26810 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 106 / Thursday, June 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

later time as the committee may 

establish, and will contain the following 

information: 

(1) The beginning inventory of the 

handler by size and container type; 

(2) The quantity of fruit the handler 

lost in repack and repacked into other 

container types; 

(3) The total domestic and export 

shipments of the handler by size and 

container type; and 

(4) Any other adjustments which 

increase or decrease posted handler 

inventory. 

(c) * * * 

(d) KISS Price/Shipment report. Each 

handler who ships 100,000 or more 

trays, or the equivalent thereof, per 

season, shall file the KISS Price/ 

Shipment report with the committee. 

Handlers are not required to report 

organic kiwifruit shipments on this 

report. The handler shall file the report 

weekly following the first week he or 

she makes shipments and shall continue 

filing reports until he or she submits a 

final report for the season. Each such 

report shall be filed with the committee 

no later than 5 p.m. (the close of 

business) on the Tuesday immediately 

following the shipping week. For the 

purpose of this subsection, the shipping 

week is defined as Sunday through 

Saturday. The report shall show: 

(1) The company name, contact 

person, and phone number of the 

handler; 

(2) Weekly period covered by the 

report; 

(3) Total fresh market shipments and 

gross f.o.b. sales of kiwifruit by pack 

style and size; and 

(4) Total fresh market shipments and 

gross f.o.b. sales to export markets by 

pack style and size. 

(e) Handlers who file the KISS Price/ 

Shipment report specified in paragraph 

(d) of this section are exempt from filing 

the shipping report specified in 

paragraph (a) of this section and the 

KISS/Shipment report specified in 

paragraph (b) of this section. 

Dated: May 29, 2009. 

Robert C. Keeney, 

Acting Associate Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E9–12995 Filed 6–3–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1205 

[Docket No. AMS–CN–09–0027; CN–08–003] 

Cotton Research and Promotion 

Program: Referendum Procedures 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

establish procedures which the 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) will 

use in conducting a referenda 

considering amendments to the Cotton 

Research and Promotion Order (7 CFR 

part 1205) (Order) implementing section 

14202 of the Food, Conservation, and 

Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110–246), 

herinafter the ‘‘2008 Farm Bill.’’ USDA 

is considering amendments to the 

Order, in a separate action, and 

referendum procedures would need to 

be in place prior for the industry to vote 

and consider these amendments. 

Referenda among cotton producers and 

cotton importers are required by the 

Cotton Research and Promotion Act (7 

U.S.C. 2101–2118) (Act) to implement, 

amend, continue, or when appropriate 

to suspend, or to terminate the Order or 

any of its provisions. The provisions of 

this rule would be used for these 

referenda. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before June 15, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposed rule to Shethir 

M. Riva, Chief, Research and Promotion 

Staff, Cotton and Tobacco Programs, 

AMS, USDA, Stop 0224, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Room 2637–S, 

Washington, DC 20250–0224. 

Comments should be submitted in 

triplicate. Comments may also be 

submitted electronically through http:// 

www.regulations.gov. All comments 

received will be made available for 

public inspection at Cotton and Tobacco 

Programs, AMS, USDA, Stop 0224, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Room 2637–S, 

Washington, DC 20250–0224 during 

regular business hours. A copy of this 

notice may be found at: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shethir M. Riva, Chief, Research and 

Promotion Staff, Cotton and Tobacco 

Programs, AMS, USDA, Stop 0224, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Room 2637–S, 

Washington, DC 20250–0224, telephone 

(202) 720–6603, facsimile (202) 690– 

1718, or e-mail at 

Shethir.Riva@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has waived the review process 

required by Executive Order 12866 for 

this action. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. This proposed 

rule would 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 12 of the Act, any 

person subject to an order may file with 

the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) 

a petition stating that the order, any 

provision of the plan, or any obligation 

imposed in connection with the order is 

not in accordance with law and 

requesting a modification of the order or 

to be exempted therefrom. Such person 

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 person is an inhabitant, or 

has his principal place of business, has 

jurisdiction to review the Secretary’s 

ruling, provided a complaint is filed 

within 20 days from the date of the 

entry of ruling. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) [5 

U.S.C. 601–612], the Agricultural 

Marketing Service has considered the 

economic effect of this action on small 

entities and has determined that its 

implementation will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

There are currently approximately 

18,000 producers, and approximately 

16,000 importers that are subject to the 

order. In 13 CFR part 121, the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) defines 

small agricultural producers as those 

having annual receipts of no more than 

$750,000 and small agricultural service 

firms (handlers) as those having annual 

receipts of no more than $7.0 million. 

