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Notices Federal Register

2837

Vol. 70, No. 11

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Office of the Secretary 

Uniform Guidelines for Conducting 

Farm Service Agency County 

Committee Elections

AGENCY: Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Secretary of Agriculture 

(the Secretary) published in the Federal 

Register on August 17, 2004 proposed 

uniform guidelines for conducting 

elections of Farm Service Agency (FSA) 

County Committees, pursuant to section 

10708 of the Farm Security and Rural 

Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–

171) (the 2002 Farm Bill). The notice 

provided a thirty-day period for public 

comments. As a result of numerous 

requests, the public comment period 

was extended until October 16, 2004, in 

a Federal Register notice published 

September 22, 2004. After analysis of 

the comments received, the Secretary is 

now issuing the final uniform 

guidelines for conducting FSA County 

Committee elections.

DATES: Effective Date: January 18, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken 

Nagel, Administrative Management 

Specialist, Office of the Deputy 

Administrator for Field Operations, 

FSA, at (202) 720–7890, or at 

Ken.nagel@usda.gov. Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative 

means for communication (Braille, large 

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the 

USDA Target Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice and TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Secretary is issuing uniform guidelines 

pursuant to the 2002 Farm Bill in order 

to ensure that FSA County Committees 

are fairly representative of the 

agricultural producers covered by the 

relevant county or counties, including 

fair representation of socially 

disadvantaged (SDA) farmers and 

ranchers. The guidelines address 

County Committee election outreach 

efforts, procedures for nomination and 

election of County Committee members, 

and reporting and accountability 

requirements. FSA will be required to 

follow such guidelines in conducting 

FSA County Committee elections. The 

Federal Register notice in which the 

proposed guidelines were issued 

provides additional information on the 

background and intent of the guidelines. 

That notice also stated that, to the extent 

possible, the proposed guidelines would 

be followed in preparation for the 2004 

County Committee election process 

while comments were being reviewed. 

USDA received 352 comments on the 

proposed uniform guidelines. About 65 

percent of the respondents objected to 

the issuance of any guidelines, although 

many of these general complaints also 

contained objections to specific 

provisions. About 11 percent of the 

respondents agreed with all the 

proposed guidelines, and 24 percent 

commented on only specific provisions. 

In general, those respondents 

disagreeing with the proposed uniform 

guidelines believe that the FSA County 

Committee election process used in 

previous elections is fundamentally 

sound, and they wish to revert to the 

procedures used prior to the publication 

of the proposed guidelines. The majority 

of the specific objections were to the 

appointment of at-large members by the 

Secretary to represent the interest of 

SDA farmers and ranchers, nomination 

of candidates for County Committees by 

the Secretary, reduction of term limits 

for County Committee members from 3 

to 2 terms, the mailing of ballots by 

voters directly to State offices, and 

increased centralization of the election 

process. Many of the comments received 

with these objections appear to be based 

on a form letter provided to County 

Committee members and employees 

from the National Association of Farmer 

Elected Committeemen. The American 

Corn Growers, National Association of 

Wheat Growers, National Cotton 

Council, National Farmers Organization, 

National Grange, and Women Involved 

in Farm Economics filed a joint letter 

with similar objections. Other 

individuals interested in County 

Committee elections also filed 

comments opposing all or specific 

sections of the proposed uniform 

guidelines.

Many of the supporters of the 

proposed uniform guidelines consisted 

of member organizations of the Rural 

Coalition. Other supporters of specific 

sections of the proposed uniform 

guidelines were the Minority 

Agricultural Producers Cooperative, the 

Twin Rivers Cooperative, the National 

Tribal Development Association, and 

the Farmers Legal Action Group. 

Individuals interested in County 

Committee elections also filed 

comments supporting all or specific 

sections of the proposed uniform 

guidelines; whoever, fewer individuals 

filed supporting comments than 

opposing comments. 

While USDA received more negative 

than positive comments, section 10708 

of the 2002 Farm Bill grants discretion 

to the Secretary to issue uniform 

guidelines if the Secretary determines 

they would be necessary. After 

evaluating the nationwide results of the 

County Committee elections, the 

Secretary decided that issuing uniform 

guidelines was warranted. The 

comments received have not changed 

this basic determination. The Secretary 

has, however, taken the logical course of 

action of addressing, and in some cases 

modifying, those specific provisions 

that drew significant numbers of 

comments. 

