[Federal Register: August 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 158)]
[Notices]
[Page 51052-51056]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17au04-25]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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[[Page 51052]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
Proposed Uniform Guidelines for Conducting Farm Service Agency
County Committee Elections
AGENCY: Department of Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) is issuing, and
inviting public comment on, proposed uniform guidelines for conducting
elections of Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committees. The Secretary
is issuing the proposed uniform guidelines pursuant to section 10708 of
the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171),
(the 2002 Farm Bill), to ensure that FSA County Committees are fairly
representative of the agricultural producers covered by the relevant
county or counties, including fair representation of socially
disadvantaged (SDA) farmers and ranchers on FSA County Committees. The
uniform guidelines will address County Committee election outreach
efforts, procedures for nomination and election of FSA County Committee
members, and reporting and accountability requirements by FSA. FSA will
be required to follow such uniform guidelines in conducting FSA County
Committee elections.
DATES: Comments must be received by September 16, 2004.
ADDRESSES: The Secretary invites interested persons to submit comments
on this notice. Comments may be submitted by any of the following
methods:
E-mail: Send comments to:
countyelectionguidelines@usda.gov.
Mail: Send comments to: County Committee Election Reform
Comments, Department of Agriculture, Room 3092-S, Mail Stop 0539, 1400
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-0539.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver comments to the above
address.
All comments, including names and addresses, provided by
respondents become a matter of public record. Comments may be inspected
in the office of the Deputy Administrator for Field Operations, FSA, at
the above address. Make inspection arrangements by calling (202) 720-
7890.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Nagel, Administrative Management
Specialist, Office of the Deputy Administrator for Field Operations,
FSA, at (202) 720-7890 or at ken.nagel@usda.gov. Persons with
disabilities who require alternative means for communication (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Target Center at
(202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
FSA County Committees play an instrumental role in administering
FSA programs at the local level, including carrying out FSA programs
that have a financial impact on participating farmers and ranchers. The
membership of each committee is comprised of three to five agricultural
producers who participate or cooperate in FSA programs in the area
under a committee's jurisdiction. 16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(ii). County
Committee members are elected to their positions by agricultural
producers who participate or cooperate in programs administered in the
area under the jurisdiction of the County Committee. Id. By statute,
County Committees must be ``fairly representative'' of the agricultural
producers in the area under a committee's jurisdiction. 16 U.S.C.
590h(b)(5)(B)(ii).
The 2002 Farm Bill made significant changes to the process
governing County Committee elections. The purpose of these changes was
to ensure public transparency and accountability of election results,
as well as to ensure the fair representation of SDA producers on County
Committees. Adopting the definition set forth in 7 U.S.C. 2003, the
Farm Bill defines an SDA group as a group whose members have been
subject to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their
identity as members of the group, without regard to their individual
qualities. 7 U.S.C. 2003(e)(1). SDA producers have generally been
defined to include African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native
Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Subcontinent Asian-Americans, and
women. By statute, USDA must solicit nominations for County Committee
positions from organizations representing the interests of SDA groups.
16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(III)(bb). Under current practice, when FSA
concludes that SDA producers are underrepresented on a given County
Committee, a person may be appointed to be an advisor to the County
Committee. A County Committee advisor is a member of the County
Committee without voting authority who represents the interests of
SDAs.
The first change made by the 2002 Farm Bill was to specifically
define the class of agricultural producers who are eligible to vote for
County Committee members as those producers who participate or
cooperate in programs administered by FSA in the area under the
committee's jurisdiction. 16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(ii)(II) and
(b)(5)(B)(iii)(III)(aa). The Farm Bill also mandates public access
requirements relating to county elections, requiring FSA County
Committees to open and count the ballots in public, allowing the public
to observe the opening and counting of the ballots, and giving the
public a 10-day notice of the date, time, and place that the ballots
will be tabulated. 16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(IV).
