Sec. 204. Nonpostal services
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Part IV of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding after chapter 36 the following: Sec. 3701. Purpose. 3702. Definitions. 3703. Postal Service program for State governments. 3704. Postal Service program for other Government agencies. 3705. Transparency and accountability for nonpostal services. The purpose of this chapter is to enable the Postal Service to increase its net revenues through specific nonpostal products and services that are expressly authorized by this chapter.
Postal Service revenues and expenses under this chapter shall be funded through the Postal Service Fund. In this chapter— the term nonpostal services is limited to services offered by the Postal Service that are expressly authorized by this title and are not postal products or services; the term attributable costs has the meaning given such term in section 3631; and the term year means a fiscal year. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the Postal Service may establish a program to enter into agreements with an agency of any State government, local government, or tribal government to provide property and services on behalf of such agencies for non-commercial products and services, but only if such property and services— provide enhanced value to the public, such as by lowering the cost or raising the quality of such services or by making such services more accessible; do not interfere with or detract from the value of postal services, including— the cost and efficiency of postal services; and unreasonably restricting access to postal retail service, such as customer waiting time and access to parking; and provide a reasonable contribution to the institutional costs of the Postal Service, defined as reimbursement that covers at least 100 percent of attributable costs of all property and services provided under each relevant agreement in each year.
At least 90 days before offering a service under the program, the Postal Service shall make available to the public on its website— the agreement with the agency regarding such service; and a business plan that describes the specific service to be provided, the enhanced value to the public, terms of reimbursement, the estimated annual reimbursement to the Postal Service, and the estimated percentage of attributable Postal Service costs that will be covered by reimbursement (with documentation to support the estimates).
Before offering a service under the program, the Postal Service shall provide for a public comment period of at least 30 days that allows the public to post comments relating to the provision of such services on the Postal Service website. The Postal Service shall make reasonable efforts to provide written responses to the comments on such website at least 30 days before offering such services. The Postal Service may not establish the program under subsection
(a)unless the Governors of the Postal Service approve such program by a recorded vote that is publicly disclosed on the Postal Service website with a majority of the total Governors voting for approval. For purposes of the reporting requirements under section 3705, the Postal Service shall submit a separate report for each agreement with an agency entered into under subsection
(a)analyzing the costs, revenues, rates, and quality of service for the provision of all services under such agreement, including information demonstrating that the agreement satisfies the requirements of paragraphs
(1)through
(3)of subsection (a). The Postal Regulatory Commission shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section. For the purpose of this section— the term local government means a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments, or regional or interstate government entity; the term State government includes the government of the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States; the term tribal government means the government of an Indian tribe, as that term is defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination Act ( 25 U.S.C. 450b(e) ); and the term United States , when used in a geographical sense, means the States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States. Subsection
(b)or
(c)shall not be construed as requiring the Postal Service to disclose to the public any information— described in section 410(c); or exempt from public disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5. The Postal Service may establish a program to provide property and services to other Government agencies within the meaning of section 411, but only if such program provides a reasonable contribution to the institutional costs of the Postal Service, defined as reimbursement by each agency that covers at least 100 percent of the attributable costs of all property and service provided by the Postal Service in each year to such agency. For purposes of the reporting requirements under section 3705, the Postal Service shall submit a separate report for each agreement with an agency entered into under subsection
(a)analyzing the costs, revenues, rates, and quality of service for the provision of all services under such agreement, including information demonstrating that the agreement satisfies the requirements of subsection (a). Not later than 90 days after the last day of each year, the Postal Service shall submit to the Postal Regulatory Commission a report that analyzes costs, revenues, rates, and quality of service for each agreement for the provision of property and services under this chapter, using such methodologies as the Commission may prescribe, and in sufficient detail to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this chapter. A report submitted under paragraph
