[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 1 (Thursday, January 2, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55-56]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-33328]
[[Page 55]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 906
[Docket No. FV96-906-4PR]
Oranges and Grapefruit Grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in
Texas; Reapportionment of Membership on the Texas Valley Citrus
Committee
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would reapportion the membership of the 15-
member Texas Valley Citrus Committee (committee) established under the
Federal marketing order regulating the handling of oranges and
grapefruit grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. This action
would provide for more equitable representation between cooperative and
independent producers and handlers. This reapportionment would reduce
the number of cooperative producer member positions from four to two
and provide independent producers with those two positions, thus,
increasing independent producer membership to seven positions. In
addition, the number of cooperative handler member positions would be
reduced from two to one, thereby increasing independent handler
membership to five positions.
DATES: Comments must be received by February 3, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this proposal. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the
Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456,
room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, Fax # (202) 720-5698. All
comments should reference the docket number and the date and page
number of this issue of the Federal Register and will be made available
for public inspection in the Office of the Docket Clerk during regular
business hours.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Belinda G. Garza, McAllen Marketing
Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and
Vegetable Division, 1313 E. Hackberry, McAllen, Texas 78501; telephone:
(210) 682-2833, Fax # (210) 682-5942; or Charles L. Rush, Marketing
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA,
P.O. Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone:
(202) 690-3670, Fax # (202) 720-5698. Small businesses may request
information on compliance with this regulation by contacting: Jay
Guerber, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable
Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-
6456; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax # (202) 720-5698.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposal is issued under Marketing
Agreement and Order No. 906 (7 CFR Part 906), as amended, regulating
the handling of oranges and grapefruit grown in the Lower Rio Grande
Valley in Texas, hereinafter referred to as the ``order.'' This order
is 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 of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This proposal has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
If adopted, this proposal 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 request a modification of the order or to be exempted
therefrom. A 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 to review the Secretary's
ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not later than 20
days after date of the entry of the ruling.
Pursuant to 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.
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 17 handlers of oranges and grapefruit who are subject to
regulation under the order and approximately 2,000 orange and
grapefruit producers in the regulated area. Small agricultural service
firms, which includes handlers, have been defined by the Small Business
Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those having annual receipts of less
than $5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those
having annual receipts of less than $500,000. The majority of handlers
and producers of Texas oranges and grapefruit may be classified as
small entities.
This proposed rule would reapportion the membership of the
committee. This action is intended to provide for equitable and
balanced representation between cooperative and independent producers
and handlers and would not impose additional costs or burdens on
producers and handlers.
Therefore, the AMS has determined that this proposed rule would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. Interested persons are invited to submit information on the
regulatory and informational impacts of this action on small
businesses.
Pursuant to section 906.18 of the order, the committee consists of
15 members. Each member has an alternate. Nine of the members are
producers and six are handlers. Section 906.122 of the order's rules
and regulations provides that the nine producer representatives be
allocated so that four members represent cooperative marketing
organizations, hereinafter referred to as cooperative producers, and
five members represent independent marketing organizations, hereinafter
referred to as independent producers. Section 906.122 further provides
that the six handler representatives on the committee be allocated so
that two members represent cooperative marketing organizations,
hereinafter referred to as cooperative handlers, and four represent
independent marketing organizations, hereinafter referred to as
independent handlers.
Section 906.19 provides for a three-year term of office for
committee members and their alternates. The terms of office of the
committee are staggered so that one-third of the terms end every third
year. Members and alternates serve in their designated positions during
the portion of the term of office for which they are selected or until
their respective successors are selected and have qualified.
Section 906.21 of the order authorizes the committee, with the
Secretary's
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approval, to reapportion membership between cooperative producer and
handler members and independent producer and handler members as
necessary to assure equitable representation on the committee. Such
changes are authorized in order to reflect structural changes within
the industry and changes in the amount of fruit handled by cooperative
handlers in relation to fruit handled by independent handlers.
On August 27, 1996, the committee met to discuss, among other
issues, committee representation and to determine whether any changes
were warranted to foster more equitable representation. Changes in the
Texas citrus industry have resulted in a reduction of the number of
cooperative handlers in that industry subsequently resulting in a
decrease in the amount of fruit handled by cooperative handlers.
According to the committee's records, there were four cooperative
organizations operating until 1984, prior to a freeze in the production
area. From 1985 to 1995, there were two cooperative organizations
handling Texas citrus. Presently, only one cooperative handler remains
in operation.
As the number of cooperative handlers has decreased, so has the
volume of fresh fruit accounted for by cooperatives. At the time
committee membership was last reapportioned in 1969, cooperatives
accounted for about 30 percent of fresh fruit shipments and about 45
percent of fruit harvested (which includes processed citrus). The
volume of fresh fruit shipments accounted for by cooperatives has
declined since that time, particularly after the last two freezes.
The committee is concerned that the cooperative segment of the
industry is currently over-represented on the committee and that
committee representation no longer reflects the current structure of
the industry. The present situation has recently made it difficult to
acquire cooperative representation on the committee, which could lead
to potential problems in the future.
This proposed rule would change the composition of the committee by
reducing cooperative producer positions on the committee from four to
two, and increasing independent producer member positions from five to
seven. In addition, cooperative handler representation would be reduced
from two member positions to one, and independent handler positions
would be increased from four to five. The proposed change would bring
committee representation more in line with the Texas citrus industry's
current structure. This change was unanimously recommended by the
committee at its August 27 meeting.
The committee further recommended that current committee members
complete their current terms of office where possible and new members
be nominated where applicable to provide for full three-year terms of
office for unexpired terms. Presently, the term of office of one of the
four cooperative producer members expires on July 31, 1997, and three
expire on July 31, 1999. The 1997 position, in addition to one of the
1999 positions, would be relinquished to independent producers. Also,
there are presently two cooperative handler members, one of whose terms
expires on July 31, 1998, and the other on July 31, 1999. One of those
positions would be relinquished to independent handlers. The three
terms of office relinquished to the independents would terminate on
July 31 of the appropriate term. Determination of which cooperative
producer and handler members currently serving unexpired terms would
remain in their respective positions would be made by lot at the
committee's subsequent nomination meetings.
The Texas citrus industry has historically demonstrated a policy of
maintaining equitable representation among cooperative and independent
producers and handlers. When the order was promulgated in 1960, two of
the nine producer member positions and one of the six handler positions
were allocated to cooperative members. In 1969, committee membership
was reallocated to the present apportionment to reflect changes in the
composition of the industry.
Cooperative producer member positions were increased from two to
four and cooperative handler representation was increased from one to
two. The changes also provided for a reduction in the number of
independent producer and handler positions. Following the two major
freezes, only one cooperative handler remains in operation. The
committee recommended returning to the order's original apportionment
to accommodate the shift in production. Reducing the total number of
cooperative positions to three would bring representation closer in
line with the proportion of fresh fruit shipments accounted for by the
cooperative. Therefore, the committee's recommendation to revert to the
committee's original apportionment would be achieved by removing
Sec. 906.122, which would result in reallocation of cooperative and
independent producers and handlers to that reflected in Sec. 906.18 of
the order. Section 906.122, which provides that the production area be
considered as one district for purposes of committee representation,
would not be affected by this rule.
A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to
respond to this proposal. All written comments received within the
comment period will be considered prior to finalization of this rule.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 906
Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, Oranges, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 906 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 906--ORANGES AND GRAPEFRUIT GROWN IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE
VALLEY IN TEXAS
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 906 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
2. Section 906.122 is removed.
Dated: December 26, 1996.
Robert C. Keeney,
Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 96-33328 Filed 12-31-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P