34200 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 133 / Tuesday, July 14, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1245 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–07–0091; FV–07–706– 

PR–1B] 

RIN 0581–AC78 

U.S. Honey Producer Research, 

Promotion, and Consumer Information 

Order; Referendum Procedures 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

Agriculture, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The purpose of this proposed 

rule is to establish procedures which the 

Department of Agriculture (USDA or the 

Department) will use in conducting a 

referendum to determine whether the 

issuance of the proposed U.S. Honey 

Producer Research, Promotion, and 

Consumer Information Order (Proposed 

U.S. Producer Order) is favored by 

persons to be covered by and assessed 

under this Order. The Proposed U.S. 

Producer Order will be implemented if 

it is approved by a majority of the 

eligible producers voting in the 

referendum who also represent a 

majority of the volume of U.S. honey 

produced. These procedures would also 

be used for any subsequent referendum 

under the Order, if it is approved in the 

initial referendum. The Proposed U.S. 

Producer Order is being published 

separately in this issue of the Federal 

Register. This proposed program would 

be implemented under the Commodity 

Promotion, Research, and Information 

Act of 1996 (1996 Act). 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 14, 2009. Pursuant to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on 

the information collection burden that 

would result from this proposal must be 

received by September 14, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments can be 

made on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or to the Research 

and Promotion Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, Agricultural 

Marketing Service, USDA, Stop 0244, 

Room 0634-S, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

0244; Fax (202) 205–2800. Comments 

should reference the docket number, 

title of action, date, and page number of 

this issue of the Federal Register and 

will be made available for public 

inspection in the above office during 

regular business hours or can be viewed 

at http://www.regulations.gov. 

Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA), send comments regarding the 

accuracy of the burden estimate, ways to 

minimize the burden, including the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

or any other aspect of this collection of 

information, to the above address and to 

the Desk Office for Agriculture, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, 725 17th 

Street, NW., Room 725, Washington, DC 

20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kimberly Coy, Marketing Specialist, 

Research and Promotion Branch, FV, 

AMS, USDA, Stop 0244, Room 0634-S, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0244; telephone 

202–720–9915 or (888) 720–9917 (toll 

free) or e-mail kimberly.coy@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A 

referendum will be conducted among 

eligible U.S. producers of honey to 

determine whether they favor issuance 

of the proposed U.S. Honey Producer 

Research, Promotion, and Consumer 

Information Order (Proposed U.S. 

Producer Order) [7 CFR part 1245]. The 

program will be implemented if it is 

approved by a majority of U.S. honey 

producers voting in the referendum who 

also represent a majority of the volume 

of U.S. honey produced. The Order is 

authorized under the Commodity 

Promotion, Research, and Information 

Act of 1996 (1996 Act) [7 U.S.C. 7411– 

7425]. The Order would cover the 

producers of U.S. honey of 100,000 

pounds or more. The Proposed U.S. 

Producer Order is being published 

separately in this issue of the Federal 

Register. 

Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, 

therefore, has not been reviewed by 

OMB. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. 

Section 524 of the Act provides that 

the Act shall not affect or preempt any 

other Federal or State law authorizing 

promotion or research relating to an 

agricultural commodity. 

Under Section 519 of the Act, a 

person subject to an order may file a 

petition with USDA stating that an 

order, any provision of an order, or any 

obligation imposed in connection with 

an order, is not established in 

accordance with the law, and requesting 

a modification of an order or an 

exemption from an order. Any petition 

filed challenging an order, any 

provision of an order, or any obligation 

imposed in connection with an order, 

shall be filed within two years after the 

effective date of an order, provision or 

obligation subject to challenge in the 

petition. The petitioner will have the 

opportunity for a hearing on the 

petition. Thereafter, USDA will issue a 

ruling on the petition. The Act provides 

that the district court of the United 

States for any district in which the 

petitioner resides or conducts business 

shall be the jurisdiction to review a final 

ruling on the petition, if the petitioner 

files a complaint for that purpose not 

later than 20 days after the date of entry 

of USDA’s final ruling. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) [5 U.S.C. 601– 

612], the Department is required to 

examine the impact of the proposed rule 

on small entities. The purpose of the 

RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the 

scale of businesses subject to such 

action so that small businesses will not 

be disproportionately burdened. 

