This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

63609

Vol. 60, No. 238

Tuesday, December 12, 1995

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 955

[Docket No. FV95–955–2FIR]

Vidalia Onions Grown in Georgia;

Expenses and Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Agriculture (Department) is adopting as

a final rule, without change, the

provisions of an interim final rule that

authorized expenses and established an

assessment rate that generated funds to

pay those expenses under Marketing

Order No. 955 for the 1995–96 fiscal

period. Authorization of this budget

enables the Vidalia Onion Committee

(Committee) to incur expenses that are

reasonable and necessary to administer

the program. Funds to administer this

program are derived from assessments

on handlers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 16, 1995,

through September 15, 1996.

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 Aleck J. Jonas, Southeast

Marketing Field Office, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.

Box 2276, Winter Haven, FL 33883–

2276, telephone 941–299–4770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

is issued under Marketing Agreement

and Order No. 955 (7 CFR part 955),

regulating the handling of Vidalia

onions grown in Georgia, 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 is issuing this rule in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice

Reform. Under the provisions of the

marketing order now in effect, Vidalia

onions are subject to assessments. It is

intended that the assessment rate as

issued herein will be applicable to all

assessable onions handled during the

1995–96 fiscal period, which began

September 16, 1995, and ends

September 15, 1996. This 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 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. 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 the 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 240

producers of Georgia Vidalia onions

under this marketing order, and

approximately 145 handlers. Since the

interim final rule was issued,

information regarding a reduction in the

number of producers from

approximately 250 to 240 was received.

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 Vidalia onion producers and

handlers may be classified as small

entities.

The budget of expenses for the 1995–

96 fiscal period was prepared by the

Vidalia Onion Committee, the agency

responsible for local administration of

the marketing order, and submitted to

the Department of Agriculture for

approval. The members of the

Committee are producers and handlers

of Vidalia onions. They are familiar

with the Committee’s needs and with

the costs of 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 Vidalia onions. 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.

The Committee met July 20, 1995, and

unanimously recommended a 1995–96

budget of $343,000, $11,000 more than

the previous year. Budget items for

1995–96 which have increased

compared to those budgeted for 1994–95

(in parentheses) are: Dues and

subscriptions, $2,500 ($2,000),

equipment maintenance, $1,600 ($750),

office overhead, $6,000 ($3,000), office

supplies, $3,500 ($3,000), telephone,

$5,000 ($4,000), printing, $2,200

($2,000), postage and courier, $6,000

($5,000), employee salaries, $65,000

($60,000), miscellaneous general and

administrative, $1,700 ($1,000),

marketing, $146,500 ($132,000), $6,500

for retirement, which was included in

the employee benefits category last year,

and $25,400 for a newly created

compliance category. Items which have

decreased compared to those budgeted
63610 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 238 / Tuesday, December 12, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

for 1994–95 (in parentheses) are:

Equipment purchases, $2,000 ($3,000),

FICA employer, $3,100 ($4,250),

employee benefits (health and dental),

$7,000 ($13,500), research, $48,500

($80,000), and ($8,000) for contract

outside labor, for which no funding was

recommended this year.

The Committee also unanimously

recommended an assessment rate of

$0.10 per 50-pound bag or equivalent of

Vidalia onions, the same as last year.

This rate, when applied to anticipated

shipments of 3,017,500 50-pound bags

or equivalents of Vidalia onions, would

yield $301,750. The Committee also

anticipates shipments of 50,000 50-

pound bags of previously unassessed

Vidalia onions which have been in

storage, which will yield an additional

$5,000 in assessment income. This,

along with $4,250 in interest income

and $32,000 from the Committee’s

authorized reserve, will be adequate to

cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the

Committee’s authorized reserve as of

September 15, 1995, amounted to over

$173,000 and were within the maximum

permitted by the order of three fiscal

periods’ expenses. However, at its

September 21, 1995, meeting the

Committee voted to refund $100,000 of

this amount pro rata to handlers who

paid assessments during the 1992–93,

1993–94, and 1994–95 fiscal periods. To

determine each handler’s proportionate

share, the Committee plans to total the

excess funds for each of these fiscal

periods, divide this excess by the total

assessments levied on all handlers

during this period, and apply the

resulting percentage to the assessments

paid by each individual handler during

the three-year period. Funds remaining

in the reserve will be adequate for

administrative operating expenses, if

needed.

An interim final rule was published

in the Federal Register on September

19, 1995 (60 FR 48361). That interim

final rule added § 955.208 to authorize

expenses and establish an assessment

rate for the Committee. That rule

provided that interested persons could

file comments through October 19,

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 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

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.

It is further found that good cause

exists for not postponing the effective

date of this action until 30 days after

publication in the Federal Register (5

U.S.C. 553) because the Committee

needs to have sufficient funds to pay its

expenses which are incurred on a

continuous basis. The 1995–96 fiscal

period began on September 16, 1995.

The marketing order requires that the

rate of assessment for the fiscal period

apply to all assessable onions handled

during the fiscal period. In addition,

handlers are aware of this action which

was unanimously recommended by the

Committee at a public meeting and

published in the Federal Register as an

interim final rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 955

Marketing agreements, Onions,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 955 is amended as

follows:

PART 955—VIDALIA ONIONS GROWN

IN GEORGIA

Accordingly, the interim final rule

amending 7 CFR part 955 which was

published at 60 FR 48361 on September

19, 1995, is adopted as a final rule

without change.

Dated: December 6, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95–30234 Filed 12–11–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

7 CFR Part 959

[Docket No. FV95–959–2IFR; Amendment 1]

Onions Grown in South Texas;

Increased Expenses and

Establishment of Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Amended interim final rule

with request for comments.

SUMMARY: This interim final rule

amends a previous interim final rule

which authorized administrative

expenses for the South Texas Onion

Committee (Committee) under M.O. No.

959. This interim final rule increases the

level of authorized expenses and

establishes an assessment rate to

generate funds to pay those expenses.

Authorization of this increased budget

enables the Committee to incur

additional expenses that are reasonable

and necessary to administer the

program. Funds to administer this

program are derived from assessments

on handlers.

DATES: Effective August 1, 1995, through

July 31, 1996. Comments received by

January 11, 1996 will be considered

prior to issuance of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this action. 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 Belinda G. Garza, McAllen

Marketing Field Office, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 1313

East Hackberry, McAllen, TX 78501,

telephone 210–682–2833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

is issued under Marketing Agreement

No. 143 and Order No. 959, both as

amended (7 CFR part 959), regulating

the handling of onions grown in South

Texas, hereinafter referred to as the

‘‘order.’’ The order is 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 amended interim final rule has

been reviewed under Executive Order

12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the

marketing order provisions now in

effect, South Texas onions are subject to

assessments. It is intended that the

assessment rate as issued herein will be

applicable to all assessable onions

handled during the 1995–96 fiscal

period, which began August 1, 1995,

and ends July 31, 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