A large number of comments 

concerned the Secretary’s option under 

the 2002 Farm Bill to issue provisions 

allowing for the appointment of a 

member representing the interests of 

SDA farmers and ranchers to particular 

committees. However, the uniform 

guidelines do not contain any 

provisions for the appointment of an 

SDA voting member. What the 

guidelines do state is that the Secretary 

may consider whether to issue written 

provisions providing for such 

appointments. Such a determination 

would only be made after a complete 

analysis of the results of future County 

Committee elections. If it is determined 

that such provisions should be issued, 

proposed written provisions on County 

Committee appointments will be 

published in the Federal Register with 

an opportunity for public comment 

before any such appointments would be 

made. The public comments already 

made on this issue will also be 

reexamined at that time. 

Many comments were received 

regarding nomination by the Secretary

2838 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2005 / Notices 

of candidates if no nominations are 

received during the official nomination 

period, or if the Secretary determines 

that it is appropriate to nominate 

additional candidates in order to ensure 

fair representation. Those objecting to 

this policy asserted that such a 

procedure could politicize the 

nomination process or would not be in 

accord with the original intent of 

Congress in creating locally elected 

County Committees. These objections 

must be examined in light of the 

language and intent of the 2002 Farm 

Bill as well. It is clear that Congress 

intended that there should be changes 

in the County Committee election 

system when it enacted section 10708 of 

the 2002 Farm Bill. Specifically, section 

10708 directs the Secretary to take steps 

to enhance the opportunities for SDA 

candidates to be nominated and elected 

to County Committees. Providing the 

Secretary with the authority to make 

nominations in limited circumstances is 

a tool to reach this goal. As a matter of 

practical consideration, since the 

Secretary would turn to local sources 

such as community-based organizations 

or the County Committee members 

themselves as a source of candidates, it 

is unlikely that the partisan affiliation of 

such candidates would be considered by 

the Secretary. Finally, FSA County 

Committees by reaching out to SDA 

producers and the groups representing 

SDA interests, can create a climate in 

which an appropriate level of SDA 

participation is generated. This will 

negate the necessity for the Secretary to 

nominate candidates in the first place. 

In light of these considerations, the 

Secretary will leave the provisions for 

Secretarial nominations contained in 

the proposed guidelines, though a 

technical correction in language was 

made to this provision.

Some respondents objected to a 

review of local administrative area 

(LAA) boundaries by the FSA national 

office in order to determine if redrawing 

such boundaries would assist in 

ensuring the fair representation of SDA 

producers. Commenters asserted that 

FSA County Committees have handled 

this process well for over 50 years, and 

that such boundary changing might 

introduce partisan bias into county 

elections. These objections must be 

considered in light of the realities of 

drafting LAA boundaries. First, the 

regulations contained in 7 CFR part 7 

are being revised to contain more 

specific, neutral criteria that will guide 

FSA State and County Committees in 

their annual reexamination of LAA 

boundaries. The general standards 

governing the redistricting of national, 

State, and local legislative districts have 

evolved considerably since the 1930’s as 

a result of the Voting Rights Act and the 

one-person, one vote decisions by the 

United States Supreme Court. While the 

Voting Rights Act and the one person, 

one vote standard may not apply 

directly to the drafting of FSA County 

Committee LAAs, generally accepted 

neutral redistricting criteria should be 

considered in drafting those LAAs. Even 

without guidelines on this issue, FSA 

State committees will continue to 

exercise oversight of this process. 

Nonetheless, the Secretary’s authority 

regarding County Committees includes 

providing proper oversight to ensure 

that the criteria contained in the 

regulation are being applied. Finally, 

any examination and possible 

adjustment of LAA boundaries at the 

national level would be conducted by 

career staff, and would not result in 

changes unless the criteria contained in 

the regulation is determined to have 

been violated. Even then, any new 

boundaries would be subject to the same 

neutral criteria contained in the 

regulations. 

A suggestion from a respondent that 

any proposal to re-draw LAA 

boundaries should include some 

mechanism for soliciting input from the 

public is well advised. Provisions of this 

type are already contained in the 

guidelines and any objections can be 

presented to the FSA State committees 

and considered by the State committees 

as part of their LAA redistricting 

approval process. As a result of this 

suggestion, however, provisions for 

such reviews will be strengthened in the 

final guidelines. 

