Proposed Rule2021-17912
Domestic Dates Produced or Packed in Riverside County, California; Increased Assessment Rate
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 26, 2021
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAgricultural Marketing Service
Abstract
This proposed rule would implement a recommendation from the California Date Administrative Committee to increase the assessment rate for the 2020-21 and subsequent crop years. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 163 (Thursday, August 26, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 163 (Thursday, August 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47599-47601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17912]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 163 / Thursday, August 26, 2021 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 47599]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 987
[Doc. No. AMS-SC-21-0056; SC21-987-1 PR]
Domestic Dates Produced or Packed in Riverside County,
California; Increased Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would implement a recommendation from the
California Date Administrative Committee to increase the assessment
rate for the 2020-21 and subsequent crop years. The assessment rate
would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or
terminated.
DATES: Comments must be received by September 10, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments concerning
this proposed rule. Comments must be submitted via the internet at:
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. All comments should reference the document
number and the date and page number of this issue of the Federal
Register. All comments submitted in response to this proposed rule will
be included in the record and the identity of the individuals or
entities submitting the comments will be made public on the internet at
the address provided above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Broadbent, Senior Marketing
Specialist, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order and
Agreement Division, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone:
(503) 326-2724, or Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#480a293a3a31660a3a27292c2a2d263c083d3b2c29662f273e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dd9fbcafafa4f39fafb2bcb9bfb8b3a99da8aeb9bcf3bab2ab">[email protected]</span></a>.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Richard Lower, Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW, STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720-2491, or
Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#11437872797063753f5d7e66746351646275703f767e67"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="05576c666d6477612b496a72607745707661642b626a73">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553,
proposes an amendment to regulations issued to carry out a marketing
order as defined in 7 CFR 900.2(j). This proposed rule is issued under
Marketing Order No. 987, as amended (7 CFR part 987), regulating the
handling of domestic dates produced or packed in Riverside County,
California. Part 987, (referred to as the ``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 California
Date Administrative Committee (Committee) locally administers the Order
and is comprised of producers and producer-handlers operating within
the area of production.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing this proposed rule
in conformance with Executive Orders 12866 and 13563. Executive Orders
12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all costs and benefits of
available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to
select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including
potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects,
distributive impacts and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the
importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, reducing costs,
harmonizing rules, and promoting flexibility. This action falls within
a category of regulatory actions that the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) exempted from Executive Order 12866 review.
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 13175--
Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, which
requires agencies to consider whether their rulemaking actions would
have tribal implications. AMS has determined that this proposed rule is
unlikely to have substantial direct effects on one or more Indian
tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian
tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between
the Federal Government and Indian tribes.
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. Under the Order now in effect, California date
handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the Order are
derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate
would be applicable to all assessable dates for the 2020-21 crop year,
and continue until amended, suspended, or terminated.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608c(15)(A) of the
Act (7 U.S.C. 608(15)(A)), any handler subject to an order may file
with USDA 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. Such handler is afforded the opportunity for a
hearing on the petition. After the hearing, USDA 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 USDA's
ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not later than 20
days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
The Order provides authority for the Committee, with the approval
of USDA, to formulate an annual budget of expenses and collect
assessments from handlers to administer the program. Members are
familiar with the Committee's needs and costs of goods and services in
their local area, and they can formulate an appropriate budget and
assessment rate. The assessment rate is formulated and discussed in a
public meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons have an opportunity
to participate and provide input.
This proposed rule would increase the assessment rate from $0.15
per hundredweight, the rate that was established for the 2018-19 and
subsequent crop years, to $0.20 per hundredweight of dates handled for
the 2020-21 and subsequent crop years. The Committee met on June 25,
2020, and unanimously recommended increasing the assessment rate to
fund necessary administrative expenses and maintain a sufficient
operating reserve. The rate increase should provide sufficient funds to
cover most of the Committee's 2020-21 crop year budgeted expenses, with
the balance coming from other revenue sources and reserve funds.
