[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-24777] Federal Register / Vol. 59, No. 194 / Friday, October 7, 1994 / [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: October 7, 1994] VOL. 59, NO. 194 Friday, October 7, 1994 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Chapters I, IX, X, and XI [Docket No. L&RRS-94-001] Use of Direct Final Rulemaking AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Policy statement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service is implementing a new rulemaking procedure to expedite making noncontroversial changes to its regulations. Rules that the agency judges to be non-controversial and unlikely to result in adverse comments will be published as ``direct final'' rules. (``Adverse comments'' are comments that suggest that a rule should not be adopted or suggest that a change should be made to the rule.) Each direct final rule will advise the public that no adverse comments are anticipated, and that unless written adverse comments or written notice of intent to submit adverse comments are received within 30 days, the revision made by the rule will be effective 60 days from the date the direct final rule is published in the Federal Register. This new policy should expedite the promulgation of routine or otherwise noncontroversial rules by reducing the time that would be required to develop, review, clear, and publish separate proposed and final rules. DATES: Policy Statement effective October 7, 1994; comments should be received by December 6, 1994. ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Director, Legislative and Regulatory Review Staff, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, Room 3510-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Bryant at 202-720-3203. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Agricultural Marketing Service is committed to improving the efficiency of its regulatory process. In pursuit of this goal, we plan to employ the rulemaking procedure known as ``direct final rulemaking'' to promulgate some Agricultural Marketing Service rules. The Direct Final Rule Process Rules that the Agricultural Marketing Service judges to be noncontroversial and unlikely to result in adverse comments will be published as direct final rules. Each direct final rule will advise the public that no adverse comments are anticipated, and that unless written adverse comments or written notice of intent to submit adverse comments are received within 30 days, the revision made by the direct final rule will be effective 60 days from the date the direct final rule is published in the Federal Register. ``Adverse comments'' are comments that suggest that the rule should not be adopted, or that suggest that a change should be made to the rule. A comment expressing support for the rule as published will not be considered adverse. Further, a comment suggesting that requirements in the rule should, or should not, be employed by the Agricultural Marketing Service in other programs or situations outside the scope of the direct final rule will not be considered adverse. In accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the direct final rulemaking procedure gives the public general notice of the Agricultural Marketing Service's intent to adopt a rule, and gives interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking through submission of comments. The major feature of direct final rulemaking is that if the Agricultural Marketing Service receives no written adverse comments and no written notice of intent to submit adverse comments within 30 days of the publication of the direct final rule, the rule will become effective without the need to publish a separate final rule. However, the Agricultural Marketing Service will publish a notice in the Federal Register stating that no adverse comments were received regarding the direct final rule, and confirming that the direct final rule is effective on the date stated in the direct final rule. If the Agricultural Marketing Service receives written adverse comments or written notice of intent to submit adverse comments within 30 days of the publication of a direct final rule, a notice of withdrawal of the direct final rule will be published in the Federal Register. If the Agricultural Marketing Service intends to proceed with the rulemaking, the direct final rule will be republished as a proposed rule and we will proceed with the normal notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures. Determining When to Use Direct Final Rulemaking Not all Agricultural Marketing Service rules are good candidates for direct final rulemaking. The Agricultural Marketing Service intends to use the direct final rulemaking procedure only for rules that we consider to be noncontroversial and unlikely to generate adverse comments. The decision to use direct final rulemaking for a rule will be based on the Agricultural Marketing Service experience with similar rules. Dated: October 3, 1994. Lon Hatamiya, Administrator. [FR Doc. 94-24777 Filed 10-6-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-02-P