To further promote transparency and public accountability, the Farm
Bill imposes several reporting requirements with regard to the results
of County Committee elections. No later than 20 days after an election
is conducted, each County Committee must file with the Secretary and
the State FSA office a report on the election results. This local
report must provide data including the number of eligible voters, the
number of ballots cast and disqualified, and the race, ethnicity, and
gender of the nominees for County Committee positions. 16 U.S.C.
590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(V). Also, no later than 90 days after the date of
the first election held after enactment of the Farm Bill (which would
have been the 2002 election), the Secretary was required to compile a
national report consolidating data on election results submitted by
County Committees. Id. 16
[[Page 51053]]
U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(VI). Such national reports on the 2002 and
2003 elections were prepared and made public. These national reports
may be viewed at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/EFOIA/efoiaread.htm.
Most critically for present purposes, the 2002 Farm Bill gives the
Secretary discretion to issue uniform guidelines governing the County
Committee election process if she deems that such guidelines are
necessary after analyzing the data from the national report. 16 U.S.C.
590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(VII)(aa). If these guidelines are issued, they must
contain provisions ensuring fair representation of SDA producers on
County Committees where they are underrepresented in relation to their
presence in the respective covered areas. 16 U.S.C.
590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(VII)(bb). Further, the draft uniform guidelines must
be published in the Federal Register once they are issued. Id.
After reviewing the national reports on the 2002 and 2003 election,
the Secretary has determined that issuing such uniform guidelines is
appropriate. The Secretary recognizes the importance of ensuring that
the County Committee election process is fair and transparent and that
producers are fairly represented on FSA County Committees. Uniform
guidelines issued by the Secretary are a useful vehicle to meet this
goal. The publication of uniform guidelines will make public the
principles and procedures under which FSA will conduct such elections,
thus contributing to the transparency and accountability of the
process. FSA will be required to follow such guidelines in conducting
County Committee elections, and FSA regulations and directives on
conducting such elections must conform to these guidelines.
The proposed guidelines were prepared with the input of personnel
from a number of USDA agencies, including FSA, the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, the Office of Budget and Policy
Analysis, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and others.
Before finalizing such guidelines, the Secretary is interested in
obtaining comments and input on such guidelines from interested persons
and groups. Accordingly, USDA is issuing proposed guidelines, and is
providing a 30-day period for comments. USDA intends to act in
accordance with the proposed guidelines in preparing for the 2004 FSA
County Committee elections, even while comments are being made and
reviewed.
It should be noted that FSA already has undertaken a number of
reforms and steps to ensure fair representation of SDA producers on
County Committees. Such steps were taken in regard to the 2003 election
and are being applied to the upcoming 2004 election. Reform steps taken
to date include: (1) Centralization of ballot preparation and
distribution; (2) improvements in the nominating process; (3) outreach
to key local, State, and national organizations; and (4) initiation of
processes to collect and analyze additional demographic data that will
permit better identification of counties in which improved
representation will be sought. The uniform guidelines will incorporate
reforms already in progress, as well as provide additional election
reforms.
Specifically, the uniform guidelines will address outreach to
producers, nomination and election procedures, and reporting and
accountability requirements. The uniform guidelines are generally
intended to ensure that all eligible producers have an opportunity to
participate in the election process, that there are no obstacles to
participation, and that the process is transparent and accountable.
The proposed guidelines place a special emphasis on outreach
efforts to producers eligible to vote, including SDA producers. USDA is
committed to improving participation in the County Committee election
process by increasing outreach efforts, providing more printed and
electronic information to producers through a variety of sources and
methods, and developing partnerships with groups representing the
interests of producers, including SDA producers, as well as community-
based institutions and educational institutions. FSA will work with
members of such groups and institutions to encourage eligible voters to
participate in County Committee elections and to nominate SDA
producers. The Secretary expects FSA to work closely with the Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR), and relevant offices
under the ASCR's jurisdiction such as the Office of Outreach, to
improve FSA's outreach efforts.