[[Page 47600]]
The Committee estimates the 2020-21 domestic date crop to be
32,000,000 pounds (320,000 hundredweight), which would generate $64,000
in assessment income at the recommended $0.20 per hundredweight
assessment rate. The Committee expects other income of approximately
$5,000. Total income of $69,000, combined with $6,250 from the
financial reserve, should provide enough funds to cover 2020-21 crop
year budgeted expenditures. Reserve funds remaining at the end of the
2020-21 crop year are expected to be $28,750.
The Committee's budget for the 2020-21 crop year is estimated to be
$75,250. Committee's expenses include $47,000 for management, $19,250
for office administration, and $9,000 for the financial audit. In
comparison, the previous crop year's total budget was $74,200, and the
administrative expenses were $43,000, $21,200, and $10,000,
respectively.
The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by
considering anticipated expenses, the expected volume of dates handled,
and the amount of funds available in the operating reserve. Income
derived from handler assessments of $64,000 (320,000 hundredweight
assessed at the proposed rate of $0.20) should be adequate to cover
most budgeted expenses of $75,250, with the balance covered from $5,000
in other income and $6,250 from reserve funds. After expending $6,250,
the ending 2020-21 crop year balance in the financial reserve is
expected to be $28,750, which would be less than the average of the
annual expenses of the preceding five years, as mandated by Sec.
987.72(d).
The assessment rate proposed in this rule would continue in effect
indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated by USDA upon
recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other
available information.
Although this assessment rate would be in effect for an indefinite
period, the Committee would continue to meet prior to or during each
crop year to recommend a budget of expenses and consider
recommendations for modification of the assessment rate. Dates and
times of Committee meetings are available from the Committee or USDA.
Meetings are public and held virtually or in a hybrid style with
participants having a choice whether to attend in person or virtually.
All interested persons may express their views at these meetings. USDA
would evaluate Committee recommendations and other available
information to determine whether modification of the assessment rate is
needed. Further rulemaking would be undertaken as necessary. The
Committee's budget for subsequent crop years would be reviewed and, as
appropriate, approved by USDA.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
has considered the economic impact of this proposed rule on small
entities. Accordingly, AMS has prepared this initial regulatory
flexibility analysis.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of
businesses subject to such actions in order that small businesses will
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued
pursuant to the Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are unique in
that they are brought about through group action of essentially small
entities acting on their own behalf.
There are approximately 70 date producers in the production area
and 11 date handlers subject to regulation under the Order. The Small
Business Administration defines small agricultural producers as those
having annual receipts of less than $1,000,000, and small agricultural
service firms as those whose annual receipts are less than $30,000,000.
(13 CFR 121.201)
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS),
data for the most-recently completed crop year (2019) shows that
producer price for fresh market California dates was $4,130 per ton.
With the estimated 16,000-ton crop, the total farm gate value for
California date producers was approximately $66,080,000 (16,000 times
$4,130). Therefore, the average fresh market date revenue for the 70
producers within the production area would be about $944,000
($66,080,000 divided by 70). Thus, assuming a normal bell-curve
distribution of receipts among producers, AMS estimates the majority of
producers would qualify as small businesses under the SBA definition.
Furthermore, USDA Market News reported an average terminal market
price of $50.88 per 11-pound carton for the 2019-20 crop year. With
approximately 32,000,000 pounds handled, the industry would have
shipped an estimated 2,909,091 11-pound cartons (32,000,000 divided by
11) of packaged dates for a total value of $148,014,550 (2,909,091
times $50.88). With 11 date handlers within the production area, the
average revenue per handler is estimated to be $13,455,868 for the
2019-20 crop year ($148,014,550 divided by 11). Thus, most California
date handlers would be considered small businesses under the SBA
definition.