The majority of these producers and 

importers are small businesses under 

the criteria established by the SBA. 

This proposed rule would establish 

the procedures under which cotton 

producers and importers vote on 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 106 / Thursday, June 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 26811 

whether they approve the amendments 

to the Order. This proposal would add 

a new subpart, which establishes 

procedures to future referenda. The 

proposed subpart covers definitions, 

voting, instructions, ballots, the 

referendum report, and confidentiality 

of information. 

USDA will keep cotton producers and 

importers who are eligible to vote 

informed throughout the referendum 

process to ensure that they are aware of 

and are able to participate. USDA will 

also publicize information regarding the 

referendum process so that trade 

associations and related industry media 

can be kept informed. 

Voting in the referendum is optional; 

however, if cotton producers and 

importers choose to vote, the burden of 

voting is minimal and necessary to 

determine whether or not they favor 

passage of the amendments to the Order. 

In accordance with the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

regulation 5 CFR part 1320 that 

implements the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35) has been previously 

approved by OMB and assigned OMB 

Control Number 0581–0093. 

USDA considered electronic voting, 

but the use of computers is not 

universal. Conducting the referendum 

from Farm Service Agency county 

offices and the USDA, Washington, DC 

office would be more cost-effective and 

reliable. 

Background 

The Act established a national cotton 

research and promotion program— 

administered by the Board—that is 

financed through cotton producer and 

cotton importer industry assessments 

and subject to oversight by AMS. This 

program of promotion, research, and 

consumer information is designed to 

strengthen the position of cotton in the 

marketplace and to establish, maintain, 

and expand markets for Upland cotton. 

The program is funded by assessments 

levied on each bale or bale equivalent of 

cotton at a rate of $1 per bale with a 

supplemental assessment not to exceed 

one percent of the value of lint of each 

bale. 

The 2009 Board is composed of 38 

members and 38 alternate members (23 

producer and 15 importer members and 

alternate members) and one consumer 

advisor. The Act directed the Board to 

contract with a separate organization to 

conduct the research and promotion 

projects. The Board contracts with 

Cotton Incorporated (CI) to conduct the 

Program. CI uses assessment dollars to 

advance the quality of and demand for 

cotton fiber through its operating 

divisions: (1) Global Product Marketing, 

(2) Consumer Marketing, (3) 

Agricultural Research and (4) Textile 

Research, and (5) Strategic Planning. 

This proposed rule would establish 

procedures which the USDA will use in 

conducting a referenda under the Act. 

USDA is considering amendments to the 

Order to implement section 14202 of the 

2008 Farm Bill (Notice of hearing 

published in the Federal Register at 73 

FR 72747 on December 1, 2008), and 

referendum procedures would need to 

be in place prior for the industry to vote 

and consider these amendments. 

Referenda among cotton producers and 

cotton importers are required by the Act 

to implement, amend, continue, or 

when appropriate, to suspend, or to 

terminate the Order or any of its 

provisions. 

A 10-day comment period is 

determined to be appropriate because 

these proposed eligibility and 

participation requirements are 

substantially the same as the eligibility 

and participation requirements used in 

cotton sign-ups that appear in the Code 

of Federal Regulations at 7 CFR 

1205.10–1205.30, and in previous 

referenda; participation is voluntary; 

and this rule, if adopted, should be 

made effective as soon as possible to 

consider amendments to the Order 

authorized under the 2008 Farm Bill. 

All written comments received in 

response to this rule by the date 

specified will be considered prior to 

finalizing this action. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1205 

Advertising, Agricultural research, 

Cotton, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble 7 CFR part 1205 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 1205—COTTON RESEARCH 

AND PROMOTION 

1. The authority citation part 1205 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2101–2118 and 7 

U.S.C. 7401. 

2. Part 1205 is proposed to be 

amended by adding a Subpart to read as 

follows: 

Subpart—Procedures for the Conduct of 

Referenda in Connection With Cotton 

Research and Promotion Order 

Sec. 

