35500 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 1201

Administrative practice and

procedure, Civil rights, Government

employees.

Accordingly, the Board adopts as final

its interim rule published at 62 FR

62689, November 25, 1997, with the

following changes:

1. Section 1201.31(d), as added by the

interim rule, is revised to read as

follows:

§ 1201.31 Representatives.

* * * * *

(d)(1) A judge may exclude a party, a

representative, or other person from all

or any portion of the proceeding before

him or her for contumacious

misconduct or conduct that is

prejudicial to the administration of

justice.

(2) When a judge determines that a

person should be excluded from

participation in a proceeding, the judge

shall inform the person of this

determination through issuance of an

order to show cause why he or she

should not be excluded. The show cause

order shall be delivered to the person by

the most expeditious means of delivery

available, including issuance of an oral

order on the record where the

determination to exclude the person is

made during a hearing. The person must

respond to the judge’s show cause order

within three days (excluding Saturdays,

Sundays, and Federal holidays) of

receipt of the order, unless the judge

provides a different time limit, or forfeit

the right to seek certification of a

subsequent exclusion order as an

interlocutory appeal to the Board under

paragraph (d)(3) of this section.

(3) When, after consideration of the

person’s response to the show cause

order, or in the absence of a response to

the show cause order, the judge

determines that the person should be

excluded from participation in the

proceeding, the judge shall issue an

order that documents the reasons for the

exclusion. The person may obtain

review of the judge’s ruling by filing,

within three days (excluding Saturdays,

Sundays, and Federal holidays) of

receipt of the ruling, a motion that the

ruling be certified to the Board as an

interlocutory appeal. The judge shall

certify an interlocutory appeal to the

Board within one day (excluding

Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal

holidays) of receipt of such a motion.

Only the provisions of this paragraph

apply to interlocutory appeals of rulings

excluding a person from a proceeding;

the provisions of §§ 1201.91 through

1201.93 of this part shall not apply.

(4) A proceeding will not be delayed

because the judge excludes a person

from the proceeding, except that:

(i) Where the judge excludes a party’s

representative, the judge will give the

party a reasonable time to obtain

another representative; and

(ii) Where the judge certifies an

interlocutory appeal of an exclusion

ruling to the Board, the judge or the

Board may stay the proceeding sua

sponte or on the motion of a party for

a stay of the proceeding.

(5) The Board, when considering a

petition for review of a judge’s initial

decision under subpart C of this part,

will not be bound by any decision of the

judge to exclude a person from the

proceeding below.

2. Section 1201.41(b)(7), is revised to

read as follows:

§ 1201.41 Judges.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(7) Exclude any person from all or any

part of the proceeding before him or her

as provided under § 1201.31(d) of this

part;

* * * * *

Dated: June 22, 1998.

Robert E. Taylor,

Clerk of the Board.

[FR Doc. 98–16930 Filed 6–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7400–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 29, 31, 32, 36, 51, 52, 53,

54, 56, 58, 70, and 160

[Docket Number FV–95–303]

Removal of U.S. Grade Standards and

Other Selected Regulations

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Agriculture is adopting two interim

final rules concerning removal of

voluntary U.S. grade standards and

other selected regulations from the Code

of Federal Regulations (CFR). This

action is part of the National

Performance Review Program to

eliminate unnecessary regulations and

improve those that remain in force.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 30, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric

Forman, Associate Deputy

Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable

Programs, USDA, AMS, Room 2085–S,

P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C.

20090–6456, (202) 690–0262.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An

interim final rule was published in the

Federal Register on December 4, 1995.

