28318 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 31, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

budget, these items are included under

the Commission agreement.

The Committee also unanimously

recommended an assessment rate of

$0.003 per hundredweight, $0.002 less

than last season. This rate, when

applied to anticipated shipments of 9

million hundredweight, will yield

$27,000 in assessment income. This,

along with $15,300 from the

Committee’s authorized reserve will be

adequate to cover budgeted expenses.

Funds in the reserve as of March 31,

1995, were $75,025, which is within the

maximum permitted by the order of two

fiscal periods’ expenses.

An interim final rule was published

in the Federal Register on April 6, 1995

(60 FR 17433). That interim final rule

added § 946.247 to authorize expenses

and establish an assessment rate for the

Committee. That rule provided that

interested persons could file comments

through May 8, 1995. No comments

were received.

While this rule will impose some

additional costs on handlers, the costs

are 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. Therefore, the

Administrator of the AMS has

determined that this rule will not have

a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

After consideration of all relevant

material 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.

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

Accordingly, the interim final rule

adding § 946.247 which was published

at 60 FR 17433, is adopted as a final rule

without change.

Dated: May 24, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95–13238 Filed 5–30–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

7 CFR Part 948

[Docket No. FV95–948–1IFR]

Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado;

Expenses and Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request

for comments.

SUMMARY: This interim final rule

authorizes expenditures and establishes

an assessment rate under Marketing

Order No. 948 for the 1995–96 fiscal

period. Authorization of this budget

enables the Colorado Potato

Administrative Committee, Northern

Colorado Office (Area III) (Committee)

to incur expenses that are reasonable

and necessary to administer the

program. Funds to administer this

program are derived from assessments

on handlers.

DATES: Effective July 1, 1995, through

June 30, 1996. Comments received by

June 30, 1995, will be considered prior

to issuance of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this interim final rule.

Comments must be sent in triplicate to

the Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable

Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456,

room 2523–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 2523–S, Washington,

DC 20090–6456, telephone 202–720–

9918, or Dennis L. West, Northwest

Marketing Field Office, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, GreenWyatt Federal Building, room 369, 1220

Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, OR

97204, telephone 503–326–2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

is issued under Marketing Agreement

No. 97 and Marketing Order No. 948,

both as amended (7 CFR part 948),

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes

grown in Colorado. 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 interim final rule has been

reviewed under Executive Order 12778,

Civil Justice Reform. Under the

marketing order now in effect, Colorado

potatoes are subject to assessments.

Funds to administer the Colorado potato

marketing order are derived from such

assessments. It is intended that the

assessment rate as issued herein will be

applicable to all assessable potatoes

during the 1995–96 fiscal period, which

begins July 1, 1995, and ends June 30,

1996. This interim final 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 8c(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 in

equity to review the Secretary’s ruling

on the petition, provided a bill in equity

is filed not later than 20 days after the

date of the entry of the ruling.

Pursuant to requirements set forth in

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the

Administrator of the Agricultural

Marketing Service (AMS) has

considered the economic impact of this

rule on small entities.

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 85 producers

of Colorado Area III potatoes under the

marketing order and approximately 15

handlers. Small agricultural producers

have been defined by the Small

Business Administration (13 CFR

121.601) as those having annual receipts

of 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
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 31, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 28319

Colorado Area III potato producers and

handlers may be classified as small

entities.

The budget of expenses for the 1995-

96 fiscal period was prepared by the

Colorado Potato Administrative

Committee, Northern Colorado Office

(Area III), the agency responsible for

local administration of the marketing

order, and submitted to the Department

for approval. The members of the

Committee are producers and handlers

of Colorado Area III 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. The budget was formulated and

discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all

directly affected persons have had an

opportunity to participate and provide

input.

The assessment rate recommended by

the Committee was derived by dividing

anticipated expenses by expected

shipments of Colorado Area III potatoes.