1205.200 General. 

1205.201 Definitions. 

1205.202 Agencies through which a 

referendum shall be conducted. 

1205.203 Voting eligibility. 

1205.204 Voting. 

1205.205 Canvass of ballots. 

1205.206 Reporting results of referendum. 

1205.207 Challenge of correctness of county 

summary of ballots. 

1205.208 Disposition of ballots and records. 

1205.209 Confidential Information. 

1205.210 Additional instructions and 

forms. 

Subpart—Procedures for the Conduct 

of Referenda in Connection With 

Cotton Research and Promotion Order 

§ 1205.200 General. 

Referenda for the purpose of 

ascertaining whether producers and 

importers favor the issuance, 

continuance, amendment, suspension, 

or termination of the Cotton Research 

and Promotion Order shall be 

conducted in accordance with this 

subpart. 

§ 1205.201 Definitions. 

(a) Act means the Cotton Research and 

Promotion Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 

2101–2118; Pub. L. 89–502, as 

amended). 

(b) Administrator means the 

Administrator of the Agricultural 

Marketing Service, or any officer or 

employee of USDA to whom authority 

has been delegated to act in the 

Administrator’s stead. 

(c) Agricultural Marketing Service also 

referred to as ‘‘AMS’’ means the 

Agricultural Marketing Service of the 

Department. 

(d) Cotton means all Upland cotton 

harvested in the United States or 

imports of Upland cotton, including the 

Upland cotton content of the products 

derived thereof. The term cotton shall 

not, however, include any entry of 

imported cotton by an importer which 

has a value or weight less than the de 

minimis value established by the 

Secretary or industrial products as that 

term is defined by regulation. 

(e) Upland Cotton means all 

cultivated varieties of the species 

Gossypium hirsutum L. 

(f) Department means the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture. 

(g) Deputy Administrator means the 

Deputy Administrator for Field 

Operations and also referred to as 

‘‘DAFO.’’ 

(h) Farm Service Agency also referred 

to as ‘‘FSA’’ means the Farm Service 

Agency of the Department. 

(i) (1) Importer means any person who 

enters, or withdraws from warehouse, 

cotton for consumption in the customs 

territory of the United States; and 

(2) The term import means any such 

entry. 

(j) Order means the Cotton Research 

and Promotion Order. 

(k) Person means any individual 18 

years of age or older, or any partnership, 

26812 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 106 / Thursday, June 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

corporation, association, or any other 

entity. 

(l) Producer means any person who 

shares in a cotton crop, or in the 

proceeds thereof, as an owner of the 

farm, cash tenant, landlord of a share 

tenant, share tenant, or sharecropper, 

that planted the cotton during the 

representative period. 

(m) Representative Period means the 

period designated by the Secretary 

pursuant to section 8 of the Act (7 

U.S.C. 2107). 

(n) Secretary means the Secretary of 

Agriculture or any other officer or 

employee of the Department of 

Agriculture to whom there has 

heretofore been delegated, or to whom 

there may be hereafter be delegated, the 

authority to act in the Secretary’s stead. 

(o) State means each of the 50 States. 

(p) United States means 50 States of 

the United States of America. 

(q) Customs and Border Protection 

means the U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection of the Department of 

Homeland Security. Customs and 

Border Protection is also referred to as 

‘‘CBP.’’ 

§ 1205.202 Agencies through which a 

referendum shall be conducted. 

(a) Agricultural Marketing Service. 

The Administrator shall: 

(1) Determine the referendum period. 

(2) Give producers and importers 

reasonable advance notice of the 

referendum: 

(i) By utilizing without advertising 

expense, available media of public 

information (including, but not being 

limited to, press and radio facilities) to 

announce the dates, places, or methods 

of voting, and other pertinent 

information; and 

(ii) By such other means as the 

Administrator may deem advisable. 

(3) Provide ballots and related 

material to be used in the referendum to 

FSA. The ballots: 

(i) Shall provide for recording 

essential information for ascertaining 

whether the person voting is an eligible 

voter, and 

(ii) May provide for recording the 

total amount of Upland cotton produced 

by the producer or the total amount of 

cotton imported by the importer during 

the appropriate representative period. 

