65018 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 242 / Monday, December 18, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

season will enable Texas grapefruit

handlers to meet market needs. This

final rule is based on the current and

prospective crop and market conditions

for Texas grapefruit. Fresh Texas

grapefruit shipments began in late

September this season.

Based on the above, 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

matter presented, including the

information and recommendations

submitted by the TVCC and other

available information, it is found that

finalizing this rule without change, as

published in the Federal Register (60

FR 54291, October 23, 1995) will tend

to effectuate the declared policy of the

Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 906

Grapefruit, Marketing agreements,

Oranges, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 906 is amended as

follows:

PART 906—ORANGES AND

GRAPEFRUIT GROWN IN THE LOWER

RIO GRANDE VALLEY IN TEXAS

Accordingly, the interim final rule

amending 7 CFR part 906 which was

published at 60 FR 54291 on October

23, 1995, is adopted as a final rule

without change.

Dated: December 12, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95–30672 Filed 12–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

7 CFR Part 984

[Docket No. FV95–984–2FIR]

Walnuts Grown in California; 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. Authorization of

this budget enables the Walnut

Marketing Board (Board) 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: August 1, 1995, through

July 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, PO.

Box 96456, room 2523–S, Washington,

DC 20090–6456, telephone 202–720–

9918, or Mark A. Hessel, California

Marketing Field Office, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Suite

102B, 2202 Monterey Street, Fresno, CA

93721, telephone 209–487–5901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

is issued under Marketing Agreement

and Order No. 984, both as amended (7

CFR part 984), regulating the handling

of walnuts grown in California,

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 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,

California walnuts are subject to

assessments. It is intended that the

assessment rate as issued herein will be

applicable to all assessable walnuts

handled during the 1995–96 marketing

year, which began August 1, 1995, and

ends July 31, 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 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 in

equity to review the Secretary’s ruling

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 5,000

producers of California walnuts under

this marketing order, and approximately

65 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

California walnut producers and

handlers may be classified as small

entities.

The budget of expenses for the 1995–

96 marketing year was prepared by the

Walnut Marketing Board, the agency

responsible for local administration of

the marketing order, and submitted to

the Department for approval. The

members of the Board are producers and

handlers of California walnuts. They are

familiar with the Board’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 Board was derived by dividing

anticipated expenses by expected

merchantable certifications of California

walnuts. Because that rate will be

applied to the actual quantity of

certified merchantable walnuts, it must

be established at a rate that will provide

sufficient income to pay the Board’s

expenses.

The Board met September 8, 1995,

and unanimously recommended a

1995–96 budget of $2,280,175, $109,403

more than the previous year. Budget

items for 1995–96 which have increased

compared to those budgeted for 1994–95

(in parentheses) are: Field travel and

relates expenses, $17,000 ($13,000),

general insurance, $6,800 ($6,400),

social security and hospital insurance

taxes, $9,286 ($8,129), audit, $8,900,

($8,700), group life, retirement, and

medical, $45,861 ($44,370), office
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 242 / Monday, December 18, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 65019

salaries, $41,740 ($40,740), office rent,

$27,168 ($26,419), office supplies and

miscellaneous, $20,000 ($15,000),

postage, $7,000 ($5,000), furniture,

fixtures, and automobiles, $25,000

($5,000), domestic market research and

development, $998,000 ($953,000),

walnut production research, $718,420

($718,302), crop estimate, $67,000

($60,000), and $30,000 for the reserve

for contingencies, for which no funding

was recommended last year. Items

which have decreased compared to the

amount budgeted for 1994–95 (in

parentheses) are: Administrative

salaries, $99,000 ($101,712), and

production research director, $34,000

($40,000). All other items are budgeted

at last year’s amounts.

The Board also unanimously

recommended an assessment rate of

$0.0116 per kernelweight pound of

merchantable walnuts certified, $0.0005

more than the previous year. This rate,

when applied to anticipated shipments

of 1,980,000 kernelweight pounds of

merchantable walnuts, will yield

$2,296,800 in assessment income,

which will be adequate to cover

budgeted expenses. Unexpended funds

may be used temporarily during the first

five months of the subsequent marketing

year, but must be made available to the

handlers from whom collected within

that period.

An interim final rule was published

in the Federal Register on October 30,

1995 (60 FR 55178). That interim final

rule added § 989.346 to authorize

expenses and establish an assessment

rate for the Committee. That rule

provided that interested persons could

file comments through November 29,

1995. No comments were received.

While this action 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 action 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 Board 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 August 1, 1995. The

marketing order requires that the rate of

assessment for the fiscal period apply to

all assessable walnuts 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 984

Marketing agreements, Nuts,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Walnuts.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 984 is amended as

follows:

PART 984—WALNUTS GROWN IN

CALIFORNIA

Accordingly, the interim final rule

amending 7 CFR part 984 which was

published at 60 FR 55178 on October

30, 1995, is adopted as a final rule

without change.

Dated: December 12, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95–30673 Filed 12–15–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

7 CFR Part 1212

[FV–95–703]

Lime Research, Promotion, and

Consumer Information Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule; termination order.

SUMMARY: This document removes the

Lime Research, Promotion, and

Consumer Information Order (Order) in

its entirety. A referendum was

conducted in November 1995 to

determine whether continuance of the

Order was favored by a majority of the

producers, producer-handlers, and

importers voting in the referendum. A

majority of the persons voting in the

referendum did not favor continuance of

the Order.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard B. Schultz, Research and

Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable

Division, AMS, USDA, Box 96456,

Room 2535–S, Washington, D.C. 20090–

6456, telephone (202) 720–5976.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Agriculture

(Department) is issuing this rule in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

This termination order has been

reviewed under Executive Order 12778,

Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended

to have retroactive effect. This rule will

not preempt any State or local laws,

regulations, or policies, unless they

present an irreconcilable conflict with

this termination order.

This action is governed by section

1960 of the Lime Research, Promotion,

and Consumer Information Act of 1990,

as amended (Act). Section 1960 of the

Act provides that the Secretary of

Agriculture (Secretary) shall conduct a

referendum not later than 30 months

after the date on which the collection of

assessments begins to determine

whether the issuance of the Order is

favored by a majority of the producers,

producer-handlers, and importers voting

in the referendum. Paragraph (b) of

section 1960 of the Act requires that the

Order continue in effect only if favored

by such majority.

Background

The Lime Research, Promotion, and

Consumer Information Act of 1990

(1990 Act) (Pub. L. 101–624, 7 U.S.C.

6201–6212) was enacted on November

28, 1990, for the purpose of establishing

an orderly procedure for the

development and financing of an

effective and coordinated program of

research, promotion, and consumer

information to strengthen the domestic

and foreign markets for limes. The

Order required by the 1990 Act became

effective on January 27, 1992 (57 FR

2985), after notice and comment

rulemaking.

In March 1992 the Department

conducted nomination meetings to

nominate lime producers and importers

for appointment to the Lime Board

(Board). The Board members were

appointed by the Secretary in

September 1992 and the Board

conducted its first meeting at the

Department in Washington, D.C. in

October 1992. During the course of this

meeting, the Board and the Department

concluded that a technical amendment

to the 1990 Act was needed before an

order could be implemented.

Consequently, full implementation of

the Order was delayed until the

enactment of such technical

amendment.

The Lime Research, Promotion, and

Consumer Information Improvement

Act (1993 Act) (Pub. L. 103–194, Dec.

14, 1993) contained the necessary

technical amendment to properly cover

the regulated commodity. The 1993 Act

also provided for increasing the

exemption level from less than 35,000