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

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

8523

Vol. 60, No. 31

Wednesday, February 15, 1995

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 911 and 915

[FV95–911–1IFR]

Expenses and Assessment Rates for

Marketing Orders Covering Limes and

Avocados Grown in Florida

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request

for comments.

SUMMARY: This interim final rule

authorizes expenses and establishes

assessment rates for the Florida Lime

Administrative Committee and the

Avocado Administrative Committee

(Committees) under Marketing Orders

911 and 915 for the 1995–96 fiscal year.

The Committees are responsible for

local administration of the marketing

orders which regulate the handling of

Florida limes and avocados.

Authorization of these budgets enables

the Committees to incur expenses that

are reasonable and necessary to

administer their respective programs.

Funds to administer these programs are

derived from assessments on handlers.

DATES: Effective beginning April 1,

1995, through March 31, 1996.

Comments received by March 17, 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:

Britthany Beadle, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, F&V, AMS,

USDA, P.O. Box 96456, Room 2523–S,

Washington, DC 20090–6456; telephone

(202) 720–5331; or Aleck Jonas,

Southeast Marketing Field Office, Fruit

and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA,

P.O. Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida

33883, telephone (813) 299–4770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

interim final rule is issued under

Marketing Agreement and Order No.

911 [7 CFR Part 911], as amended,

regulating the handling of limes grown

in Florida; and Marketing Agreement

and Order No. 915 [7 CFR Part 915]

regulating the handling of avocados

grown in Florida. These agreements and

orders 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 provisions now in

effect, limes and avocados grown in

Florida are subject to assessments. It is

intended that the assessment rates as

issued herein will be applicable to all

assessable Florida limes and avocados

handled during the 1995–96 fiscal year,

beginning April 1, 1995, through March

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

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. A

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 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 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 45 handlers

of limes grown in Florida, and

approximately 40 producers in the

regulated area. Also, there are

approximately 65 handlers of avocados

grown in Florida, and approximately 95

producers in the regulated area. 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 lime and avocado producers

and handlers may be classified as small

entities.

The lime and avocado marketing

orders, administered by the Department,

require that the assessment rates for a

particular fiscal year apply to all

assessable limes and avocados handled

from the beginning of such year. Annual

budgets of expenses are prepared by the

Committees, the agencies responsible

for local administration of their

respective marketing orders, and

submitted to the Department for

approval. Each Committee consists of

producers, handlers and a non-industry

public member. They are familiar with

the Committees’ needs and with the

costs for goods, services, and personnel

in their local area and are thus in a

position to formulate appropriate

budgets. The Committees’ budgets are

formulated and discussed in public

meetings. Thus, all directly affected
8524 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

persons have an opportunity to

participate and provide input.

The assessment rates recommended

by the Committees are derived by

dividing anticipated expenses by

expected shipments of limes and

avocados (in bushels). Because those

rates are applied to actual shipments,

they must be established at rates which

will produce sufficient income to pay

the Committees’ expected expenses. The

recommended budgets and rates of

assessment are usually acted upon by

the Committees shortly before a season

starts, and expenses are incurred on a

continuous basis. Therefore, the budget

and assessment rate approval must be

expedited so that the Committees will

have funds to pay their expenses.

The Florida Lime Administrative

Committee met on December 14, 1994,

and unanimously recommended 1995–

96 expenses of $92,270. In comparison,

the 1994–95 fiscal year expense amount

was $92,197, which is $73 less in

expenses than the amount

recommended for this fiscal year.

The Committee also unimously

recommended an assessment rate of

$0.16 per 55-pound bushel of limes. The

1995–96 assessment rate remains

unchanged from the previous fiscal

year. Assessment income for 1995–96 is

estimated to total $64,000 based on

anticipated fresh domestic shipments of

400,000 bushels of limes. This, along

with $2,500 in interest income, and a

withdrawl of $25,770 from the

Committee’s reserve fund will be

adequate to cover estimated expenses.

Funds in the reserve at the end of the

1995–96 fiscal year are expected to be

within the maximum permitted by the

order of three fiscal years’ expenses.

Major budget categories for 1995–96

are $34,000 for administrative staff

salaries, $10,000 for research, $8,300 for

compliance, and $7,300 for employee

benefits.

The Avocado Administrative

Committee also met on December 14,

1994, and unanimously recommended

1995–96 expenses of $107,570. In

comparison, 1994–95 fiscal year

expenses were $116,420, which is

$8,850 more than the $107,570

recommended for this fiscal year.

An assessment rate of $0.16 per 55-

pound bushel of avocados was also

unanimously recommended by the

Committee. The 1995–96 rate of

assessment remains the same as the

previous fiscal year. Assessment income

for 1995–96 is estimated to total

$112,000 based on anticipated fresh

domestic shipments of 700,000 bushels

of avocados. Assessment income, plus

an additional $1,500 in interest income

will provide sufficient funds to cover

budgeted expenses. The Committee

anticipates a reserve fund increase of

$5,930 because assessment income is

more than budgeted expenses. Funds in

the reserve at the end of the 1995–96

fiscal year are within the maximum

permitted by the order of three fiscal

years’ expenses.

Major budget categories for the 1995–

96 are $34,000 for administrative staff

salaries, $15,600 for compliance,

$12,810 for insurance and bonds, and

$10,000 for research.

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 from the operation

of the marketing orders. 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

Committees’ recommendations, and

other available information, it is found

that this interim final 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 and that good cause

exists for not postponing the effective

date of this action until 30 days after

publication in the Federal Register

because: (1) The Committees need to

have sufficient funds to pay their

expenses which are incurred on a

continuous basis; (2) the 1995–96 fiscal

year begins on April 1, 1995, and the

marketing orders require that the rate of

assessment for the fiscal year apply to

all assessable limes and avocados

handled during the fiscal year; (3)

handlers are aware of this action which

was recommended by the Committees at

public meetings; 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 action.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 911

Limes, Marketing agreements,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

7 CFR Part 915

Avocados, Marketing agreements,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR Parts 911 and 915 are

amended as follows:

1. The authority citation for both 7

CFR Parts 911 and 915 continues to read

as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

Note: These sections will not appear in the

Code of Federal Regulations.

PART 911—LIMES GROWN IN

FLORIDA

2. A new § 911.233 is added to read

as follows:

§ 911.233 Expenses and Assessment rate.

Expenses of $92,270 by the Florida

Lime Administrative Committee are

authorized, and an assessment rate of

$0.16 per 55-pound bushel of assessable

limes is established for the 1995–96

fiscal year ending on March 31, 1996.

Unexpended funds may be carried over

as a reserve.

PART 915—AVOCADOS GROWN IN

SOUTH FLORIDA

3. A new § 915.233 is added to read

as follows:

§ 915.233 Expenses and Assessment rate.

Expenses of $107,570 by the Avocado

Administrative Committee are

authorized, and an assessment rate of

$0.16 per 55-pound bushel of assessable

avocados is established for the 1995–96

fiscal year ending on March 31, 1996.

Unexpended funds may be carried over

as a reserve.

Dated: February 8, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95–3786 Filed 2–14–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

7 CFR Part 985

[FV94–985–5FR]

Spearmint Oil Produced in the Far

West; Salable Quantities and Allotment

Percentages for the 1995–96 Marketing

Year

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule establishes the

quantity of spearmint oil produced in

the Far West, by class, that handlers

may purchase from, or handle for,

producers during the 1995–96

marketing year. The Spearmint Oil

Administrative Committee (Committee),

the agency responsible for local

administration of the marketing order

for spearmint oil produced in the Far