The proposed uniform guidelines also address procedures for the
election process itself. Among the key provisions, which include steps
FSA is already implementing as well as new procedures, are the
following: (1) An annual review of the local administrative area (LAA)
boundaries (the specific area within a county or counties that a single
County Committee member represents) in order to determine if redrawing
the boundaries or changing the number of LAAs in a county is
appropriate to ensure fair representation of producers; (2) approval by
the FSA State office of any changes in LAA boundaries or number of
LAAs; (3) regular maintenance of lists of eligible voters; (4) review
by the FSA State office of voter ineligibility determinations made by
an FSA County Committee when review is sought by a producer; (5) direct
mailing of nomination forms to eligible voters, as well as wider public
accessibility of such forms; (6) when no nominations are filed,
ensuring that the slate is filled with at least one member of an SDA
group; (7) providing the Secretary with the authority to nominate
candidates; (8) direct mailing of ballots to the State office, which
will then provide the ballots to each county office in a sealed box to
be opened at the public counting of ballots; and (9) a decrease in the
term limits for County Committee members to two consecutive terms.
Finally, the proposed uniform guidelines contain extensive
reporting and accountability requirements. Each FSA county office will
be required to submit several reports to the FSA State and national
offices on its actions in complying with the uniform guidelines and FSA
regulations on elections, including the county's outreach efforts.
Based on this reporting, the FSA national office will provide feedback
and guidance to county offices on their outreach efforts and on the
election process. FSA will also be required to conduct training of
county employees on implementation of the uniform guidelines and FSA's
regulations.
The uniform guidelines are not intended to be the final word on FSA
County Committee election reform. USDA intends to continually monitor
the effectiveness of election reform efforts in order to determine if
the measures contained in these guidelines are sufficient to ensure
fair representation of producers on County Committees. This will
include efforts to improve the collection of data required to measure
whether there is fair representation. USDA will also continue to
improve the implementation of these guidelines, as well as to determine
if additional efforts are necessary. Such additional efforts could
include compliance reviews of particular counties and further
centralization of the election process.
One of the possible additional measures is provided for in the Farm
Bill itself. The Farm Bill provides that the Secretary is permitted to
ensure the inclusion of SDA producers on County Committees by enacting
provisions allowing for the appointment of an additional voting member
to the committee. Id. 16 U.S.C.
[[Page 51054]]
590h(b)(5)(B)(iii)(VII)(cc). The Secretary has the discretion whether
to exercise this authority. The Secretary intends to continually
evaluate whether the reforms set forth in the uniform guidelines are
achieving their goal of ensuring fair representation of SDA producers.
Based on such evaluations, the Secretary will determine whether to
exercise her authority to appoint SDA producers to committees. In the
event that the Secretary does decide to utilize the appointment
authority, the Secretary will only do so after providing an opportunity
for the public to comment on proposed provisions under which such
appointment will be made.
Accordingly, USDA hereby issues proposed Uniform Guidelines for
Conducting FSA County Committee Elections, as follows:
Secretary of Agriculture
Uniform Guidelines for Conducting Farm Service Agency County Committee
Elections
Pursuant to section 10708 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment
Act of 2002, (Pub. L. 107-171)(7 U.S.C. 2279-1), the Secretary of
Agriculture is issuing the following uniform guidelines for conducting
elections to County Committees of the Farm Service Agency (FSA), United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The purpose of such guidelines
is to ensure that such County Committees are fairly representative of
the agricultural producers covered by the relevant county or counties,
including to ensure fair representation of socially disadvantaged (SDA)
farmers and ranchers on such committees, as well as to ensure public
transparency and accountability of the election process.
Accordingly, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) shall conduct elections
of members to FSA County Committees in accordance with the following
guidelines.
I. County Committee Election Outreach and Communication Efforts
A. FSA will ensure that outreach efforts are taken at the national,
State, and local levels to ensure the fair representation of
agricultural producers in a given county or area, including fair
representation of SDA farmers and ranchers. Such efforts must be
designed to increase the participation of eligible producers in the
County Committee election process.