The 1996 Act, which authorizes the 

Department to consider industry 

proposals for generic programs of 

promotion, research, and information 

for agricultural commodities, became 

effective on April 4, 1996. The 1996 Act 

provides for alternatives within the 

terms of a variety of provisions. 

Paragraph (e) of Section 518 of the 

1996 Act provides three options for 

determining industry approval of a new 

research and promotion program: (1) By 

a majority of those persons voting; (2) by 

persons voting for approval who 

represent a majority of the volume of the 

agricultural commodity; or (3) by a 

majority of those persons voting for 

approval who also represent a majority 

of the volume of the agricultural 

commodity. In addition, Section 518 of 

the 1996 Act provides for referenda to 

ascertain approval of an order to be 

conducted either prior to its going into 

effect or within three years after 

assessments first begin under an order. 

The American Honey Producers 

Association (AHPA), the proponent of 

the Proposed U.S. Producer Order, has 

recommended that the Department 

conduct a referendum in which 

approval of an order would be based on 

a majority of U.S. producers of honey 

voting in the referendum who also 

represent a majority of the volume of 

U.S. honey produced. The Department 

proposes that a referendum be 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 133 / Tuesday, July 14, 2009 / Proposed Rules 34201 

conducted prior to the Proposed U.S. 

Producer Order going into effect. 

This proposed rule would establish 

the procedures under which producers 

of U.S. honey may vote on whether they 

want a U.S. honey producer research, 

promotion, and consumer information 

program to be implemented. This 

proposal would add a new subpart 

which establishes procedures to 

conduct an initial referendum and 

future referenda. The proposed subpart 

covers definitions, voting instructions, 

use of subagents, ballots, the 

referendum report, and confidentiality 

of information. 

There are approximately 317 

producers of honey who would be 

subject to the program and eligible to 

vote in the first referendum. The Small 

Business Administration [13 CFR 

121.201] defines small agricultural 

producers as those having annual 

receipts of $750,000 or less annually 

and small agricultural service firms as 

those having annual receipts of $7.0 

million or less. Using these criteria, 

most producers would be considered 

small businesses. 

National Agricultural Statistic Service 

(NASS) data reports that U.S. 

production of honey, from producers 

with five or more colonies, totaled 155 

million pounds in 2006. The top ten 

producing States in 2006 included 

North Dakota, South Dakota, California, 

Florida, Minnesota, Montana, Texas, 

Wisconsin, Idaho, and New York. To 

avoid disclosing data for individual 

operations, NASS statistics do not 

include Connecticut, Delaware, 

Maryland, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, 

and South Carolina. NASS reported the 

value of honey sold in 2006 was 

$161,314,000. Honey prices increased 

during 2006 to 104.2 cents, up 14 

percent from 91.8 cents in 2005. 

There is a current Honey Packers and 

Importers Research, Promotion, 

Consumer Education, and Industry 

Information Order (Packers and 

Importers Order) in effect (7 CFR Part 

1212) that replaced the Original Honey 

Research, Promotion, and Consumer 

Information Order (Original Order) on 

May 15, 2008 [73 FR 29390]. Based on 

the assessment reports in connection 

with the Original Honey Research, 

Promotion, and Consumer Information 

Order and recorded by U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection, seventeen 

countries produced over 93 percent of 

the honey imported into the U.S. In 

2005, five of these countries produced 

almost 79 percent of the total honey 

imported into the United States. These 

countries and their share of the imports 

are: China (28%), Argentina (21%), 

Vietnam (13%), Canada (10%), and 

India (8%). Imports accounted for 69 

percent of U.S. consumption in 2006, an 

increase of 18 percent, up from 51 

percent since 2002. In 2006, 155 million 

pounds of honey were produced in the 

United States, 279.4 million pounds 

were imported and 7.6 million pounds 

were exported. At the initial rate of 

$0.02 per pound, revenue for the 

Proposed U.S. Producer Order would be 

approximately $1.9 million in a twelve 

month period. 