Suggestions were also made that 

County Committee members should be 

elected at-large. Such at-large elections 

might have the effect of diluting the 

voting strength of SDA producers and, 

thereby, might reduce the likelihood of 

election of SDA committee members. 

The uniform guidelines do provide that 

the Secretary may consider the use of atlarge seats for certain County 

Committees in the future; however, the 

Secretary has determined not to use 

such at-large seats at this time. In light 

of all these considerations, except for a 

strengthening of the ability of the public 

to comment on proposed LAA boundary 

changes, the uniform guideline 

provisions concerning LAA boundaries 

have been left unchanged in the final 

guidelines. 

Many respondents opposed reducing 

term limits from the current three-term 

limit to two terms. The most common 

reason given was the loss of 

institutional knowledge, along with the 

length of time required to properly train 

members in the programs administered 

by FSA. Those supporting the proposed 

guideline on this issue were concerned 

that many sitting County Committee 

members had been serving for too many 

years. Due to the reorganization of 

USDA, the term limit baseline had been 

reset in 1995 for all sitting County 

Committee members. This has resulted 

in many members having served on a 

County Committee well in excess of the 

9 years mandated by the present 3-term 

limit. Such persons were not eligible to 

seek election in 2004, and the remainder 

will be barred from reelection in 2005 

and 2006 as their LAAs rotate through 

the tree-year staggered election cycle. 

Since a term limit is neutral in terms of 

SDA status and could, therefore, be a 

detriment to presently sitting SDA 

committee members, a determination 

has been made to retain the current 

three-term limit. The final guidelines 

also clarify that an individual may not 

serve more than three consecutive terms 

or portions of terms.

A majority of those commenting on 

the provision to conduct annual reviews 

of County Committee elections 

supported annual reviews. Some 

respondents, however, were opposed to 

such reviews because, in their view, 

they are based on a perceived lack of 

trust of the administration of the 

election process by local FSA County 

Committees. Section 10708 of the 2002 

Farm Bill continues to require the 

Secretary to ensure that participation by 

SDA producers and all other producers 

are fairly represented on FSA County 

Committees. Conducting annual reviews 

is one of many tools that the Secretary 

may use to ensure that there is such fair 

representation. Annual reviews also will 

ensure that all election procedures are 

followed in a uniform manner 

nationwide and that they are 

understood by County Committees and 

county office staff. 

A substantial number of comments 

opposed the provision that requires that 

all marked ballots be returned directly 

to FSA State offices, and then be 

returned in sealed ballot boxes for 

public canvassing by the County 

Committees. Primary concerns were the 

potential for problems in collection and 

shipping of ballots by State offices and 

the added burden to State office staff. 

Concerns were also expressed that this 

procedure could politicize these 

elections, and that County Committees 

have conducted completely transparent 

elections in the past. 

There is no reason to assume that 

career Federal employees handling 

ballots at the State office would be any 

more likely to inject political 

partisanship into the process of placing

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2005 / Notices 2839

ballots received in the mail into sealed 

ballot boxes. It is important to note that 

County Committee election ballots, 

returned by mail or in person, are sealed 

within a return envelope that has been 

signed by the voter. At the time that the 

votes are counted, all these return 

envelopes are emptied out of the ballot 

box. The eligibility of each voter to cast 

a vote is then determine by checking the 

signature on the return envelope against 

the official list of eligible voters. If the 

voting is determined to be proper, then 

the sealed ballots of the eligible voters 

contained within the return envelopes 

are then co-mingled without 

identification. The ballots themselves 

are then opened and counted. While it 

is certainly true that the great majority 

of County Committee elections have 

been handled properly, it is not 

common election procedure that 

persons who may be directly working 

for those standing for election should be 

handling ballots that are identified by 

name. It is for this reason that the 

mailing back of all ballots to the State 

offices was contained in the proposed 

guidelines. The procedure was tested in 

the 2004 County Committee election for 

300 targeted counties. After review of 

this pilot project, FSA determined that 

this procedure was manageable for 

about 300 to 500 County Committee 

elections, but probably would be 

impractical for all County Committee 

elections. For this reason, the decision 

has been made to require ballots to be 

mailed directly to State offices only at 

the request of a candidate, or when the 

Secretary determines that this procedure 

is necessary in any specific county. In 

all other cases, voters will return their 

ballots directly to their respective 

county offices. 