That rule removed most of the voluntary

U.S. grade standards and other selected

regulations covering a number of

agricultural commodities (dairy

products, tobacco, wool, mohair, fresh

and processed fruits and vegetables,

livestock, meats and meat products,

eggs, and poultry and rabbit products)

from the CFR. A second interim final

rule was published on August 13, 1997

which: removed from the CFR those

standards that had been retained

pending completion of rulemaking at

the time an interim final rule was

published on December 4, 1995 which

removed most of the U.S. standards

from the CFR; reinstated the U.S.

standards for Wisconsin Cigar-Binder

Tobacco, and regulations related to the

purchase of samples of wool and of

mohair grades; and, lastly added a new

part titled ‘‘Procedures by Which the

Agricultural Marketing Service

Develops, Revises, Suspends, or

Terminates Voluntary Official Grade

Standards.’’ These procedures were first

discussed in the original interim rule

and further developed and published in

the August 13, 1997 interim final rule

providing specifics as to the procedures

that AMS will follow when developing,

revising, suspending, or terminating

voluntary U.S. grade standards. The

Department is making final the

December 4, 1995, interim final rule,

and the August 13, 1997, interim final

rule. This regulatory action is being

taken as part of the National

Performance Review program to

eliminate unnecessary regulations and

improve those that remain in force.

Executive Order 12866

The Department of Agriculture

(Department) is issuing this rule in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule is not intended to

have preemptive effect with respect to

any State or local laws, regulations, or

policies unless they present an

irreconcilable conflict with this rule.

This rule is not intended to have

retroactive effect. There are no

administrative procedures which must

be exhausted prior to any judicial

challenge to this rule or the application

of its provisions.

Effect on Small Entities

This action was reviewed under the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 35501

U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The Administrator of

AMS has determined that this action

will not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities. 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

unduly or disproportionately burdened.

The United States standards issued or

revised pursuant to the Agricultural

Marketing Act, and issued thereunder,

are administered under the direction of

the Administrator of AMS and, as in the

past, will be based on input from

interested parties, including various

industries which are mostly comprised

of small entities as defined by the Small

Business Administration (13 CFR

121.601). Other users of the various

standards are government agencies

including USDA’s Farm Services

Agency and the Foreign Agricultural

Service.

Removal of voluntary standards and

other selected regulations covering a

number of agricultural commodities

from the CFR is expected to benefit the

affected industries because it will

provide for more timely improvement in

the standards in accordance with the

published procedures. Notice of any

actions as to the development, revision,

suspension or termination of U.S.

standards will be published in the

Federal Register with request for

comment to ensure that all interested

parties, including small businesses as

well as the general public, have an

opportunity to have their views

considered regarding any actions taken

concerning the U.S. grade standards.

This rule will specify a new CFR part

titled ‘‘Procedures by Which the

Agricultural Marketing Service

Develops, Revises, Suspends, or

Terminates Voluntary Official Grade

Standards.’’ These procedures reflect

the steps that were discussed in the

original interim final rule concerning

the procedures that AMS will follow

when developing, revising, suspending,

or terminating U.S. grade standards.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the provisions of

the Paperwork Reduction Act, the

information collection requirements

contained in the provisions have been

previously approved by the Office of

Management and Budget.

Background

The Secretary of Agriculture is

authorized under various statutes to

provide various services to provide

Federal grading/certification services

and to develop and establish efficient

marketing methods and practices of

agricultural commodities. For more than

75 years, AMS has facilitated the

marketing of agricultural commodities

by developing official U.S. grade

standards which provide a uniform

language that may be used to describe

the characteristics of more than 450

commodities as valued by the

marketplace. These standards are

widely used in private contracts,

government procurement, marketing

communication and, for some

commodities, consumer information.

Although use of the U.S. standards is

usually voluntary, they have through

the years been promulgated as

regulations and codified in the CFR.

Rapid changes in consumer preferences,

together with associated changes in

commodity characteristics, processing

technology, and marketing practices

have often out paced the revision of

existing or, the issuance of new

regulations. As a result, the marketplace

has been in some instances burdened

with outdated trading language. The

President’s regulatory review initiative

provided the impetus to develop new

approaches to meet more effectively the

needs of U.S. industry, government

agencies, and consumers by reducing

the regulatory burden. As part of this

initiative, AMS determined that certain

regulations that were in the CFR which

could be administered under the

authority of AMS should be removed

from the CFR.