B. Each FSA county office will work with the State office to
prepare an outreach plan, with specific steps that the county office
will take on a year-long basis to increase the participation of
producers generally and SDA producers specifically. A report detailing
county office outreach efforts shall be submitted to the Office of the
Deputy Administrator for Field Operations, FSA prior to the end of the
nomination period.
C. FSA county and State offices, with guidance from the FSA
national office, will prepare a list of group contacts with which FSA
will work on its outreach efforts. Such group contacts should include,
as appropriate, land grant colleges, Historically Black Colleges and
Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges, American
Indian tribal organizations, community-based organizations, civic or
charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, groups
representing minorities and women, groups specifically representing the
interests of SDA producers, and similar groups and individuals in the
community.
D. FSA county and State offices will either develop partnerships
with the group contacts or work with them on outreach efforts as
appropriate to assist FSA in outreach efforts to SDA producers. County
and State offices will also ensure that all group contacts are provided
with all appropriate election materials on a timely basis, including
fact sheets, posters, brochures, and nominations forms.
E. FSA State Outreach Coordinators, State Communications
Coordinators, Field Public Affairs Specialists, and other relevant
State office personnel shall work together in developing and
implementing State communications plans for the election process.
F. FSA county offices shall ensure maximum publicity to remind and
inform SDA farmers and ranchers of both the nomination and the election
deadlines. FSA county offices shall ensure that all written election
material is available in the county office, is prominently displayed
and disseminated in the local area, and is provided to all group
contacts. FSA shall ensure that all communications on the election
process are available in languages other than English and in
alternative formats when appropriate. County Committee election
communications materials (nomination forms, fact sheets, posters, etc.)
shall be posted on FSA's Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/elections/
.
G. County offices shall ensure that information relating to
elections is widely communicated, including the use of traditional and
non-traditional media outlets. Media outlets should include television,
radio, public service announcements, SDA organization newsletters, and
other minority publications.
H. FSA county offices, as monitored by the FSA State offices and
State committees, shall actively locate and recruit eligible candidates
identified as SDA farmers and ranchers as potential nominees for the
County Committee elections using any reasonable means necessary. FSA
shall work with leaders within the SDA community to identify eligible
nominees. Community leaders who are eligible producers should be
encouraged to become candidates for County Committee membership.
I. FSA State offices shall ensure that county offices are taking
all appropriate outreach and communication efforts, including follow-up
visits to county offices.
J. The FSA national office shall provide specific written guidance
to State and county offices on County Committee election outreach and
communication efforts. The national office shall also develop
partnerships with appropriate national organizations to assist in
outreach efforts. The national office shall work closely with the
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in developing and
implementing outreach policy and activities.
II. County Committee Election Procedures
A. Local Administrative Areas
1. County Committees shall continue to annually review and provide
State Committees with proposed changes in local administrative area
(LAA) boundaries within each FSA county office jurisdiction no later
than May 1 of each year. County Committees shall ensure that any LAA
changes are in effect no later than July 15 of each year. Each FSA
county office shall post the LAA boundaries in the county office, as
well as locally publicize such boundaries in the county office
newsletter and local media.
2. The FSA national office shall provide guidelines to County
Committees on how to conduct the annual review of LAA boundaries. Such
guidelines shall require the County Committees, in conducting the
annual review of LAA boundaries, to determine whether redrawing the LAA
boundaries or increasing the number of LAAs in a given area will assist
in ensuring the fair representation of SDA producers in the area over
which the committee has jurisdiction.
3. If a County Committee determines that LAA boundaries should be
redrawn or that the number of LAAs should be changed, the FSA State
Committee must
[[Page 51055]]
approve any such determination before such a change is implemented.