The provision requiring that 

nomination forms be mailed to all 

eligible voters was supported in a 

majority of the comments. Supporters 

did not necessarily recommend a 

specific mailing be conducted, but 

expressed greater support that 

nomination forms should be included 

with a newsletter or some other mailing. 

Those in opposition to the mailing of 

nomination forms felt that the process 

would not be productive in gaining 

additional nominations.

It has been decided to require State 

and county newsletters, or any mailing 

announcing County Committee 

elections, to include a nomination form 

and instructions, but not to require a 

special mailing of nomination forms 

alone. The final guidelines also require 

that nomination forms be readily 

available on the FSA Internet site and 

publicly accessible in all USDA Service 

Centers. Reproducible versions of the 

nomination forms will also be mailed to 

FSA outreach partners. 

Some respondents opposed 

centralized ballot production and 

mailing because of the additional costs 

they believed were involved in this new 

process, the problems encountered in 

the 2003 County Committee elections, 

and the assertion that the entire election 

system in the United States is countybased and administered and should not 

be centralized. Additional objections to 

centralized ballot production were 

based on the understanding that FSA 

has moved to this system because FSA 

management believed that county 

officers are not capable of administering 

and conducting fair and unbiased 

elections and that they believe that 

county office staffs should conduct all 

phases of the election process. Some 

supporters of increased centralization of 

the County Committee election process 

commented that they felt there has been, 

in some cases, significant local bias and 

unfairness in the manner in which these 

elections have been conducted, and that 

they would like the entire process to be 

removed from the hands of FSA county 

office staff. 

The driving force behind the 

centralization of ballot printing and 

mailing is cost saving and efficiency. 

Furthermore, the maintenance of 

accurate and complete lists of USDA 

customers is an integral part of FSA’s 

operations. Improvement of the 

accuracy of, and secure internal access 

to, FSA producer and other files will 

allow FSA and the entire Department to 

implement effective e-government 

programs and to better service the needs 

of USDA’s customers. It should be noted 

that the process of centralization of 

ballot printing has uncovered significant 

instances in which lists of eligible 

voters were either outdated or contained 

serious errors. It should be further noted 

that election administrators in the 

United States are currently using central 

production and mailing of ballots for far 

more complex elections. Use of this 

procedure is in no way based on any 

evaluation of either the level of fairness 

or bias under which elections are 

conducted by county office staff. The 

Secretary has maintained this provision 

in the final guidelines. 

Another change to the final uniform 

guidelines concerns who may receive a 

list of eligible voters. Pursuant to the 

Privacy Act, FSA issued a Privacy Act 

System of Records notice that pertains, 

in part, to the release of information 

about producers eligible to vote in FSA 

County Committee elections. This 

notice authorizes the disclosure of 

voters’ names and addresses to 

candidates. The regulations contained 

in 7 CFR part 7 only provide for the 

release of voter names. This does not 

give candidates the ability to 

communicate effectively with eligible 

voters. Both the final guidelines and the 

regulations will be revised to allow the 

release of voter names and addresses to 

candidates. All other eligible voters will 

only be entitled to review a list of the 

voter names. 

The remaining changes to the final 

guidelines are minor changes of some of 

the dates in the guidelines.

Accordingly, USDA hereby issues 

Uniform Guidelines for Conducting FSA 

County Committee Elections, as follows: 

Secretary of Agriculture—Uniform 

Guidelines for Conducting Farm Service 

Agency County Committee Elections 

Pursuant to section 10708 of the Farm 

Security and Rural Investment Act of 

2002, (Pub. L. 107–171)(7 U.S.C. 2279–

1), the Secretary of Agriculture is 

issuing the following uniform 

guidelines for conducting elections to 

County Committees of the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA), United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). The 

purpose of such guidelines is to ensure 

that such County Committees are fairly 

representative of the agricultural 

producers covered in the relevant 

county or counties, including to ensure 

fair representation of sociallydisadvantaged (SDA) farmers and 

ranchers on such committees, as well as 

to ensure public transparency and 

accountability of the election process. 

Accordingly, the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA) shall conduct elections of 

members to FSA County Committees in 

accordance with the following 

guidelines. 

I. County Committee Election Outreach 

and Communication Efforts 

A. FSA will ensure that outreach 

efforts are taken at the National, State, 

and local levels to ensure the fair 

representation of agricultural producers 

in a given county or area, including fair 

representation of SDA farmers and 

ranchers. Such efforts must be designed 

to increase the participation of eligible 

producers in the County Committee 

election process. 