(4) Make available to producers 

through FSA county offices instructions 

on voting, an appropriate ballot and, 

except in the case of a referendum on 

the termination or suspension of an 

order, a summary of the terms and 

conditions of the order. The instructions 

on voting shall explain the method to be 

used in determining the amount of 

Upland cotton produced during the 

representative period and shall specify 

whether such amount is to be entered 

on the ballot by the voter, subject to the 

following terms and conditions: 

(i) If a current production year for 

which harvesting has not been 

completed is designated as the 

representative period, the amount of 

Upland cotton produced shall be 

determined by the FSA county office on 

the basis of the acreage planted or in the 

case of approved prevented plantings 

under the disaster payment program, the 

acreage the person intended to plant up 

to the allotted acreage as determined by 

the FSA county office, and the 

established yield for FSA program 

payment purposes: Provided, That on 

farms for which an established yield has 

not been established, the county 

committee shall determine an 

established yield based on actual 

production records on the farm for the 

preceding three years, as adjusted for 

any abnormal conditions, if available; if 

not available, on the basis of yield on 

similar farms in the area. 

(ii) On farms in which more than one 

eligible voter is engaged in production, 

the vote cast by each voter shall 

represent only the amount of Upland 

cotton that is the voter’s share of the 

crop, or proceeds thereof. 

(iii) If an eligible voter is engaged in 

production of Upland cotton on more 

than one farm, such voter is entitled to 

only one vote but any vote cast by such 

voter shall represent the total amount of 

Upland cotton that is that voter’s share 

of the crop, or proceeds thereof, on all 

such farms: Provided, That only farms 

for which records are maintained by the 

FSA county office designated as the 

voter’s polling place shall be considered 

unless the voter, prior to the expiration 

of the referendum period, establishes to 

the referendum period, establishes to 

the satisfaction of such county office the 

voter’s share of the crop, or proceeds 

thereof, on an additional farm or farms. 

(5) Make available to importers 

through FSA instructions on voting, an 

appropriate ballot and, except in the 

case of a referendum on the termination 

or suspension of an order, a summary of 

the terms and conditions of the order. 

The instructions on voting shall explain 

the appropriate method to be used in 

determining the amount of cotton 

imported during the representative 

period and specify whether such 

amount is to be entered on the ballot. If 

applicable, the following terms and 

conditions apply: 

(i) For importer entities in which 

more than one importer is eligible to 

vote, the vote cast by each importer 

shall represent only the amount in 

weight or value of cotton imported by 

each eligible voter. 

(ii) If an eligible importer is engaged 

in importation of cotton as more than 

one importer entity, such voter is 

entitled to only one vote but any vote 

cast by such voter shall represent the 

total amount in weight or value, of 

cotton in the voters share of cotton 

imported from each such importer 

entity: Provided, That only the importer 

entities for which records are 

maintained by CBP or other source 

determined by the Administrator shall 

be considered unless the voter, prior to 

the expiration of the referendum period, 

establishes to the satisfaction of the 

Administrator the voters share, in 

weight or value, of the imported cotton. 

(b) Farm Service Agency. Except for 

the functions specified in paragraph (a) 

of this section the Deputy Administrator 

shall be in charge of and responsible for 

conducting the referendum. Each FSA 

county office shall be in charge and 

responsible for conducting such 

referendum in its State. Each county 

office shall be responsible for the proper 

holding of such referendum in its 

county. It shall be the duty of each FSA 

county office to conduct each 

referendum in a fair, unbiased, and 

impartial manner in accordance with 

the regulations in this subpart. 

§ 1205.203 Voting eligibility. 

(a) Special eligibility requirements. 

Each person who was engaged in the 

production of Upland cotton during the 

representative period and each person 

who was an importer of cotton and who, 

during a 12-month period ending not 

later than 90 days prior to the conduct 

of the referendum. 

(b) General eligibility requirements. 

