[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33235-33237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16376]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 28

[CN-98-004]


Revision of User Fees for 1998 Crop Cotton Classification 
Services to Growers

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is reducing user fees 
for cotton producers for 1998 crop cotton classification services under 
the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act in accordance with the formula 
provided in the Uniform Cotton Classing Fees Act of 1987. The 1997 user 
fee for this classification service was $1.40 per bale. This rule would 
reduce the fee for the 1998 crop to $1.30 per bale. The reduction in 
fees resulted from increased efficiency in classing operations. The fee 
is sufficient to recover the costs of providing classification 
services, including costs for administration, supervision, and 
development and maintenance of standards.

DATES: Effective Date: July 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lee Cliburn, 202-720-2145.


[[Page 33236]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule detailing the revisions was 
published in the Federal Register on March 27, 1998, (63 FR 14839). A 
30 day comment period was provided for interested persons to respond to 
the proposed rule: No comments were received.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866, and it has not been reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
This rule would not preempt any state or local laws, regulations, or 
policies unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this rule. 
There are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted prior to 
any judicial challenge to the provisions of this rule.
    The Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), has 
considered the economic impact of this rule on small entities pursuant 
to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). It has been determined that the implementation 
of this rule would 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 in order that small businesses will 
not be disproportionately burdened. There are an estimated 40,000 
cotton growers in the U.S. who voluntarily use the AMS cotton classing 
services annually, and the majority of these cotton growers are small 
businesses under the criteria established by the Small Business 
Administration (13 CFR Sec. 121.601). The Administrator of AMS has 
certified that this action will not have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities as defined in the RFA 
because:
    (1) The fee reduction reflects a decrease in the cost-per-unit 
currently borne by those entities utilizing the services (the 1997 user 
fee for classification services was $1.40 per bale; the fee for the 
1998 crop would be reduced to $1.30 per bale; the 1998 crop is 
estimated at 15,684,900 bales);
    (2) The cost reduction will not affect competition in the 
marketplace; and
    (3) The use of classification services is voluntary. For the 1997 
crop, 17,949,575 bales were classed out of 18,346,450 bales produced.
    (4) Based on the average price paid to growers for cotton from the 
1996 crop of 69.3 cents per pound, 500 pound bales of cotton are worth 
an average of $346.50 each. The proposed user fee for classification 
services, $1.30 per bale, is less than one percent of the value of an 
average bale of cotton.
    In compliance with OMB regulations (5 CFR part 1320) which 
implement the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 
the information collection requirements contained in the provisions to 
be amended by this rule have been previously approved by OMB and were 
assigned OMB control number 0581-0009 under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    The changes will be made effective July 1, 1998, as provided by the 
Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act.

Fees for Classification under the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act 
of 1927