With this objective, on December 4,

1995, AMS published an interim final

rule with a request for comments that

removed most of the voluntary U.S.

standards and related regulations from

the CFR. That action included all of the

standards except those that at the time

were in rulemaking, incorporated by

reference in marketing orders/

agreements appearing at 7 CFR Parts 900

through 999, or those used to implement

government price supports. Those grade

standard regulations have remained in

the CFR, even though the text will also

be available as AMS standards along

with all other grade standards.

On March 11, 1996, in response to

requests by representatives of the dairy

and meat industries, USDA published a

notice in the Federal Register that it

would reopen and extend the comment

period until July 10, 1996. The industry

association comments asked for more

time to evaluate how the changes AMS

was initiating would impact their

respective industries.

Twenty one comments were received

from interested persons in connection

with the interim final rule. Those

commenting included representatives of

trade associations, a food processor, a

state department of agriculture and

other interested persons. The majority of

comments were commodity specific and

were addressed on an AMS program

basis with regard to the appropriate

commodity topic.

One comment expressed its concern

about the process AMS would follow

with regard to drafting new or revising

existing standards and wanted

assurance that AMS would continue to

solicit input from industry when

developing and revising U.S. grade

standards.

Taking into account the various

comments received in response to the

request for comment on the December 4,

1995 interim final rule, AMS prepared

a second interim final rule which was

published in the Federal Register on

August 13, 1997. That rule addressed by

Program and commodity the specific

concerns or comments from industry.

One comment was received in

response to the August 13, 1997, interim

final rule. The American Meat Institute

stated that their ‘‘* * * initial

reservations to the December 1995

version of the rule regarding the ability

of industry to fully participate in the

development of future changes to grade

standards appear to have been

resolved. * * * ’’ The August 13, 1997,

interim final rule codified in Part 36 of

7 CFR procedures that AMS will follow

when developing, revising, suspending,

or terminating U.S. grade standards.

Further, during the period of time

since the comment period ended, AMS

has had an opportunity to revise several

grade standards using the procedures

that were established under Part 36. At

this time AMS is confident that the

procedures effectively provide for

public input.

This action will make final those

regulations. As has been longstanding

practice, the standards for the various

commodities will be administered by

the respective commodity programs

within AMS. Also, AMS has had time

to evaluate the effectiveness of

procedures that were published in Part

36 and believes that they are serving

their intended purposes. Accordingly, it

is appropriate that the provisions of the

December 4, 1995, interim final rule,

and the August 13, 1997, interim final

rule be made final, without change.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 29

Administrative practice and

procedure, Advisory committees,

Government publications, Imports,

Pesticides and pests, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Tobacco.

7 CFR Part 31

Wool.
35502 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

1Among such other products are the following:

Raw nuts, Christmas trees and evergreens; flowers

and flower bulbs; and onion sets.

2None of the requirements in the regulations of

this part shall excuse failure to comply with any

Federal, State, county, or municipal laws applicable

to products covered in the regulations in this part.

3Among such other processed food products are

the following: Honey; molasses, except for

stockfeed; nuts and nut products, except oil; sugar

(cane, beet, and maple); sirups (blended), sirups,

except from grain; tea; cocoa; coffee; spices;

condiments.

4Compliance with these standards does not

excuse failure to comply with the provisions of the

Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

7 CFR Part 32

Mohair.

7 CFR Part 36

Administrative practice and

procedure, Agricultural commodities,

Food grades and standards, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

7 CFR Part 51

Agricultural commodities, Food

grades and standards, Fruits, Nuts,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Trees, Vegetables.

7 CFR Part 52

Food grades and standards, Food

labeling, Frozen foods, Fruit juices,

Fruits, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Vegetables.

7 CFR Part 53

Cattle, Hogs, Livestock, Sheep.

7 CFR Part 54

Food grades and standards, Food

labeling, Meat and meat products.