(1) (i) A person may qualify as an 

eligible voter by meeting the eligibility 

requirements, but no such person shall 

be entitled to more than one vote 

regardless of the number of importing 

entities or Upland cotton farms in 

which the person is interested or the 

number of communities, counties, or 

States in which are located farms in 

which such person is interested: 

Provided, however, That the individual 

members of a qualified partnership shall 

each have one vote, but the partnership 

as such shall not have a vote and an 

individual who qualifies as an eligible 

voter by reason of that individual’s 

separate farming or importing 

operations will be entitled to one vote 

even though that person is interested in 

an entity such as (but not limited to) a 

corporation which is also eligible as a 

voter and entitled to one vote. A person 

who, as a guardian, administrator, 

executor, or trustee engages in the 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 106 / Thursday, June 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 26813 

production of Upland cotton or 

importation of cotton will be eligible to 

vote in such a fiduciary capacity if, in 

such a capacity, that person qualifies as 

an eligible voter. 

(ii) In such cases the person for whom 

he or she is acting in a fiduciary 

capacity will not be eligible to vote. An 

individual may, if otherwise eligible, 

cast a ballot in his or her individual 

capacity although that person may also 

cast a ballot as a guardian, 

administrator, executor, or trustee. An 

individual who holds more than one 

fiduciary position may vote as a 

fiduciary in each case in which that 

person is otherwise eligible, as for 

example, if an individual is 

administrator of estate X, he or she may 

cast a ballot as administer of estate X, 

and if the same individual is 

administrator of estate Y, he or she may 

cast another ballot as administrator or 

estate Y. 

(2) Where a group of several persons, 

such as a spouse or marital partner, and 

children, or unrelated individuals, are 

engaged in the production of Upland 

cotton under the same lease or cropping 

agreement, only the person or persons 

who signed or entered into the lease or 

cropping agreement shall be eligible to 

vote. In the event two or more persons 

are engaged in the production of Upland 

cotton as joint tenants, tenants in 

common, or owners of community 

property, each such person shall be 

entitled to one vote if otherwise 

qualified. For example, a husband or a 

wife is eligible to vote if he or she shares 

with his or her spouse in the proceeds 

of the required crop as an owner, cash 

tenant, share tenant, sharecropper or 

landlord of a fixed rent, standing rent or 

share tenant. Thus, if a husband and 

wife are tenants or sharecroppers on a 

farm, jointly responsible under the 

rental or sharecropping agreement, both 

are eligible to vote. This is true whether 

the rental or sharecropping agreement is 

written, signed by both parties, or oral, 

provided both husband and wife made 

the oral agreement. A minor is not 

disqualified from voting solely because 

of minority if otherwise eligible and the 

minor is not less than 18 years of age. 

(c) Voting by proxy prohibited. There 

shall be no voting by proxy or agent but 

a duly authorized officer of a 

corporation, association or their legal 

entity may cast its vote. 

§ 1205.204 Voting. 

(a) Place of voting. The FSA county 

office serving the county in which the 

producer’s farm is located shall be the 

producer’s polling place. For a person 

not participating in an FSA program, the 

opportunity to vote in a referendum will 

be provided at the FSA county office 

serving the county where the person 

owns or rents land. A person engaged in 

the production of Upland cotton in 

more than one county will vote in the 

FSA county office where the person 

does most of his or her business. The 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, FSA, 

DAFO, P.O. Box 23704, Washington, DC 

shall be the polling place for all cotton 

importers. 

(b) Register of eligible voters. The FSA 

county office shall establish a register of 

known eligible producer voters prior to 

the referendum. AMS shall establish a 

register of known eligible importer 

voters prior to the referendum and 

provide list to FAS. 

(c) Voting. (1) For Upland producers 

to vote, eligible persons may obtain 

form CN–100 in-person, by mail or by 

facsimile from FSA county offices or 

through the Internet during the voting 

period. A completed and signed CN–100 

and supporting documentation, such as 

a sales receipt or remittance form, must 

be returned to the appropriate FSA 

county office. Forms obtained via the 

Internet will be located at http:// 

www.ams.usda.gov/Cotton. Upon 

request by Upland producers, ballots 

shall be mailed by FSA county offices. 

(2) For cotton importers to vote, 

eligible persons may obtain form CN– 

100 in-person, by mail or by facsimile 

from USDA, FSA in Washington, DC or 

through the Internet during the voting 

period. In addition, before the 

referendum, USDA shall mail a request 

form to each known, eligible, cotton 

importer. A completed and signed CN– 

100 and supporting documentation of 

CBP Form 7501, must be returned 

USDA, FSA, DAFO, P.O. Box 23704, 

Washington, DC. Forms obtained via the 

Internet will be located at http:// 

www.ams.usda.gov/Cotton. 