B. Each FSA county office will work 

with the State office to prepare an 

outreach plan, with specific steps that 

the county office will take on a yearlong basis to increase the participation 

of producers generally and SDA 

producers specifically. A report 

detailing county office outreach efforts 

shall be submitted to the Office of the 

Deputy Administrator for Field 

Operations, FSA, 30 days prior to the 

end of the nomination period.

2840 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2005 / Notices 

C. FSA county and State offices, with 

guidance from the FSA national office, 

will prepare a list of group contacts with 

which FSA will work on its outreach 

efforts. Such group contacts should 

include, as appropriate, land grant 

colleges, historically black colleges and 

universities, Hispanic-serving 

institutions, tribal colleges, American 

Indian tribal organizations, communitybased organizations, civic or charitable 

organizations, faith-based organizations, 

groups representing minorities and 

women, groups specifically representing 

the interest of SDA producers, and 

similar groups and individuals in the 

community. 

D. FSA county and State offices will 

either develop partnerships with the 

group contacts or work with them on 

outreach efforts as appropriate to assist 

FSA in outreach efforts to SDA 

producers. County and State offices will 

also ensure that all groups contacts are 

provided with all appropriate election 

materials on a timely basis, including 

fact sheets, posters, brochures, and 

nominations forms. 

E. FSA State Outreach Coordinators, 

State Communications Coordinators, 

Field Public Affairs Specialists, and 

other relevant State Office personnel 

shall work together in developing and 

implementing State communications 

plans for the election process. 

F. FSA county offices shall ensure 

maximum publicity to remind and 

inform SDA farmers and ranchers of 

both the nomination and the election 

deadlines. FSA county offices shall 

ensure that all written election material 

is available in the county office, is 

prominently displayed and 

disseminated in the local area, and is 

provided to all group contacts. FSA 

shall ensure that all communications on 

the election process are available in 

languages other than English and in 

alternative formats when appropriate. 

County Committee election 

communications materials (nomination 

forms, fact sheets, posters, etc.) shall be 

posted on FSA’s Web site at: http://

www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/

elections/

G. County offices shall ensure that 

information relating to elections is 

widely communicated, including the 

use of traditional and non-traditional 

media outlets. Media outlets should 

include television, radio, public service 

announcements, SDA organization 

newsletters, and other minority 

publications.

H. FSA county offices, as monitored 

by FSA State offices and State 

committees, shall actively locate and 

recruit eligible candidates identified as 

SDA farmers and ranchers as potential 

nominees for the County Committee 

elections using any reasonable means 

necessary. FSA shall work with leaders 

within the SDA community to identify 

eligible nominees. Community leaders 

who are eligible producers should be 

encouraged to become candidates for 

County Committee membership. 

I. FSA State offices shall ensure that 

county offices are taking all appropriate 

outreach and communication efforts, 

including follow-up visits to county 

offices. 

J. The FSA national office shall 

provide specific written guidance to 

State and county offices on County 

Committee election outreach and 

communication efforts. The national 

office shall also develop partnerships 

with appropriate national organizations 

to assist in outreach efforts. The 

national office shall work closely with 

the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights in developing and 

implementing outreach policy and 

activities. 

II. County Committee Election 

Procedures 

A. Local Administrative Areas 

1. County Committees shall continue 

to annually review and provide State 

Committees with proposed changes in 

local administrative area (LAA) 

boundaries within each FSA county 

office jurisdiction no later than April 1 

of each year. County Committees shall 

ensure that any LAA changes are in 

effect no later than June 15 of each year. 

Each FSA county office shall post 

proposed changes in the LAA 

boundaries in the count office, as well 

as locally publicize such boundaries in 

a county office newsletter and local 

media to the extent practicable. The 

county office shall ensure that adequate 

time is available for comments by 

eligible voters to be received before the 

proposed LAA boundaries are 

considered for approval by the State 

Committee. 

2. The FSA national office shall 

provide guidelines to County 

Committees on how to conduct the 

annual review of LAA boundaries. Such 

guidelines shall require the County 

Committees, in conducting the annual 

review of LAA boundaries, to determine 

whether redrawing the LAA boundaries 

or increasing the number of LAAs in a 

given area will assist in ensuring the fair 

representation of SDA producers in the 

area over which the committee has 

jurisdiction. 