This proposed rule would increase the assessment rate collected
from handlers for the 2020-21 and subsequent crop years from $0.15 to
$0.20 per hundredweight of dates handled. The Committee unanimously
recommended 2020-21 crop year expenditures of $75,250 and an assessment
rate of $0.20 per hundredweight of dates, which is $0.05 higher than
the rate currently in effect. The quantity of assessable dates for the
2020-21 crop year is estimated to be 32,000,000 pounds (320,000
hundredweight). The proposed $0.20 rate should provide $64,000 in
assessment income. Income derived from handlers' assessments, plus
$5,000 of other income and $6,250 from the Committee's authorized
reserve, should be adequate to cover the Committee's budgeted expenses
for the 2020-21 crop year.
The total budget recommended by the Committee for the 2020-21 crop
year is $75,250, compared to $74,200 for the 2019-20 crop year. The
Committee recommended the higher assessment rate to fully fund ongoing
program expenses without depleting its operating reserve.
The income generated from the proposed higher assessment rate,
combined with other income and a small amount from the financial
reserve, should be sufficient to cover anticipated 2020-21 expenses and
to maintain a financial reserve within the limit specified by the
Order.
Section 987.72(d) states that the Committee may maintain an
operating monetary reserve not to exceed the average of one year's
expenses incurred during the most recent five preceding crop years,
except that an established reserve need not be reduced to conform to
any recomputed average. The Committee estimated that funds in its
reserve would be approximately $35,000 at the beginning of the 2020-21
crop year. It expects to utilize $6,250 of the reserve during the year,
leaving a reserve of approximately $28,750 to start the 2021-22 crop
year, which would be within the limit specified in the Order.
The Committee reviewed and unanimously recommended 2020-21 crop
year expenditures of $75,250. The Committee considered several factors
before making its recommendation, including the size of the anticipated
2020-21 crop, the Committee's estimated 2020-21 reserve carry-in,
[[Page 47601]]
other sources of income, and its anticipated expenses. Further, the
Committee considered several alternative expenditure levels and
assessment rates, including not changing the assessment rate or
adjusting expenses. Ultimately, the Committee recommended the $0.20 per
hundredweight assessment rate to fund the program's expenses and
maintain its reserve at a reasonable level.
A review of historical and preliminary information pertaining to
the upcoming crop year indicates that the producer price for the 2020-
21 crop year is estimated to be $201.50 per hundredweight of dates.
Utilizing that price, the estimated crop size, and the proposed
assessment rate of $0.20 per hundredweight, the estimated assessment
revenue for the 2020-21 crop year as a percentage of total producer
revenue will be approximately 0.1 percent ($0.20 per hundredweight
divided by $201.50 per hundredweight).
This proposed action would increase the assessment obligation
imposed on handlers. While assessments impose some additional costs on
handlers, the costs are minimal and uniform on all handlers. Some
additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these costs
would be offset by the benefits derived by the operation of the Order.
In addition, the Committee's and the Subcommittee's meetings were
widely publicized throughout the California date industry. All
interested persons were invited to attend the meetings and encouraged
to participate in Committee deliberations on all issues. The June 25,
2020 Committee meeting was a virtually held public meeting and all
entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this
issue. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on this
proposed rule, including the regulatory and information collection
impacts of this action on small businesses.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the Order's information collection requirements have been
previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and
assigned OMB No. 0581-0178 Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No changes in
these requirements would be necessary as a result of this action.
Should any changes become necessary, they would be submitted to OMB for
approval.
This proposed rule would not impose any additional reporting or
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large California date
handlers. As with all Federal marketing order programs, reports and
forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and
duplication by industry and public sector agencies.
AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to promote
the use of the internet and other information technologies to provide
increased opportunities for citizen access to Government information
and services, and for other purposes.
USDA has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule.
A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: <a href="http://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses">http://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses</a>. Any questions
about the compliance guide should be sent to Richard Lower at the
previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 987
Dates, Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 987 is proposed
to be amended as follows:
PART 987--DOMESTIC DATES PRODUCED OR PACKED IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA
0
1. The authority citation for part 987 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
0
2. Section 987.339 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 987.339 Assessment rate.
On and after October 1, 2020, an assessment rate of $0.20 per
hundredweight is established for dates produced or packed in Riverside
County, California.
Erin Morris,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-17912 Filed 8-25-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
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