    The user fee charged to cotton producers for High Volume Instrument 
(HVI) classification services under the Cotton Statistics and Estimates 
Act (7 U.S.C. 473a) was $1.40 per bale during the 1997 harvest season 
as determined by using the formula provided in the Uniform Cotton 
Classing Fees Act of 1987, as amended by Public Law 102-237. The fees 
cover salaries, costs of equipment and supplies, and other overhead 
costs, including costs for administration, supervision, and development 
and maintenance of cotton standards.
    This final rule establishes the user fee charged to producers for 
HVI classification at $1.30 per bale during the 1998 harvest season.
    Public Law 102-237 amended the formula in the Uniform Cotton 
Classing Fees Act of 1987 for establishing the producer's 
classification fee so that the producer's fee is based on the 
prevailing method of classification requested by producers during the 
previous year. HVI classing was the prevailing method of cotton 
classification requested by producers in 1997. Therefore, the 1998 
producer's user fee for classification service is based on the 1997 
base fee for HVI classification.
    The fee was calculated by applying the formula specified in the 
Uniform Cotton Classing Fees Act of 1987, as amended by Public Law 102-
237. The 1997 base fee for HVI classification exclusive of adjustments, 
as provided by the Act, was $2.08 per bale. A two percent, or four 
cents per bale increase due to the implicit price deflator of the gross 
domestic product added to the $2.08 would result in a 1998 base fee of 
$2.12 per bale. The formula in the Act provides for the use of the 
percentage change in the implicit price deflator of the gross national 
product (as indexed for the most recent 12-month period for which 
statistics are available). However, this has been replaced by the gross 
domestic product by the Department of Commerce as a more appropriate 
measure for the short-term monitoring and analysis of the U.S. economy.
    The number of bales to be classed by the United States Department 
of Agriculture from the 1998 crop is estimated at 15,684,900 bales. The 
1998 base fee was decreased 15 percent based on the estimated number of 
bales to be classed (one percent for every 100,000 bales or portion 
thereof above the base of 12,500,000, limited to a maximum adjustment 
of 15 percent). This percentage factor amounts to a 32 cents per bale 
reduction and was subtracted from the 1998 base fee of $2.12 per bale, 
resulting in a fee of $1.80 per bale.
    With a fee of $1.80 per bale, the projected operating reserve would 
be 46.806 percent. The Act specifies that the Secretary shall not 
establish a fee which, when combined with other sources of revenue, 
will result in a projected operating reserve of more than 25 percent. 
Accordingly, the fee of $1.80 must be reduced by 50 cents per bale, to 
$1.30 per bale, to provide an ending accumulated operating reserve for 
the fiscal year of 25 percent of the projected cost of operating the 
program. This would establish the 1998 season fee at $1.30 per bale.
    Accordingly, Sec. 28.909, paragraph (b) will be revised to reflect 
the reduction in the HVI classification fees.
    As provided for in the Uniform Cotton Classing Fees Act of 1987, as 
amended, a five cent per bale discount will continue to be applied to 
voluntary centralized billing and collecting agents as specified in 
Sec. 28.909 (c).
    Growers or their designated agents requesting classification data 
provided on computer punched cards will be charged a fee of 10 cents 
per card to reflect the costs of providing this service. Requests for 
punch card classification data represent only 2.6 percent of the total 
bales classed. This change will be reflected in Sec. 28.910 (a). 
Growers or their designated agents receiving classification data by 
methods other than computer punched cards will continue to incur no 
additional fees if only one method of receiving classification data was 
requested. The fee for each additional method of receiving 
classification data in Sec. 28.910 will remain at five cents per bale, 
and it will be applicable even if the same method was requested. 
However, if computer punched cards were requested, a fee of ten cents 
per card would be charged. The fee in Sec. 28.910 (b) for an owner 
receiving classification data from the central database will

[[Page 33237]]

remain at five cents per bale, and the minimum charge of $5.00 for 
services provided per monthly billing period will remain the same. The 
provisions of Sec. 28.910 (c) concerning the fee for new classification 
memoranda issued from the central database for the business convenience 
of an owner without reclassification of the cotton will remain the 
same.
    The fee for review classification in Sec. 28.911 will be reduced 
from $1.40 per bale to $1.30 per bale.
    The fee for returning samples after classification in Sec. 28.911 
will remain at 40 cents per sample.
    Finally, the authority citation for Subpart D of Part 28 was 
revised at 61 FR 19512. This action would correct that revision by 
specifying Subpart D rather than a reference to Part 28 in its 
entirety.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 28

    Administrative practice and procedure, Cotton, Cotton samples, 
Grades, Market news, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Standards, Staples, Testing, Warehouses.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 28 is amended 
as follows:

PART 28--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 28, subpart D, is revised to 
read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 471-476.

    2. In Sec. 28.909, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 28.909  Costs.

* * * * *
    (b) The cost of High Volume Instrument (HVI) cotton classification 
service to producers is $1.30 per bale.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 28.910, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 28.910  Classification of samples and issuance of classification 
data.

    (a) (1) The samples submitted as provided in the subpart shall be 
classified by employees of the Division and classification memoranda 
showing the official quality determination of each sample according to 
the official cotton standards of the United States shall be issued by 
any one of the following methods at no additional charge:
    (i) Computer diskettes,
    (ii) Computer tapes, or
    (iii) Telecommunications, with all long distance telephone line 
charges paid by the receiver of data.
    (2) When an additional copy of the classification memorandum is 
issued by any method listed in paragraph (a)(1), there will be a charge 
of five cents per bale. If provided as an additional method of data 
transfer, the minimum fee for each tape or diskette issued shall be 
$10.00.
    (3) Upon request, computer punch cards may be issued. The fee for 
this service shall be 10 cents per card.
* * * * *
    4. In Sec. 28.911, the last sentence of paragraph (a) is revised to 
read as follows:


Sec. 28.911  Review classification.

    (a) * * * The fee for review classification is $1.30 per bale.
* * * * *
    Dated: June 16, 1998.
Enrique E. Figueroa,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 98-16376 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P