4. Apart from the annual review of LAAs by County Committees, the
FSA national office and State Committees shall conduct annual reviews
of selected County Committees in order to determine whether redrawing
the LAA boundaries or increasing the number of LAAs in a given area
will assist in ensuring the fair representation of SDA producers in the
area over which the committee has jurisdiction. The FSA national office
and State Committees shall select such County Committees for annual
reviews when they deem such reviews are appropriate based on evidence
of possible under-representation of SDAs on a given County Committee.
B. Eligible Voters
1. County Committees shall maintain in the county office no later
than July 15 of each year a current and updated list of eligible voters
for each LAA conducting an election during the year. County Committees
shall provide the list to any nominee requesting the list. County
Committees shall maintain updated lists of eligible voters throughout
the nomination and election period. Any person may contact a county
office, either in person or in writing, in order to ascertain whether
they are on the eligible voters list.
2. Any producer deemed to be ineligible to vote and who is not on
the list of eligible voters who believes that he or she should be on
the list may file a written challenge with the County Committee at any
time. The County Committee must provide a response to the challenge
within 15 calendar days. If the County Committee denies the challenge,
the producer may appeal such denial to the State Committee.
3. The County Committee shall provide to the State Committee a
report of any producer who the County Committee has specifically
declared ineligible as a voter. The State Committee may overturn any
ineligibility determination and direct that the County Committee add
that producer to the list of eligible voters.
C. Nominations
1. Nomination forms shall be directly mailed to every eligible
voter no later than July 15 of each year. Such nomination forms may be
mailed to eligible voters by including the form as part of the mailing
of an FSA county newsletter mailed to producers.
2. Nomination forms shall be easily accessible to the public,
including on the FSA Internet site year round. Nomination forms shall
be readily available at FSA county offices and provided to the public
upon request. The FSA State and county offices shall provide
reproducible nomination forms to all of their group contacts.
3. The official nominating period for County Committee election
candidacy shall run for 6 weeks after the official opening date.
4. Individuals desiring to file a nomination may nominate
themselves or may nominate another eligible candidate. Nominees,
whether self nominated, or nominated by another, must attest to their
willingness to serve by signing the nomination form. Organizations
representing SDA farmers and ranchers may nominate any eligible
candidate.
D. Slate of Candidates
1. If at least one nomination for candidacy is filed for an LAA for
the County Committee election, the County Committee shall not add names
to the slate of candidates after the close of the nomination period.
2. If no valid nominations are filed, the Secretary may exercise
her authority to nominate up to two individuals to be placed on the
ballot. If the Secretary chooses not to exercise her authority, then
the State Committee may exercise its authority to nominate up to two
individuals to be placed on the ballot. If neither the Secretary nor
the State Committee chooses to exercise their authority, then the
respective County Committee shall nominate two individuals to be placed
on the ballot.
3. Write-in candidates shall be accepted on ballots. The write-in
candidate must meet eligibility criteria and attest to willingness to
serve prior to being certified as a member or alternate member. Write-
in candidates may serve as County Committee members or as alternates
depending on the number of votes received.
4. Notwithstanding the above guidelines, the Secretary may nominate
an eligible SDA producer to a slate regardless of whether any
nominations have been filed. A nomination by the Secretary may include
the current advisor for the County Committee.
E. Balloting and Vote Tabulation
1. Ballots shall be mailed to all eligible voters contained in the
County Office records in the LAA conducting the election. Ballots shall
be mailed no less than 4 calendar weeks prior to the date of the
election. Ballots will be printed and mailed to eligible voters from a
central location. Ballots shall be provided to anyone requesting a
ballot. Voter eligibility shall be determined prior to tabulating the
votes. Ballots shall state the date, time, and location that votes will
be counted.
2. County Committee elections will be held the first Monday of
December each year, unless announced otherwise. Voters shall mail or
deliver ballots to the FSA State office. Ballots must be postmarked by
the election date or, if delivered, received by the election date.