This proposed rule provides the 

procedures under which U.S. honey 

producers may vote on whether they 

want the Proposed U.S. Producer Order 

to be implemented. In accordance with 

the provisions of the 1996 Act, 

subsequent referenda may be 

conducted, and it is anticipated that the 

proposed procedures would apply. 

There are approximately 317 producers 

of honey who would be eligible to vote 

in the first referendum. U.S. honey 

producers of less than 100,000 pounds 

of U.S. honey annually would be 

exempt from assessments and not 

eligible to vote in the referendum. 

USDA will keep these U.S. honey 

producers informed throughout the 

program implementation and 

referendum process to ensure that they 

are aware of and are able to participate 

in the program implementation process. 

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 U.S. honey producers 

choose to vote, the burden of voting 

would be offset by the benefits of having 

the opportunity to vote on whether or 

not they want to be covered by the 

Proposed U.S. Producer program. 

The information collection 

requirements contained in this proposed 

rule are designed to minimize the 

burden on U.S. honey producers. This 

rule provides for a ballot to be used by 

eligible U.S. honey producers to vote in 

the referendum. The estimated total cost 

of providing information by an 

estimated 317 U.S. producers would be 

$317 or $1.00 per U.S. producers. 

USDA considered requiring eligible 

voters to vote in person at various 

USDA offices across the country. USDA 

also considered electronic voting, but 

the use of computers is not universal. 

Conducting the referendum from one 

central location by mail ballot would be 

more cost effective and reliable. USDA 

will provide easy access to information 

for potential voters through a toll free 

telephone line. 

There are no federal rules that 

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this 

rule. 

We have performed this Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

regarding the impact of this proposed 

rule on small entities. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the OMB 

regulation [5 CFR 1320] which 

implements the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. Chapter 35], the 

referendum ballot, which represents the 

information collection and 

recordkeeping requirements that may be 

imposed by this proposed rule, was 

submitted to OMB for approval and 

would be approved under OMB number 

0581–NEW. 

Title: U.S. Honey Producers Research, 

Promotion, and Consumer Information 

Order. 

OMB Number: 0581–NEW. 

Expiration Date of approval: 3 years 

from approval date. 

Title: New information collection for 

research and promotion programs. 

Type of Request: New information 

collection for research and promotion 

programs. 

Abstract: The information collection 

requirements in the request are essential 

to carry out the intent of the Act, to 

provide the respondents the type of 

service they request, and to administer 

the Order. The ballot is needed for the 

referendum that will be held to 

determine whether U.S. producers are 

in favor of the program. The information 

collected is used by USDA to determine 

whether a majority of the eligible U.S. 

producers voting in a referendum, who 

also represent a majority of the volume 

of U.S. honey and honey products, 

approve this program. 

Referendum Ballot 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 0.25 hours per 

response for each U.S. honey producer. 

Respondents: U.S. honey producers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

317. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1 every 7 years (0.14). 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 11 hours. 

The ballot will be added to the other 

information collections approved for 

use under OMB Number 0581–NEW. 

Comments: Comments are invited on: 

(a) Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of USDA’s estimate of 


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34202 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 133 / Tuesday, July 14, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

the burden of the proposed collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, including 

the use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments should reference OMB No. 

0581–NEW and the U.S. Honey 

Producer Research, Promotion, 

Consumer Information Order, and 

should be sent to USDA in care of Sonia 

Jimenez at the address above and the 

Desk Office for Agriculture, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, New 

Executive Office Building, 725 17th 

Street, NW., Room 725, Washington, DC 

20503. 