3. If a County Committee determines 

that LAA boundaries should be redrawn 

or that the number of LAAs should be 

changed, the FSA State Committee must 

approve any such determination before 

such a change is implemented. 

4. Apart from the annual review of 

LAAs by County Committees, the FSA 

national office and State Committees 

shall conduct annual reviews of selected 

County Committees in order to 

determine whether redrawing the LAA 

boundaries or increasing the number of 

LAAs in a given area will assist in 

ensuring the fair representation of SDA 

producers in the area over which the 

committee has jurisdiction. The FSA 

national office and State Committees 

shall select such County Committees for 

annual reviews when they deem such 

reviews are appropriate based on 

evidence of possible under 

representation of SDAs on a given 

County Committee. Any proposed 

change in LAAs will be open to public 

comment before such change is 

implemented.

5. Each FSA office shall post the final 

LAA boundaries in the county office, as 

well as locally publicize such 

boundaries in a county office newsletter 

and local media. 

B. Eligible Voters 

1. County Committees shall maintain 

in the county office no later than June 

15 of each year a current and updated 

list of eligible voters for each LAA 

conducting an election during the year. 

Any eligible voter may review a list of 

the names of eligible voters and the 

County Committees shall provide a list 

of names and addresses of eligible 

voters to any candidate requesting the 

list. County Committees shall maintain 

updated lists of eligible voters 

throughout the nomination and election 

period. Any person may contact a 

county office, either in person or in 

writing, in order to ascertain whether 

they are on the eligible voters list. 

2. Any producer deemed to be 

ineligible to vote or who is not on the 

list of eligible voters who believes that 

he or she should be on the list may file 

a written challenge with the County 

Committee at any time. The County 

Committee must provide a response to 

the challenge within 15 calendar days. 

If the County Committee denies the 

challenge, the producer may appeal 

such denial to the State Committee. 

3. The County Committee shall 

provide to the State Committee a report 

of any producer who the County 

Committee has specifically declared 

ineligible as a voter. The State 

Committee may overturn any 

ineligibility determination and direct 

that the County Committee add that 

producer to the list of eligible voters.

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2005 / Notices 2841

C. Nominations 

1. Nomination forms shall be directly 

mailed to every eligible voter no later 

than June 15 of each year. Such 

nomination forms may be mailed to 

eligible voters by including the form as 

part of the mailing of an FSA State or 

county newsletter mailed to producers. 

2. Nomination forms shall be easily 

accessible to the public, including on 

the FSA Internet site year round. 

Nomination forms shall be readily 

available at FSA county offices and 

provided to the public upon request. 

The FSA State and county offices shall 

provide reproducible nomination forms 

to all of their group contacts. 

3. The official nominating period for 

County Committee election candidacy 

shall run for 6 weeks after the official 

opening date. 

4. Individuals desiring to file a 

nomination may nominate themselves 

or may nominate another eligible 

candidate. Nominees, whether self 

nominated, or nominated by another, 

must attest to their willingness to serve 

by signing the nomination form. 

Organizations representing SDA farmers 

and ranchers may nominate any eligible 

candidate. 

D. Slate of Candidates

1. If at least one nomination for 

candidacy is filed for an LAA for the 

County Committee election, the County 

Committee shall not add names to the 

slate of candidates after the close of the 

nomination period. 

2. If no nominations are filed for a 

particular County Committee seat, FSA 

shall notify the Secretary of this fact, 

and the Secretary may nominate up to 

two individuals for the slate. If the 

Secretary chooses not to exercise this 

authority, or only nominates one 

individuals, the State Committee may 

nominate up to two individuals for the 

slate. If there are less than two nominees 

on the slate after the Secretary and the 

State Committee determine whether to 

make any nominations, the County 

Committee shall ensure that the slate is 

filled with two nominees. 

3. Write-in candidates shall be 

accepted on ballots. The write-in 

candidate must meet eligibility criteria 

and attest to willingness to serve prior 

to being certified as a member or 

alternate member. Write-in candidates 

may serve as County Committee 

members or as alternates depending on 

the number of votes received. 

4. Notwithstanding the above 

guidelines, the Secretary may nominate 

an eligible SDA producer to a slate 

regardless of whether any nominations 

have been filed. A nomination by the 

Secretary may include the current 

advisory for the County Committee. 