(d) Returning ballot to polling place. 

Each person to whom a ballot is issued 

by Internet, mail, facsimile, or in-person 

shall only be allowed to vote in the 

referendum by completing and signing 

the ballot, placing it in an envelope, and 

delivering or mailing it to the 

appropriate polling place. In order to be 

eligible for tabulation, voted ballots 

must be received at the polling place 

during the period established for 

holding the referendum. A ballot shall 

be considered to have been received 

during the referendum period if: 

(1) In the case of the ballot delivered 

to the polling place, it was received in 

the office prior to the close of the work 

day on the final day of the referendum 

period, or 

(2) In the case of the mailed ballot, it 

was postmarked not later than midnight 

of the final day of the referendum 

period and was received in the polling 

place prior to the start of canvassing the 

ballots. 

(e) Placing ballots in ballot box. 

Notwithstanding the fact that a ballot(s) 

may be later challenged by FSA county 

office or a representative of FSA, 

envelopes containing ballots received at 

the polling place during the referendum 

period shall remain unopened and shall 

be placed immediately in a ballot box 

provided by FSA for producers and 

importers. Such ballot box shall be 

arranged so that ballots cannot be read 

or moved without breaking the seal on 

the container. 

§ 1205.205 Canvass of ballots. 

(a) Canvassing procedure. Canvassing 

of returned ballots shall take place as 

soon as possible after the opening of the 

FSA offices on the fifth day following 

the close of the referendum period. 

Such canvassing shall be in the 

presence of at least one member of the 

FSA county office for producer ballots 

or an FSA representative for importer 

ballots and shall be open to the public. 

The canvassing and ballots shall be 

handled in such a manner so that no 

member of the public may see how any 

person voted in the referendum. The 

county office or FSA representative 

shall supervise the opening of the sealed 

ballot box, the opening of the envelopes 

containing the ballots and a 

determination as to: 

(1) The number of eligible voters 

favoring the Order and where necessary, 

the amount of cotton represented by 

them, 

(2) The number of eligible voters 

disapproving the Order and, where 

necessary, the amount of cotton 

represented by them. 

(3) The number of ballots cast by 

voters found to be ineligible to vote in 

the referendum, and 

(4) The number of spoiled ballots. The 

ballots determined to be spoiled or cast 

by ineligible voters shall not be 

considered as approving or 

disapproving the Order, and the persons 

who cast such ballots shall not be 

regarded as participating in the 

referendum. 

(b) Spoiled ballots. A ballot shall be 

considered as a spoiled ballot if: 

(1) It is mutilated or marked in such 

a way that it is not possible to determine 

with certainty how the ballot was 

intended to be counted; or 

(2) It does not contain the signature of 

the voter, or the voter’s properly 

witnessed mark. 

(c) Challenge of ballots. A producer 

ballot may be challenged by the member 

of the FSA county office and the 

importer ballot may be challenged by 

26814 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 106 / Thursday, June 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

the representative of FSA. Before a 

challenged ballot is either counted or 

declared invalid, a determination shall 

be made by the FSA county office or 

representative of FSA as to the 

eligibility of the voter to vote in the 

referendum. 

§ 1205.206 Reporting results of 

referendum. 

(a) Each FSA county office shall 

transmit a written county summary of 

ballots showing the results of the 

referendum in its county to its State 

office. 

(b) Each State office shall transmit a 

written summary of the referendum 

results from the county offices within its 

State to DAFO, and DAFO will provide 

a copy to the AMS. AMS will make the 

results available for public inspection 

for a period of 5 years following the end 

of the referendum period. 

(c) AMS shall prepare and submit to 

the Secretary a report as to the results 

of the referendum. The Secretary shall 

then publically proclaim the results of 

the referendum. 

§ 1205.207 Challenge of correctness of 

county summary of ballots. 

The FSA State offices shall make a 

prompt investigation and decision in 

case of any dispute or challenge 

regarding the correctness of the county 

summary of ballots in any county: 

Provided, That no dispute of challenge 

shall be investigated unless it is brought 

to the attention of the State FSA office 

within 3 days after receipt by the FSA 

State office of the county summary of 

ballots from such county. 

