81 FR 89878 - Provisions for Removing Commodity Research and Promotion Board Members and Staff

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 239 (December 13, 2016)

Notice is hereby given that the comment period on proposed amendments to the provisions for removal of board and council members or staff of the research and promotion orders--or the regulations under the orders--overseen by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is extended to December 23, 2016. The proposed rule would provide uniform authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to initiate action to remove board members and staff who fail to perform their duties or who engage in dishonest actions or willful misconduct. Such action is necessary to ensure the boards can continue to fulfill their intended purposes with minimal disruption.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 13, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 89878]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29852]


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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. 81, No. 239 / Tuesday, December 13, 2016 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 89878]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 1150, 1160, 1205, 1206, 1207, 1208, 1209, 1210, 1212, 
1214, 1215, 1216, 1217, 1218, 1219, 1222, 1230, 1250, and 1260

[Document Number AMS-DA-16-0101]


Provisions for Removing Commodity Research and Promotion Board 
Members and Staff

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the comment period on proposed 
amendments to the provisions for removal of board and council members 
or staff of the research and promotion orders--or the regulations under 
the orders--overseen by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is 
extended to December 23, 2016. The proposed rule would provide uniform 
authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to initiate 
action to remove board members and staff who fail to perform their 
duties or who engage in dishonest actions or willful misconduct. Such 
action is necessary to ensure the boards can continue to fulfill their 
intended purposes with minimal disruption.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 23, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this proposed rule. Comments should be submitted on the 
internet at: http://www.regulations.gov. Written comments may also be 
sent to Laurel L. May, Senior Marketing Specialist, Order Formulation 
and Enforcement Division, USDA/AMS/Dairy Program, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW., Room 2967-S--Stop 0231, Washington, DC 20250-0231; 
facsimile: 202-690-0552. All comments should reference the document 
number and the date and page number of this issue and the November 23, 
2016, issue of the Federal Register, and will be made available for 
public inspection in the above office during regular business hours, or 
may be viewed at: http://www.regluations.gov. Please be advised that 
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: Laurel L. May, Senior Marketing 
Specialist, USDA/AMS/Dairy Program, telephone 202-690-1366, or email 
[email protected]; or Whitney Rick, Director; Promotion, 
Research, and Planning Division; USDA/AMS/Dairy Program; telephone 202-
720-6961; or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule was published in the Federal 
Register on November 23, 2016 (81 FR 84510). The proposed rule would 
amend the orders and/or rules and regulations for 19 of the 22 national 
commodity research and promotion programs overseen by AMS by providing 
uniform authority for USDA to initiate action as necessary to remove 
board and council members or their staff employees to preserve program 
integrity and mitigate damage from illegal or inappropriate behavior. 
Currently, most of AMS's 22 research and promotion programs specify 
provisions for removing board and council members or their staff 
employees when they are unwilling or unable to perform their duties 
properly or when they engage in prohibited or illegal activities or 
other willful misconduct. However, removal authority is inconsistent 
across all of the programs, which impairs AMS's ability to provide 
uniform oversight of the programs and their assets. The 15-day comment 
period provided in the proposed rule closes December 8, 2016.
    USDA received letters from several of the affected programs 
requesting that the comment period be extended. The letters expressed 
concern that the original comment period was insufficient to allow 
commenters to adequately evaluate the impacts of the proposal and 
develop appropriate comments.

    Authority: This document is issued under 19 of the commodity 
research and promotion orders established under the following acts: 
Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 2901-2911); 
Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 
7411-7425); Cotton Research and Promotion Act of 1966 (7 U.S.C. 
2101-2118); Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 
4501-4514); Egg Research and Consumer Information Act of 1974 (7 
U.S.C. 2701-2718); Fluid Milk Promotion Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6401-
6417); Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 2000 
(U.S.C. 7801-7813); Mushroom Promotion, Research, and Consumer 
Information Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6101-6112); Popcorn Promotion, 
Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7481-7491); 
Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1985 (7 
U.S.C. 4801-4819); Potato Research and Promotion Act of 1971 (7 
U.S.C. 2611-2627); and Watermelon Research and Promotion Act (7 
U.S.C. 4901-4916). These acts are collectively referred to as 
``commodity research and promotion laws'' or ``acts.''

    Dated: December 7, 2016.
Bruce Summers,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-29852 Filed 12-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-02-P