3. The FSA State office shall deliver the ballots in a sealed box
to the FSA county office. There shall be a 10-day advance notice to the
public of the date of the vote counting. Ballot opening and vote
counting shall be fully open and readily accessible to the public. The
seal on the ballot box from the State office shall not be broken except
at the public ballot counting.
F. Challenges
1. Any nominee shall have the right to challenge an election in
writing, in person, or both within 15 days after the results of the
election are posted. Appeals to the election shall be made to the
County Committee, which will provide a decision on the challenge to the
appellant within 7 calendar days. The County Committee's decision may
be appealed to the State Committee within 15 days of receipt of the
notice of the decision if the appellant desires.
2. In the event that an election is nullified as a result of an
appeal or an error in the election process, a special election shall be
conducted by the county office and closely monitored by the FSA State
office. A special election shall be held according to the processes for
a regular election, but with different dates.
G. Term Limits
1. No member of a County Committee may serve more than two
consecutive terms. This provision shall take effect with the 2005
election.
III. Reporting and Accountability Requirements
A. Not later than 20 days after the date an election is held, each
County Committee shall file an election report on the results of the
election with the FSA State and national offices. The FSA national
office shall provide specific guidance to county offices on the form
and contents of this report. At a minimum, the report must include:
1. The number of eligible voters in the LAAs conducting the
election (including the percentage of eligible voters that cast
ballots);
2. The number of ballots cast by eligible voters;
3. The number of ballots disqualified in the election;
[[Page 51056]]
4. The percentage that the number of ballots disqualified is of the
number of ballots received;
5. The number of nominees for each seat up for election;
6. The race, ethnicity, and gender of each nominee, and
7. The final election results (including the number of ballots
received by each nominee).
B. After each election, the FSA national office shall compile the
county election reports into a national election report to the
Secretary. The national election report shall also be available to
anyone requesting a paper copy of the report and also shall be posted
to the FSA Web-site. The national election report shall include
election data on SDA County Committee representation by county.
C. Not later than 90 days after the date an election is held, each
County Committee shall file a separate written election reform report
with the FSA State and national offices detailing its efforts to comply
with the uniform guidelines and FSA regulations and directives on
County Committee elections. This report must contain a detailed
description of county office outreach efforts. The FSA national office
shall provide specific guidance to the county offices on the form and
contents of this report.
D. Based on the county election reports and the county election
reform reports, the FSA national office shall provide feedback and
guidance to FSA county and State offices on the election process,
including outreach efforts. The FSA national office shall also, based
on its review of the county election reform reports, as well as its
analysis of the data on SDA representation, submit an annual report to
the Secretary on election reform efforts, including recommendations on
further improvements in the County Committee election process.
IV. Additional Election Reform Efforts
A. USDA shall consider additional efforts to ensure such fair
representation. Such additional efforts may include, but are not
limited to, compliance reviews of selected counties by FSA's and USDA's
Offices of Civil Rights; consideration of at-large seats or cumulative
voting for certain County Committees; further centralization of the
election process; and the issuance of provisions allowing for the
appointment of an SDA voting member to particular committees pursuant
to the 2002 Farm Bill.
V. Implementation of Uniform Guidelines
A. The FSA national office shall ensure that it issues all
appropriate regulations, instructions, directives, notices, and manuals
to implement the terms of these uniform guidelines.
B. FSA shall institute a comprehensive monitoring process,
including spot checks on selected counties, to ensure compliance with
these guidelines and FSA regulations and directives on the County
Committee process.
C. The FSA national office shall ensure that appropriate training
of FSA county offices, including County Committees, is conducted on the
implementation of these guidelines and of FSA's regulations and
directives on the County Committee election process.
D. These uniform guidelines shall take effect immediately unless
the date for a specific action in these guidelines has passed upon
issuance of the guidelines.
Signed in Washington, DC, August 11, 2004.
Ann M. Veneman,
Secretary of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 04-18774 Filed 8-16-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P