[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 26, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4554-4555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1647]
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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. 76, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 26, 2011 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 4554]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 59
[Doc. No. AMS-LS-10-0080]
Notice of Establishment of the Wholesale Pork Reporting
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee; Notice of Meeting
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Establishment of Advisory Committee and notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: As required by section 564 of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act,
the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) is giving notice of the establishment of the Wholesale Pork
Reporting Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee) to develop
proposed language to amend the Livestock Mandatory Reporting
regulations to implement mandatory pork price reporting. USDA has
determined that the establishment of this Committee is in the public
interest and will assist AMS in performing its duties under the
Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 (2010 Reauthorization Act) (Pub.
L. 111-239). This document also announces the first meeting of the
Committee.
DATES: The committee meeting will be held Tuesday, February 8, 2011,
through Thursday, February 10, 2011. On all three days, the meeting
will begin at 8:30 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza
Hotel, 7730 Bonhomme Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63105; Phone (314)
863-0400.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Lynch, Chief; USDA, AMS, LS,
LGMN Branch; 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Room 2619-S; Washington, DC
20250; Phone (202) 720-6231; Fax (202) 690-3732; or e-mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On November 24, 2010, AMS published a notice of intent to establish
a Wholesale Pork Reporting Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (75 FR
71568). In that notice, AMS requested comments on the establishment of
the Committee and nominations from any interested party that desired
membership on the Committee. AMS received 7 comments, which all focused
on membership on the Committee.
Two of the comments were from organizations identified by AMS in
the original Notice (75 FR 71568) as being potential Committee members.
Both organizations, the National Meat Association (NMA) and the
American Meat Institute (AMI), confirmed their participation on the
Committee and requested multiple seats to represent their interests.
While the Negotiated Rulemaking Act (NRA) [5 U.S.C. 561-570] does not
specifically prohibit one organization from having multiple seats on a
negotiated rulemaking committee, AMS believes this Committee will best
function with each organization having one representative. While AMS
recognizes that organizations such as AMI and NMA have diverse
membership, AMS believes that the interests of each organization's
members can be adequately represented on the Committee by one seat. It
should be noted that each organization represented on the Committee may
be accompanied by other individuals serving in an advisory capacity to
assist the representative in effectively negotiating on behalf of all
the interests of its organization. In addition, AMS believes that
diversity of the Committee membership as a whole ensures that all
interested parties in this matter are represented. Finally, Committee
meetings will be open to the public and time will be allotted for
public comment on Committee proceedings.
Four comments were from organizations that were not identified in
the original Notice, but were responding to the Agency's request for
nominations from other organizations who believed their interests could
be affected by mandatory pork reporting. One of these comments was
jointly submitted by the North American Meat Processors Association
(NAMP), the American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP), and the
Southeastern Meat Association (SEMA) and requested one seat on the
Committee to represent all three organizations. AAMP submitted a
separate comment to the same effect. AMS believes a joint
representative from NAMP, AAMP, and SEMA will provide valuable input on
the Committee, and has sufficient interest in the processing of pork.
Therefore, they will have one member on the Committee. Another
organization, the National Livestock Producers Association, also
submitted a comment requesting a seat on the Committee. AMS believes
NLPA membership has sufficient interest as swine producers, and
therefore will be represented on the Committee. Lastly, one comment was
received from the United Food and Commercial Workers International
Union (UFCW). UFCW stated in its petition that a substantial number of
its members are employed in the food processing and retail sectors and
depend on their plants and stores receiving an adequate supply of pork
at a fair price. AMS believes that UFCW's members have interest in the
production of swine or pork; therefore, UFCW will have a member on the
Committee.
In addition, one comment requested that half of the Committee
members be consumer representatives. However, consumers do not
participate in swine or pork production, nor any of the other
categories or organizations listed in the 2010 Reauthorization Act.
Therefore, this request is denied.
Two organizations--the American Farm Bureau Federation and the
American Frozen Foods Institute--that were identified by AMS in the
original Notice declined to participate on the Committee without
comment.
USDA believes that using a negotiated rulemaking committee to make
specific recommendations regarding the implementation of a mandatory
wholesale pork reporting program would help the agency in developing
rulemaking. Therefore, USDA is establishing the Wholesale Pork
Reporting Negotiated Rulemaking Committee.
II. Statutory Provisions
The Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1996 (NRA) (5 U.S.C. 561-570); the
Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-239); the Livestock
Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (7 U.S.C. 1635-1636i); and 7 CFR part
59.
[[Page 4555]]
III. The Committee and Its Process
In a negotiated rulemaking, a proposed rule is developed by a
committee composed of representatives of government and the interests
that will be significantly affected by the rule. Decisions are made by
``consensus.'' For the purpose of this Committee's proceedings,
``consensus'' has been statutorily defined in the NRA as unanimous
concurrence among the interests represented unless the Committee agrees
to a different definition.
The negotiated rulemaking process is initiated by the Agency's
identification of interests potentially affected by the rulemaking
under consideration. To facilitate the process of identifying Committee
members in accordance with guidelines established by the 2010
Reauthorization Act, AMS proposed a list of organizations to serve on
the Committee to adequately represent the stakeholders affected by
mandatory pork reporting. AMS also requested additional nominations
from organizations or individuals whose interests would not adequately
be represented by the list of organizations it identified.
IV. Membership of the Committee
AMS believes that the interests significantly affected by this rule
will be represented by the organizations listed below:
American Meat Institute;
Chicago Mercantile Exchange;
Food Marketing Institute;
Grocery Manufacturers Association;
Livestock Marketing Information Center;
National Farmers Union;
National Livestock Producers Association;
National Meat Association;
National Pork Producers Council;
North American Meat Processors Association, American Association of
Meat Processors, and Southeastern Meat Association (1 combined
representative for all three per organizations' request);
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union; and
USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service.
V. Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Meeting
This document announces the first meeting of the Committee. The
meeting will take place as described in the DATES and ADDRESSES
sections of this notice. The agenda planned for the meeting includes
the discussion of protocols, timeframes, and scope of the rulemaking
process, as well as setting of future meetings. The meeting will be
open to the public without advance registration. Public attendance may
be limited to the space available. Members of the public will be given
opportunities to make statements during the meeting at the discretion
of the Committee, and will be able to file written statements with the
Committee for its consideration. Written statements may be submitted in
advance to the address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this document. Notice of future meetings will be announced
in the Federal Register.
Certification
I hereby certify that the Wholesale Pork Reporting Negotiated
Rulemaking Committee is in the public interest.
Dated: January 21, 2011.
David R. Shipman,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-1647 Filed 1-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P