reserve for authorized expenses, and help bring the reserve 
within authorized levels.
    Potato shipments for the year are estimated at 10,000,000 
hundredweight, which should provide $20,000 in assessment income. 
Income derived from handler assessments, along with funds from the 
Committee's authorized reserve, will be adequate to cover budgeted 
expenses. Funds in the reserve will be kept within the maximum 
permitted by the order.
    Recent price information indicates that the grower price for the 
1997-98 marketing season will range between $5.00 and $8.00 per 
hundredweight of potatoes. Therefore, the estimated assessment revenue 
for the 1997-98 fiscal period as a percentage of total grower revenue 
will range between .025 and .04 percent.
    This action will reduce the assessment obligation imposed on 
handlers. While this rule will impose some additional costs on 
handlers, the costs are minimal and in the form of uniform assessments 
on all handlers. Some of the additional costs may be passed on to 
producers.
    However, these costs will be offset by the benefits derived by the 
operation of the marketing order. In addition, the Committee's meeting 
was widely publicized throughout the Washington potato industry and all 
interested persons were invited to attend the meeting and participate 
in Committee deliberations on all issues. Like all Committee meetings, 
the February 7, 1997, 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 information on the 
regulatory and informational impacts of this action on small 
businesses.
    This action will not impose any additional reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large Washington potato 
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.
    After consideration of all relevant matter presented, including the 
information and recommendation 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.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also found and determined upon good 
cause that it is impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public 
interest to give preliminary notice prior to putting this rule into 
effect, and that good cause exists for not postponing the effective 
date of this rule until 30 days after publication in the Federal 
Register because: (1) The Committee needs to have sufficient funds to 
pay its expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis; (2) the 
1997-98 fiscal period begins on July 1, 1997, and the marketing order 
requires that the rate of assessment for each fiscal period apply to 
all assessable potatoes handled during such fiscal period; (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; and (4) this interim final rule provides 
a 30-day comment period, and all comments timely received will be 
considered prior to finalization of this rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 946

    Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 946 is 
amended as follows:

PART 946--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN WASHINGTON

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 946 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.


Sec. 946.248  [Amended]

    2. Section 946.248 is amended by removing ``July 1, 1996,'' and 
adding in its place ``July 1, 1997,'' and by removing ``$0.003'' and 
adding in its place ``$0.002.''

    Dated: April 7, 1997.
Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,
Acting Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 97-9477 Filed 4-11-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P