[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 115 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-14585] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: June 16, 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 7 CFR Part 932 [Docket No. FV93-932-4FIR] Olives Grown in California; Expenses and Assessment Rate for 1994 Fiscal Year AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting as a final rule, without change, the provisions of the interim final rule that authorized expenditures and established an assessment rate for the California Olive Committee (Committee) under Marketing Order (M.O.) No. 932 for the 1994 fiscal year. Authorization of this budget enables the Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer this program. Funds to administer this program are derived from assessments on handlers. EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1994, through December 31, 1994. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britthany Beadle, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone: (202) 720-5127; or Terry Vawter, California Marketing Field Office, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102 B, Fresno, California 93721, telephone: (209) 487-5901. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing Agreement No. 148 and Marketing Order No. 932 (7 CFR Part 932), as amended, regulating the handling of olives grown in California. The marketing agreement and order are effective under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-674), hereinafter referred to as the Act. The Department is issuing this rule in conformance with Executive Order 12866. This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order provisions now in effect, olives grown in California are subject to assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate specified herein will be applicable to all assessable olives handled during the 1994 fiscal year, beginning January 1, 1994, through December 31, 1994. This final rule will not preempt any state or local laws, regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with this rule. The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608c(15)(A) of the Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the Secretary a petition stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance with law and requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted therefrom. Such handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the petition. After the hearing the Secretary would rule on the petition. The Act provides that the district court of the United States in any district in which the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her principal place of business, has jurisdiction in equity to review the Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is filed not later than 20 days after date of the entry of the ruling. Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this rule on small entities. The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of business subject to such actions in order that small businesses will not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued pursuant to the Act, and rules issued thereunder, are unique in that they are brought about through group action of essentially small entities acting on their own behalf. Thus, both statutes have small entity orientation and compatibility. There are approximately 5 handlers of olives regulated under the marketing order each season and approximately 1,350 olive producers in California. Small agricultural producers have been defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those having annual receipts of less than $500,000, and small agricultural service firms are defined as those whose annual receipts are less than $5,000,000. None of the handlers may be classified as small entities. The majority of the producers may be classified as small entities. The marketing order, administered by the Department, requires that the assessment rate for a particular fiscal year apply to all assessable olives handled from the beginning of such year. Annual budgets of expenses are prepared by the Committee, the agency responsible for local administration of this marketing order, and submitted to the Department for approval. The members of the Committee are handlers and producers of California olives. They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the costs for goods, services, and personnel in their local area, and are thus in a position to formulate appropriate budgets. The Committee's budget is formulated and discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons have an opportunity to participate and provide input. The assessment rate recommended by the Committee is derived by dividing the anticipated expenses by expected shipments of olives. Because that rate is applied to actual shipments, it must be established at a rate which will provide sufficient income to pay the Committee's expected expenses. The California Olive Committee met on December 14, 1993, and unanimously recommended a total expense amount of $3,748,290, for its 1994 budget. This is $928,530 more in expenses than the previous year. The increase is primarily due to additional funding for market development. The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of $27.21 per ton for the 1994 fiscal year, which is $1.46 more in the assessment rate from the 1993 fiscal year. The assessment rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of 101,000 tons, would yield $2,748,210 in assessment income. This, along with approximately $1,000,000 from the Committee's authorized reserves will be adequate to cover estimated expenses. Major expense categories for the 1994 fiscal year include $1,150,000 for the market expansion program, $990,860 for consumer affairs, and $173,730 for salaries. Funds in the reserve at the end of the fiscal year, estimated at $300,000 will be within the maximum permitted by the order of one fiscal year's expenses. While this action will impose some additional costs on handlers, the costs are in the form of uniform assessments on all handlers. Some of the additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these costs should be significantly offset by the benefits derived from the operation of the marketing order. Therefore, the Administrator of the AMS has determined that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. An interim final rule was published in the Federal Register (59 FR 12526, March 17, 1994) and provided a 30-day comment period for interested persons. No comments were received. It is found that the specified expenses for the marketing order covered in this rule are reasonable and likely to be incurred and that such expenses and the specified assessment rate to cover such expenses will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act. It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the effective date of this action until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register (5 U.S.C. 553) because the Committee needs to have sufficient funds to pay its expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis. The 1994 fiscal year for the program began January 1, 1994. The marketing order requires that the rate of assessment apply to all assessable olives handled during the fiscal year. In addition, handlers are aware of this action which was recommended by the Committee at a public meeting and published in the Federal Register as an interim final rule. No comments were received concerning the interim final rule that is adopted in this action as a final rule without change. List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 932 Marketing agreements, Olives, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR Part 932 is amended as follows: PART 932--OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 932 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674. Accordingly, the interim final rule adding Sec. 932.227 which was published at 59 FR 12526, is adopted as a final rule without change. Dated: June 9, 1994. Eric M. Forman, Acting Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division. [FR Doc. 94-14585 Filed 6-15-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-02-P