E. Balloting and Vote Tabulation 

1. Ballots shall be mailed to all 

eligible voters contained in the County 

Office records in the LAA conducting 

the election. Ballots shall be mailed no 

less than 4 weeks prior to the date of the 

election. Ballots will be printed and 

mailed to eligible voters from a central 

location. Ballots shall be provided to 

anyone requesting a ballot. Voter 

eligibility shall be determined prior to 

tabulating the votes. Ballots shall state 

the date, time, and location that votes 

will be counted. 

2. County Committee elections will be 

held the first Monday of December each 

year, unless announced otherwise. 

Voters shall mail or deliver ballots to 

the FSA county office. Ballots, if mailed, 

must be postmarked by the election date 

or, if hand delivered, received by the 

election date. The county office shall 

provide a sealed ballot box into which 

ballots received shall be immediately 

deposited. 

3. There shall be a 10 calendar day 

advance notice to the public of the date 

of the vote counting. Ballot opening and 

vote counting shall be fully open and 

readily accessible to the public. The seal 

on the ballot box shall not be broken 

prior to the public ballot counting. 

4. When requested by a nominee, or 

when deemed necessary by the 

Secretary in a given county, voters shall 

mail ballots to the FSA State Office, 

rather than the county office. The FSA 

State office shall then deliver the ballots 

in a sealed box to the FSA county office. 

The seal on the ballot box from the State 

office shall not be broken except at the 

public ballot counting. 

F. Challenges 

1. Any nominee shall have the right 

to challenge an election in writing, in 

person, or both within 15 calendar days 

after the results of the election are 

posted. Appeals to the election shall be 

made to the County Committee, which 

will provide a decision on the challenge 

to the appellant within 7 calendar days. 

The County Committee’s decision may 

be appealed to the State Committee 

within 15 calendar days of receipt of the 

notice of the decision if the appellant 

desires.

2. In the event that an election is 

nullified as a result of an appeal or an 

error in the election process, a special 

election shall be conducted by the 

county office and closely monitored by 

the FSA State office. A special election 

shall be held according to the processes 

for a regular election, but with different 

dates. 

G. Term Limits 

1. No member of a County Committee 

may serve more than three consecutive 

three-year terms. A member will be 

considered to have served a term if that 

member served for a period of one and 

one-half years, or greater, of that term. 

This provision shall take effect with the 

2005 election and will be applied 

retroactively to any prior terms served 

by those persons seeking office in the 

2005 election. 

III. Reporting and Accountability 

Requirements 

A. Not later than 20 days after the 

date an election is held, each County 

Committee shall file an election report 

on the results of the election with the 

FSA State and national offices. The FSA 

national office shall provide specific 

guidance to county offices on the form 

and contents of this report. At a 

minimum, the report must include: 

1. The number of eligible voters in the 

LAAs conducting the election; 

2. The number of ballots cast by 

eligible voters (including the percentage 

of eligible voters that cast ballots); 

3. The number of ballots disqualified 

in the election; 

4. The percentage that the number of 

ballots disqualified is of the number of 

ballots received; 

5. The number of nominees for each 

seat up for election; 

6. The race, ethnicity, and gender of 

each nominee, and 

7. The final election results (including 

the number of ballots received by each 

nominee). 

B. After each election, the FSA 

national office shall compile the county 

election reports into a national election 

report to the Secretary. The national 

election report shall also be available to 

anyone requesting a paper copy of the 

report and also shall be posted to the 

FSA Web-site. the national election 

report shall include election data on 

SDA County Committee representation 

by county. 

C. Not later than 90 days after the date 

an election is held, each County 

Committee shall file a separate written 

election reform report with the FSA 

State and national offices detailing its 

efforts to comply with the uniform 

guidelines and FSA regulations and 

directives on County Committee 

elections. This report must contain a 

detailed description of county office 

outreach efforts. The FSA national office 

shall provide specific guidance to the 

county offices on the form and contents 

of this report. 

D. Based on the county election 

reports and the county election reform

2842 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2005 / Notices 

reports, the FSA national office shall 

provide feedback and guidance to FSA 

county and State offices on the election 

process, including outreach efforts. The 

FSA national office shall also, based on 

its review of the county election reform 

reports, as well as its analysis of the 

data on SDA representation, submit an 

annual report to the Secretary on 

election reform efforts, including 

recommendations on further 

improvements in the County Committee 

election process. 