§ 1205.208 Disposition of ballots and 

records. 

The FSA county office shall seal the 

voted ballots, challenged ballots found 

to be ineligible, spoiled ballots, register 

sheets, and summary sheets for county 

in one or more envelopes or packages, 

plainly marked with the identification 

of the referendum, the date and the 

names of the county and State, and 

place them under lock and key in a safe 

place under the custody of the FSA 

county office for a period of 45 days 

after the referendum period. If no notice 

to the contrary is received by the end of 

such time, and after the ballots and 

other records have been examined by a 

representative of the State FSA office, 

the voted ballots and challenged ballots 

shall be destroyed, but the registers and 

county summary sheets shall be filed for 

a period of 5 years in the office of the 

FSA county office. 

§ 1205.209 Confidential information. 

(a) The ballots cast or the manner in 

which any person voted and all 

information furnished to, compiled by, 

or in the possession of the referendum 

agent shall be regarded as confidential. 

(b) The ballots and other information 

or reports that reveal, or tend to reveal, 

the vote of any person covered under 

the Order and the voter list shall be 

strictly confidential and shall not be 

disclosed. 

§ 1205.210 Additional instructions and 

forms. 

AMS is hereby authorized to prescribe 

additional instructions and forms not 

inconsistent with the provisions of this 

subpart for the use of State and County 

FSA offices in conducting a referendum. 

Such additional instructions may 

include procedures for FSA county and 

State offices to report and announce the 

results of the preliminary count of the 

votes in the county and the State. 

Dated: May 28, 2009. 

Robert C. Keeney, 

Acting Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–12931 Filed 6–3–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 70 

[Docket No. PRM–70–8; NRC–2009–0184] 

Nuclear Energy Institute; Notice of 

Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Petition for rulemaking; notice 

of receipt. 

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) has received and 

requests public comment on a petition 

for rulemaking dated April 16, 2009, 

filed by the Nuclear Energy Institute 

(NEI) (petitioner). The petition was 

docketed by the NRC and has been 

assigned Docket No. PRM–70–8. The 

petitioner requests that the NRC amend 

its regulations to clarify the existing 

event reporting requirements based on 

experience gained since the 

requirements were implemented in 

2000. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted by 

August 18, 2009. Comments received 

after this date will be considered if it is 

practical to do so, but the Commission 

is able to ensure consideration only for 

comments received on or before this 

date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this petition by any one of the 

following methods. Comments 

submitted in writing or in electronic 

form will be made available for public 

inspection. Because your comments will 

not be edited to remove any identifying 

or contact information, the NRC 

cautions you against including any 

information in your submission that you 

do not want to be publicly disclosed. 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for documents filed under Docket ID 

NRC–2009–0184. Address questions 

about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher 

301–492–3668; e-mail 

Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 

Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. 

E-mail comments to: 

Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you 

do not receive a reply e-mail confirming 

that we have received your comments, 

contact us directly at 301–415–1677. 

Hand deliver comments to: 11555 

Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 

20852, between 7:30 am and 4:15 pm 

Federal workdays. (Telephone 301–415– 

1677). 

Fax comments to: Secretary, U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission at 301– 

415–1101. 

You can access publicly available 

documents related to this document 

using the following methods: 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for documents filed under Docket ID 

NRC–2009–0184. 

NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR): 

The public may examine and have 

copied for a fee publicly available 

documents at the NRC’s PDR, Public 

File Area O1 F21, One White Flint 

North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 

Maryland. 

NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access 

and Management System (ADAMS): 

Publicly available documents created or 

received at the NRC are available 

electronically at the NRC’s Electronic 

Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/ 

reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, 

the public can gain entry into ADAMS, 

which provides text and image files of 

NRC’s public documents. If you do not 

have access to ADAMS or if there are 

problems in accessing the documents 

located in ADAMS, contact the NRC’s 

PDR reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 

301–415–4737, or by e-mail to 

pdr.resource@nrc.gov. 

For a copy of the petition, write to 

Betty Golden, Rulemaking and 

Directives Branch, Division of 

Administrative Services, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001, Telephone 301–492–3669, toll