Because that rate will be applied to

actual shipments, it must be established

at a rate that will provide sufficient

income to pay the Committee’s

expenses.

In Colorado, both a State and a

Federal marketing order operate

simultaneously. The State order

authorizes promotion, including paid

advertising, which the Federal order

does not. All expenses in this category

are financed under the State order. The

jointly operated programs consume

about equal administrative time and the

two orders continue to split

administrative costs equally.

The Committee met on April 13, 1995,

and unanimously recommended a 1995-

96 budget of $27,362.50, $3,037.50 more

than the previous year. Budget items for

the 1995-96 Federal portion of the

administrative budget which have

increased compared to those budgeted

for 1994-95 (in parentheses) are: Audit,

$450 ($400), medical insurance, $685

($620), office equipment, $4,500

($2,000), payroll tax, $902.50 ($880),

Federal meetings, $500 ($400), and $300

for other salary for which no funding

was recommended last year.

The Committee also unanimously

recommended an assessment rate of

$0.02 per hundredweight, the same as

last season. This rate, when applied to

anticipated potato shipments of

1,200,500 hundredweight, will yield

$24,010 in assessment income. This,

along with $1,500 in interest income,

$1,200 in rent from the sublease of

office space to the State inspection

service, and $652.50 from the

Committee’s authorized reserve will be

adequate to cover budgeted expenses.

Funds in the reserve at the end of the

1995-96 fiscal period, estimated at

$35,195, will be within the maximum

permitted by the order of two fiscal

periods’ expenses.

While this action will impose some

additional costs on handlers, the costs

are 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. Therefore, the

Administrator of the AMS has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

After consideration of all relevant

material 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 because: (1) The

Committee needs to have sufficient

funds to pay its expenses which are

incurred on a continuous basis; (2) the

fiscal period begins on July 1, 1995, and

the marketing order requires that the

rate of assessment for the fiscal period

apply to all assessable potatoes handled

during the 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 budget 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 948

Marketing agreements, Potatoes,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 948 is amended as

follows:

PART 948—IRISH POTATOES GROWN

IN COLORADO

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 948 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

2. A new § 948.213 is added to read

as follows:

Note: This section will not appear in the

Code of Federal Regulations.

§ 948.213 Expenses and assessment rate.

Expenses of $27,362.50 by the

Colorado Potato Administrative

Committee, Northern Colorado Office

(Area III) are authorized, and an

assessment rate of $0.02 per

hundredweight of assessable potatoes is

established for the fiscal period ending

June 30, 1996. Unexpended funds may

be carried over as a reserve.

Dated: May 24, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95–13237 Filed 5–30–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

Rural Housing and Community

Development Service

Rural Business and Cooperative

Development Service

Rural Utilities Service

Consolidated Farm Service Agency

7 CFR Parts 1955, 1962, and 1965

Administrative Changes to Provide

Authority to Approve Releases of

Liability in Connection with Voluntary

Liquidations

AGENCIES: Rural Housing and

Community Development Service, Rural

Business and Cooperative Development

Service, Rural Utilities Service, and

Consolidated Farm Service Agency,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Consolidated Farm

Service Agency (CFSA) is the successor

to the Farmers Home Administration

pursuant to Section 226 of the

Department of Agriculture

Reorganization Act of 1994 (Pub. L.

103–354, October 13, 1994). The CFSA

amends its Property Management,

Chattel Property, and Real Property

regulations to conform with changes

made to its debt settlement regulations

in April 1993. These conforming

changes are made to give State Directors

release of liability authority for

borrowers whose total indebtness is less

than one million dollars. The intended

effect is to expedite the processing of

requests from borrowers who are unable

to repay all of their CFSA debts.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 31, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edward R. Yaxley, Jr., Senior Loan

Officer, Farm Credit Programs Loan

Servicing and Property Management

Division, Consolidated Farm Service

Agency, USDA, room 5449, South

Agriculture Building, 14th and

Independence Avenue SW.,