IV. Additional Election Reform Efforts 

A. USDA shall consider additional 

efforts to ensure such fair 

representation. Such additional efforts 

may include, but are not limited to, 

compliance reviews of selected counties 

by FSA’s and USDA’s Offices of Civil 

Rights; consideration of at-large seats or 

cumulative voting for certain County 

Committees; further centralization of the 

election process; and the issuance of 

provisions allowing for the appointment 

of an SDA voting member to particular 

committees pursuant to the 2002 Farm 

Bill. 

V. Implementation of Uniform 

Guidelines 

A. The FSA national office shall 

ensure that it issues all appropriate 

regulations, instructions, directives, 

notices, and manuals to implement the 

terms of these uniform guidelines. 

B. FSA shall institute a 

comprehensive monitoring process, 

including spot checks on selected 

counties, to ensure compliance with 

these guidelines and FSA regulations 

and directives on the County Committee 

process. 

C. The FSA national office shall 

ensure that appropriate training of FSA 

county offices, including County 

Committees, is conducted on the 

implementation of these guidelines and 

on FSA’s regulations and directives on 

the County Committee election process. 

D. These uniform guidelines shall 

take effect immediately.

Signed in Washington, DC, January 12, 

2005. 

Ann Veneman, 

Secretary of Agriculture.

[FR Doc. 05–933 Filed 1–14–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Research Service 

Notice of Federal Invention Available 

for Licensing and Intent To Grant 

Exclusive License

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, 

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and intent.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Federally owned invention, U.S. 

Patent Application Serial No. 10/

973,274 entitled ‘‘Yeast Transformation 

System’’ is available for licensing and 

that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, intends to grant to 

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation 

(WARF) of Madison, Wisconsin, an 

exclusive license for this invention.

DATES: Comments must be received 

within ninety (90) calendar days of the 

date of publication of this Notice in the 

Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: Janet I. 

Stockhausen, USDA Forest Service, One 

Gifford Pinchot Drive, Madison, 

Wisconsin 53726–2398.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet I. Stockhausen of the USDA Forest 

Service at the Madison address given 

above; telephone: (608) 231–9502; fax: 

(608) 231–9508; or e-mail: 

jstockhausen@fs.fed.us.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Government’s patent rights to 

this invention are assigned to the United 

States of America, as represented by the 

Secretary of Agriculture. The 

prospective license will be royaltybearing and will comply with the terms 

and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 

CFR 404.7. The prospective exclusive 

license may be granted unless, within 

ninety (90) days from the date of this 

published Notice, the Forest Service 

receives written evidence and argument 

which establishes that the grant of the 

license would not be consistent with the 

requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 

CFR 404.7.

Richard J. Brenner, 

Assistant Administrator.

[FR Doc. 05–915 Filed 1–14–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. 04–051N] 

Codex Alimentarius Commission: 

Thirty-Seventh Session of the Codex 

Committee on Food Hygiene

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Office of the Acting 

Under Secretary for Food Safety, United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), and the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA), United States 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, are sponsoring a public 

meeting on February 2, 2005, to provide 

information and receive public 

comments on agenda items that will be 

discussed at the Thirty-seventh Session 

of the Codex Committee on Food 

Hygiene (CCFH) of the Codex 

Alimentarius Commission (Codex). The 

37th Session of the CCFH will be held 

in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 14–19 

March, 2005. The Acting Under 

Secretary and FDA recognize the 

importance of providing interested 

parties the opportunity to obtain 

background information on the agenda 

items that will be discussed at this 

forthcoming session of the CCFH.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled 

for Wednesday, February 2, 2005 from 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held in the Conference Room 1A001, 

Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, 5100 

Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, 

MD. Documents related to the 37th 

Session of CCFH will be accessible via 

the World Wide Web at the following 

address: http://

www.codexalimentarius.net/

current.asp.

FSIS invites interested persons to 

submit comments on this notice. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

• Mail, including floppy disks or CD–

ROMs, and hand- or courier-delivered 

items: Send to the FSIS Docket Clerk, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food 

Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th 

Street, SW., Room 102, Cotton Annex, 

Washington, DC 20730. All comments 

received must include the Agency name 

and docket number 04–051N. 

All comments submitted in response 

to this notice will be available for public 

inspection in the FSIS Docket Room at 

the address listed above between 8:30 

a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through