All comments received will be 

available for public inspection during 

regular business hours at the same 

address and at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. All responses to 

this proposed rule will be summarized 

and included in the request for OMB 

approval. All comments will also 

become a matter of the public record. 

The Agricultural Marketing Service 

(AMS) is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

The estimated annual cost of 

providing the information by an 

estimated 317 U.S. honey producers 

would be $317 or $1.00 per producer. 

A 60-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to comment 

on this proposed information collection. 

Background 

The 1996 Act, which became effective 

on April 4, 1996, authorizes the 

Department to establish a national 

research and promotion program 

covering domestic and imported honey 

and honey products. The AHPA 

submitted the Proposed U.S. Producer 

Order on May 25, 2007, and 

modifications were made to the 

proposal to make it consistent with the 

1996 Act. The proposal is being 

published for public comment in this 

issue of the Federal Register. 

The Proposed U.S. Producer Order 

would provide for the development and 

financing of an effective and 

coordinated program of promotion, 

research, and consumer and industry 

information for honey and honey 

products in the United States. The 

program would be funded by an 

assessment levied on U.S. honey 

producers at an initial rate of $0.02 per 

pound. U.S. honey producers of less 

than 100,000 pounds of U.S. honey 

annually will be exempt from 

assessments. At the initial rate of $0.02 

per pound, revenue for the Proposed 

U.S. Producer Order would be 

approximately $1.9 million in a twelve 

month period. 

The assessments would be used to 

pay for promotion, research, and 

consumer and industry information; 

administration, maintenance, and 

functioning of the U.S. Honey Producer 

Board; and expenses incurred by the 

Department in implementing and 

administering the Order, including 

referendum costs. 

Section 1206 of the 1996 Act requires 

that a referendum be conducted among 

U.S. honey producers of honey to 

determine whether they favor 

implementation of the Proposed U.S. 

Producer Order. That section also 

requires the Proposed U.S. Producer 

Order to be approved by a majority of 

U.S. honey producers of honey during 

the representative period. 

This proposed rule establishes the 

procedures under which U.S. honey 

producers of honey may vote on 

whether they want the U.S. honey 

producer research, promotion, and 

consumer information program to be 

implemented. There are approximately 

317 eligible voters. 

This proposed rule would add a new 

subpart which would establish 

procedures to be used in this and future 

referenda. This subpart covers 

definitions, voting, instructions, use of 

subagents, ballots, the referendum 

report, and confidentiality of 

information. 

All written comments received in 

response to this rule by the date 

specified will be considered prior to 

finalizing this action. We encourage the 

industry to pay particular attention to 

the definitions to be sure that they are 

appropriate for the honey industry. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1245 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Advertising, Consumer 

Education, Honey, Marketing 

agreements, Promotion, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, it is proposed that Title 7, 

Chapter XI of the Code of Federal 

Regulations be amended as follows: 

PART 1245—U.S. HONEY PRODUCER 

RESEARCH, PROMOTION, AND 

CONSUMER INFORMATION ORDER 

1. The authority citation for part 1245 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411–7425; 7 U.S.C. 

7401. 

2. Subpart B of 7 CFR part 1245 (as 

proposed to be added in Federal 

Register document 2009–16401 

published elsewhere in this issue) is 

proposed to be added to Title 7, Chapter 

XI of the Code of Federal Regulations to 

read as follows: 

Subpart B—Referendum Procedures 

Sec. 

1245.100 General. 

1245.101 Definitions. 

1245.102 Voting. 

1245.103 Instructions. 

1245.104 Subagents. 

1245.105 Ballots. 

1245.106 Referendum report. 

1245.107 Confidential information. 

1245.108 OMB control number. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411–7425; 7 U.S.C. 

7401. 

Subpart B—Referendum Procedures 

§ 1245.100 General. 

Referenda to determine whether 

eligible U.S. producers favor the 

issuance, continuance, amendment, 

suspension, or termination of the U.S. 