7 CFR Part 56

Eggs and egg products, Food grades

and standards, Food labeling, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

7 CFR Part 58

Dairy products, Food grades and

standards, Food labeling, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

7 CFR Part 70

Food grades and standards, Food

labeling, Poultry and poultry products,

Rabbits and rabbit products, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

7 CFR Part 160

Administrative practice and

procedure, Advertising, Forests and

forest products, Labeling, Packaging and

containers, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

PART 29—TOBACCO INSPECTION

PART 31—WOOL STANDARDS

PART 32—MOHAIR STANDARDS

PART 36—PROCEDURES BY WHICH

THE AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

SERVICE DEVELOPS, REVISES,

SUSPENDS, OR TERMINATES

VOLUNTARY OFFICIAL GRADE

STANDARDS

PART 51—FRESH FRUITS,

VEGETABLES AND OTHER

PRODUCTS1 2 (INSPECTION,

CERTIFICATION, AND STANDARDS)

PART 52—PROCESSED FRUITS AND

VEGETABLES, PROCESSED

PRODUCTS THEREOF, AND CERTAIN

OTHER PROCESSED FOOD

PRODUCTS3

PART 53—LIVESTOCK (GRADING,

CERTIFICATION, AND STANDARDS)

PART 54—MEATS, PREPARED

MEATS, AND MEAT PRODUCTS

(GRADING, CERTIFICATION, AND

STANDARDS)

PART 56—GRADING OF SHELL EGGS

AND U.S. STANDARDS, GRADES, AND

WEIGHT CLASSES FOR SHELL EGGS

PART 58—GRADING AND

INSPECTION, GENERAL

SPECIFICATIONS FOR APPROVED

PLANTS AND STANDARDS FOR

GRADES OF DAIRY PRODUCTS4

PART 70—VOLUNTARY GRADING OF

POULTRY PRODUCTS AND RABBIT

PRODUCTS AND U.S. CLASSES,

STANDARDS, AND GRADES

PART 160—REGULATIONS AND

STANDARDS FOR NAVAL STORES

Accordingly the interim final rule

amending 7 CFR Parts 29, 31, 32, 51, 52,

53, 54, 56, 58, 70, and 160, which was

published at 60 FR 62172 on December

4, 1995, and the interim final rule

amending 7 CFR Parts 29, 31, 32, 36, 52,

53, 54, and 58, which was published at

62 FR 43430 on August 13, 1997, are

adopted as final rules, without change.

Dated: June 24, 1998.

Enrique E. Figueroa,

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing

Service.

[FR Doc. 98–17349 Filed 6–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

7 CFR Parts 800 and 801

RIN 0580–AA62

Official Testing Service for Corn Oil,

Protein, and Starch

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule with request for

comment.

SUMMARY: The Grain Inspection, Packers

and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)

is extending the use of the currently

approved near-infrared spectroscopy

(NIRS) analyzers in its official

inspection program to include testing of

corn for oil, protein, and starch content.

GIPSA is incorporating by reference the

Corn Refiners Association Method A–

20, Starch method, into the regulations

and will use it as the chemical reference

method for determining the starch

content in corn. To recover the cost of

providing this service, GIPSA is

establishing a fee identical to the fees

already established for other nearinfrared spectroscopy measurements

(wheat protein and soybean oil and

protein). GIPSA is offering this service

to meet a market demand for reliable

official testing procedures created by

anticipated increases in high-oil corn

(HOC) production.

DATES: This interim rule is effective July

1, 1998. To be assured of consideration,

written comments must be filed before

July 30, 1998.

The incorporation by reference of

Analysis for Starch in Corn, Method A–

20, 2nd revision, April 15, 1986,

Standard Analytical Methods of the

Member Companies of the Corn Refiners

Association, Inc., listed in the rule is

approved by the Director of the Federal

Register as of July 1, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments must be

sent to Sharon Vassiliades, GIPSA,

USDA, STOP 3649, Washington, DC

20250–3649; FAX to (202) 720–4628; or

e-mail svassili@fgisdc.usda.gov.