[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 221 (Thursday, November 14, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58345-58346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29106]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 58
RIN # 0581-AB43
[DA-96-10]
Grading and Inspection, General Specifications for Approved
Plants and Standards for Grades of Dairy Products; Proposed Increase in
Fees
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service proposes to increase the
fees charged for services provided under the dairy inspection and
grading program. The program is a voluntary, user-fee program conducted
under the authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as
amended. The proposed increases would result in a fee of $47.00 per
hour for continuous resident services and $52.00 per hour for
nonresident services between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The
fee for nonresident services between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00
a.m. would be $57.20 per hour. These proposed fees represent an
increase of four dollars per hour. The fees are being increased to
cover the costs of recent salary increases and locality adjustments,
the costs necessary to maintain adequate levels of service during
changing production and purchasing patterns within the dairy industry,
the continued full funding for standardization activities, and other
operating costs.
DATES: Comments must be received by December 16, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Office of the Director, USDA/
AMS/Dairy Division, Room 2968-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C.
20090-6456. Comments received will be available for public inspection
at this location during regular business hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn G. Boerger, USDA/AMS/Dairy
Division, Dairy Grading Branch, Room 2750--South Building, P.O. Box
96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456, (202) 720-9381.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule has been determined to be
not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866 and has not been
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have preemptive
effect with respect to any State or local laws, regulations or
policies. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect. There
are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted prior to any
judicial challenge to this rule or the application of its provisions.
Pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has
considered the economic impact of this action on small entities.
There are more than 600 users of Dairy Grading Branch's inspection
and grading services. Many of these users are small entities under the
criteria established by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR
121.601). This rule will raise the fee charged to businesses for
voluntary inspection services and grading services for dairy and
related products. Even though the fee will be raised, the increase is
approximately 8.6 percent and will not significantly affect these
entities. These businesses are under no obligation to use these
services, and any decision on their part to discontinue the use of the
services would not prevent them from marketing their products. The
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) estimates that overall this rule
will yield an additional $272,000 during fiscal year 1997. The proposed
rule reflects certain fee increases needed to recover the cost of
inspection and grading services rendered in accordance with the
Agricultural Marketing Act (AMA) of 1946.
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has determined that this
action will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of
small entities, as defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
601).
The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended, authorizes the
Secretary of Agriculture to provide Federal dairy grading and
inspection services that facilitate marketing and help consumers obtain
the quality of dairy products they desire. The Act provides that
reasonable fees be collected from the users of the services to cover,
as nearly as practicable, the cost of maintaining the program.
Since the costs of the grading program are covered entirely by user
fees, it is essential that fees be increased when necessary to cover
the cost of maintaining a financially self-supporting program. The last
fee increase under this program became effective on October 1, 1995.
Since that time, Congress increased the salaries of Federal employees
by 2.9 percent as of January 7, 1996, which included locality pay.
Also, there have been normal increases in other nonpay operating costs
that include utilities, office space
[[Page 58346]]
and reimbursable travel. In addition, recent congressional action may
result in additional salary increases of 3.0 percent in 1997. Although
the program's operating reserves were adequate to cover the January 7,
1996, salary increase, this will not be the case for 1997 salary
increases, and a fee increase is needed.
The grading program fees need to be increased to cover the costs
associated with maintaining adequate levels of service during shifting
production patterns within the dairy industry. The industry changes
include plant consolidations, geographical shifts of dairy production
areas, and changes in the types of dairy products being manufactured
and offered for inspection and grading services. To minimize the
necessary fee increase, the Department has initiated cost-reduction
efforts which include the reduction of staff and program overhead.
Proposed Changes
This rule proposes the following changes in the regulations
implementing the dairy inspection and grading program:
1. Increase the hourly fee for nonresident services from $48.00 to
$52.00 for services performed between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The
nonresident hourly rate is charged to users who request an inspector or
grader for particular dates and amounts of time to perform specific
grading and inspection activities. These users of nonresident services
are charged for the amount of time required to perform the task and
undertake related travel plus travel costs.
2. Increase the hourly fee for continuous resident services from
$43.00 to $47.00. The resident hourly rate is charged to those who are
using grading and inspection services performed by an inspector or
grader assigned to a plant on a continuous, year-round resident basis.
Timing of Fee Increase
It is contemplated that the proposed fee increases would be
implemented on an expedited basis in order to minimize the period of
revenue shortfall. Accordingly, it is anticipated that the fee
increases, if adopted, would become effective upon publication, or very
soon after publication, of the final rule in the Federal Register and
that delaying the effective date of the final rule until 30 days after
publication in the Federal Register would not occur. An approximate
effective date would be January 5, 1997.
All written submissions made pursuant to this notice will be made
available for public inspection in the Dairy Division during regular
business hours.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 58
Dairy products, Food grades and standards, Food labeling, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, it is proposed that 7
CFR Part 58 be amended as follows:
PART 58--GRADING AND INSPECTION, GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR
APPROVED PLANTS AND STANDARDS FOR GRADES OF DAIRY PRODUCTS
1. The authority citation for Part 58 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621-1627.
Subpart A--[Amended]
2. In subpart A, Sec. 58.43 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 58.43 Fees for inspection, grading, and sampling.
Except as otherwise provided in Secs. 58.38 through 58.46, charges
shall be made for inspection, grading, and sampling service at the
hourly rate of $52.00 for service performed between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00
p.m. and $57.20 for service performed between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.,
for the time required to perform the service calculated to the nearest
15-minute period, including the time required for preparation of
certificates and reports and the travel time of the inspector or grader
in connection with the performance of the service. A minimum charge of
one-half hour shall be made for service pursuant to each request or
certificate issued.
3. Section 58.45 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 58.45 Fees for continuous resident services.
Irrespective of the fees and charges provided in Secs. 58.39 and
58.43, charges for the inspector(s) and grader(s) assigned to a
continuous resident program shall be made at the rate of $47.00 per
hour for services performed during the assigned tour of duty. Charges
for service performed in excess of the assigned tour of duty shall be
made at a rate of 1\1/2\ times the rate stated in this section.
Dated: November 6, 1996.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 96-29106 Filed 11-13-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P