(1)shall include any nonpublic annex, the working papers, and any other supporting matter of the Postal Service and the Inspector General related to the information submitted in such report. The Postal Regulatory Commission shall, by regulation, prescribe the content and form of the report required under subsection (a). In prescribing such regulations, the Commission shall give due consideration to— providing the public with timely, adequate information to assess compliance; avoiding unnecessary or unwarranted administrative effort and expense on the part of the Postal Service; and protecting the confidentiality of information that is commercially sensitive or is exempt from public disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5. The Commission may, on its own motion or on request of any interested party, initiate proceedings to improve the quality, accuracy, or completeness of Postal Service data required by the Commission if— the attribution of costs or revenues to property or services under this chapter has become significantly inaccurate or can be significantly improved; the quality of service data provided to the Commission for a report under this chapter has become significantly inaccurate or can be significantly improved; or such revisions are, in the judgment of the Commission, otherwise necessitated by the public interest. The Inspector General shall regularly audit the data collection systems and procedures used in collecting information and preparing the report required under subsection (a). The results of any such audit shall be submitted to the Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission. If the Postal Service determines that any document or portion of a document, or other matter, which it provides to the Postal Regulatory Commission in a nonpublic annex under this section contains information described in section 410(c), or exempt from public disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, the Postal Service shall, at the time of providing such matter to the Commission, notify the Commission of its determination, in writing, and describe with particularity the documents (or portions of documents) or other matter for which confidentiality is sought and the reasons therefor. Any information or other matter described in paragraph
(1)to which the Commission gains access under this section shall be subject to paragraphs
(2)and
(3)of section 504(g) in the same way as if the Commission had received notification with respect to such matter under section 504(g)(1). Upon receiving a report required under subsection (a), the Postal Regulatory Commission shall promptly— provide an opportunity for comment on such report by any interested party; and appoint an officer of the Commission to represent the interests of the general public. Not later than 90 days after receiving a report required under subsection (a), the Postal Regulatory Commission shall make a written determination as to whether the nonpostal activities carried out during the applicable year were or were not in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. For purposes of this paragraph, any case in which the requirements for coverage of attributable costs have not been met shall be considered to be a case of noncompliance. If, with respect to a year, no instance of noncompliance is found to have occurred, the determination shall be to that effect. Such determination of noncompliance shall be included with the annual compliance determination required under section 3653. If a timely written determination of noncompliance is made under paragraph (2), the Postal Regulatory Commission shall take appropriate action. If the requirements for coverage of attributable costs specified by this chapter are not met, the Commission shall, within 60 days after the determination, prescribe remedial action to restore compliance as soon as practicable, including the full restoration of revenue shortfalls during the following year. The Commission may order the Postal Service to discontinue a nonpostal service under section 3703 that persistently fails to meet cost coverage requirements. In the case of deliberate noncompliance by the Postal Service with the requirements of this chapter, the Postal Regulatory Commission may order, based on the nature, circumstances, extent, and seriousness of the noncompliance, a fine (in the amount specified by the Commission in its order) for each incidence of such noncompliance. All receipts from fines imposed under this subsection shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. The Postal Regulatory Commission shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section. . The table of chapters for part IV of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to chapter 36 the following: 37. Nonpostal services 3701 . Section 404(e) of title 39, United States Code, is amended— in paragraph (2), by inserting after subsection the following: , or any nonpostal products or services authorized by chapter 37 ; and by adding at the end the following: Licensing which, before the date of enactment of this paragraph, has been authorized by the Postal Regulatory Commission for continuation as a nonpostal service may not be used for any purpose other than— to continue to provide licensed mailing, shipping, or stationery supplies offered as of June 23, 2011; or to license other goods, products, or services, the primary purpose of which is to promote and enhance the image or brand of the Postal Service. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the Postal Service from establishing nonpostal products and services that are expressly authorized by chapter 37. . The last sentence of section 411 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by striking including reimbursability and inserting including reimbursability within the limitations of chapter 37 . All individual nonpostal services, provided directly or through licensing, that are continued pursuant to section 404(e) of title 39, United States Code, shall be considered to be expressly authorized by chapter 37 of such title (as added by subsection (a)(1)) and shall be subject to the requirements of such chapter.
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Sec. 204
Nonpostal services
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