Honey Producer Research, Promotion, 

and Consumer Information Order shall 

be conducted in accordance with this 

subpart. 

§ 1245.101 Definitions. 

(a) Administrator means the 

Administrator of the Agricultural 

Marketing Service, with power to redelegate, or any officer or employee of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture to 

whom authority has been delegated or 

may hereafter be delegated to act in the 

Administrator’s stead. 

(b) Department means the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture or any officer 

or employee of the Department to whom 

authority has heretofore been delegated, 

or to whom authority may hereafter be 

delegated, to act in the Secretary’s stead. 

(c) Eligible producer means any 

person who produces 100,000 pounds 

or more of honey in any State for sale 

in commerce and is subject to pay 

assessments to the Board on such U.S. 

honey produced during the 

representative period and who: 

(1) Owns or shares in the ownership 

of honey bee colonies or beekeeping 

equipment resulting in the ownership of 

the U.S. honey produced; 

(2) Rents honey bee colonies or 

beekeeping equipment resulting in the 


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ownership of all or a portion of the U.S. 

honey produced; 

(3) Owns honey bee colonies or 

beekeeping equipment but does not 

manage them and, as compensation, 

obtains the ownership of a portion of 

the U.S. honey produced; or 

(4) Is a party in a lessor-lessee 

relationship or a divided ownership 

arrangement involving totally 

independent entities cooperating only to 

produce honey that share the risk of loss 

and receive a share of the U.S. honey 

produced. No other acquisition of legal 

title to honey shall be deemed to result 

in persons becoming eligible producers. 

(d) Honey means the nectar and 

saccharine exudations of plants that are 

gathered, modified, and stored in the 

comb by honeybees, including comb 

honey. 

(e) Honey products mean products 

where honey is a principal ingredient. 

For purposes of this subpart, a product 

shall be considered to have honey as a 

principal ingredient, if the product 

contains at least 50 percent honey by 

weight. 

(f) Order means the U.S. Honey 

Producer Research, Promotion, and 

Consumer Information Order. 

(g) Person means any individual, 

group of individuals, partnership, 

corporation, association, cooperative, or 

any other legal entity. For the purpose 

of this definition, the term 

‘‘partnership’’ includes, but is not 

limited to: 

(1) A spouse or marital partner who 

have title to, or leasehold interest in, 

honey bee colonies or beekeeping 

equipment as tenants in common, joint 

tenants, tenants by the entirety, or, 

under community property laws, as 

community property; and 

(2) So-called ‘‘joint ventures’’ wherein 

one or more parties to an agreement, 

informal or otherwise, contributed land 

and others contributed capital, labor, 

management, equipment, or other 

services, or any variation of such 

contributions by two or more parties, so 

that it results in the production, or 

handling for market and the authority to 

transfer title to the honey so produced, 

or handled. 

(h) Referendum agent or agent means 

the individual or individuals designated 

by the Department to conduct the 

referendum. 

(i) Representative period means the 

period designated by the Department. 

(j) United States or U.S. means 

collectively the 50 states, the District of 

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

Rico, and the territories and possessions 

of the United States. 

§ 1245.102 Voting. 

(a) Each person who is an eligible U.S. 

producer and each person who is an 

eligible producer-packer, as defined in 

this subpart, at the time of the 

referendum and during the 

representative period, shall be entitled 

to cast one ballot in the referendum: 

However, each producer in a landlordtenant relationship or a divided 

ownership arrangement involving 

totally independent entities cooperating 

only to produce U.S. honey or honey 

products, in which more than one of the 

parties is a producer, shall be entitled to 

cast one ballot in the referendum 

covering only that producer’s share of 

the ownership of U.S. honey or honey 

products. 

(b) Proxy voting is not authorized, but 

an officer or employee of an eligible 

corporate producer may cast one ballot 

in the referendum on behalf of such 

entity. Any individual so voting in a 

referendum shall certify that they are an 

officer or employee of the eligible entity, 

or an administrator, executor, or trustee 

of an eligible entity and that such 

individual has the authority to take such 

action. Upon request of the referendum 

agent, the individual shall submit 

adequate evidence of such authority. 

(c) All ballots are to be cast by mail, 

as instructed by the Department. 

§ 1245.103 Instructions. 

(a) Referenda. The Order shall not 

become effective unless the Department 

determines that the Order is consistent 

with and will effectuate the purposes of 

the Act; and for initial and subsequent 

referenda the Order is favored by a 

majority of the eligible persons voting in 

the referendum who also represent a 

majority of the volume of U.S. honey 

produced, during a representative 

period determined by the Department, 

have been engaged in the production of 

honey and are subject to assessments 

under this Order and excluding those 

exempt from assessment under the 

Order. 

(b) The referendum agent shall 

conduct the referendum, in the manner 

provided in this subpart, under the 

supervision of the Administrator. The 

Administrator may prescribe additional 

instructions, not inconsistent with the 

provisions of this subpart, to govern the 

procedure to be followed by the 

referendum agent. Such agent shall: 

(1) Determine the period during 

which ballots may be cast. 

(2) Provide ballots and related 

material to be used in the referendum. 

The ballot shall provide for recording 

essential information, including that 

needed for ascertaining whether the 

person voting, or on whose behalf the 

vote is cast, is an eligible voter. 

(3) Give reasonable public notice of 

the referendum: 

(i) By utilizing available media or 

public information sources, without 

incurring advertising expense, to 

publicize the dates, places, method of 

voting, eligibility requirements, and 

other pertinent information. Such 

sources of publicity may include, but 

are not limited to, print and radio; and 

(ii) By such other means as the agent 

may deem advisable. 

(4) Mail to eligible U.S. producers 

whose names and addresses are known 

to the referendum agent, the 

instructions on voting, a ballot, and a 

summary of the terms and conditions of 

the Order. No person who claims to be 

eligible to vote shall be refused a ballot. 

(5) At the end of the voting period, 

collect, open, number, and review the 

ballots and tabulate the results in the 

presence of an agent of a third party 

authorized to monitor the referendum 

process. 

(6) Prepare a report on the 

referendum. 

(7) Announce the results to the 

public. 

§ 1245.104 Subagents. 

The referendum agent may appoint 

any individual or individuals necessary 

or desirable to assist the agent in 

performing such agent’s functions of 

this subpart. Each individual so 

appointed may be authorized by the 

agent to perform any or all of the 

functions which, in the absence of such 

appointment, shall be performed by the 

agent. 

§ 1245.105 Ballots. 

The referendum agent and subagents 

shall accept all ballots cast. However, if 

an agent or subagent deems that a ballot 

should be challenged for any reason, the 

agent or subagent shall endorse above 

their signature, on the ballot, a 

statement to the effect that such ballot 

was challenged, by whom challenged, 

the reasons therefore, the results of any 

investigations made with respect 

thereto, and the disposition thereof. 

Ballots invalid under this subpart shall 

not be counted. 

§ 1245.106 Referendum report. 

Except as otherwise directed, the 

referendum agent shall prepare and 

submit to the Administrator a report on 

the results of the referendum, the 

manner in which it was conducted, the 

extent and kind of public notice given, 

and other information pertinent to the 

analysis of the referendum and its 

results. 


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34204 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 133 / Tuesday, July 14, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

§ 1245.107 Confidential information. 

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. 

§ 1245.108 OMB control number. 

The control number assigned to the 

information collection requirement in 

this subpart by the Office of 

Management and Budget pursuant to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35 is OMB control 

number 0505–0001, OMB control 

number 0581–0217, and OMB control 

number 0581–[NEW, to be assigned by 

OMB]. 

Dated: June 30, 2009. 

Robert C. Keeney, 

Acting Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–16405 Filed 7–8–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE P 


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