Sec. 205. Efficient and flexible universal postal service
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Clause
(i)of section 404(d)(2)(A) of title 39, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: the effect of such closing or consolidation on the community served by such post office, including through an analysis of— the distance (as measured by public roads) to the closest postal retail facility not proposed for closing or consolidation under the determination; the characteristics of such location, including weather and terrain; whether commercial mobile service (as defined in section 332 of the Communications Act of 1934) and commercial mobile data service (as defined in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012) are available in at least 80 percent of the total geographic area of the ZIP codes served by the postal retail facility proposed for closing or consolidation; and whether fixed broadband Internet access service is available to households in at least 80 percent of such geographic area at speeds not less than those sufficient for service to be considered broadband for purposes of the most recent report of the Federal Communications Commission under section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ( 47 U.S.C. 1302 ); . Section 404(d)(5) title 39, United States Code, is amended by striking 120 days and inserting 60 days, or a longer period for good cause shown but in no event longer than 120 days, . The amendment made by paragraph
(1)shall not apply with respect to an appeal received by the Commission before the date of enactment of this Act (as determined by applying the rules set forth in section 404(d)(6) of such title). Section 3661 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: The Commission shall issue its opinion within 90 days, or a longer period for good cause shown but in no event longer than 120 days, after the receipt of any proposal (as referred to in subsection (b)) concerning an identical or substantially identical proposal on which the Commission has issued an opinion within the preceding 5 years. If necessary in order to comply with the 90-day requirement under paragraph (1), the Commission may apply expedited procedures which the Commission shall by regulation prescribe. . The Commission shall prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out the amendment made by paragraph
(1)within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. The amendment made by this subsection shall apply with respect to any proposal received by the Commission on or after the earlier of— the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act; or the effective date of the regulations prescribed under paragraph (2). Section 404(d) of title 39, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph
(1)and inserting the following: Prior to making a determination under subsection (a)(3) as to the necessity for the closing or consolidation of a post office— the Postal Service shall provide adequate notice of its intention to close or consolidate the post office not later than 60 days before the proposed date of the closing or consolidation to postal patrons served by the post office; the Postal Service shall conduct a nonbinding survey on the proposed closing or consolidation to allow postal patrons served by the post office an opportunity to indicate their preference between or among— the closing or consolidation; and 1 or more alternative options; and if the Postal Service determines that closing or consolidating the post office is necessary— the Postal Service shall endeavor to provide alternative access to postal services to the postal patrons served by the post office by the option chosen by the highest number of survey respondents under subparagraph (B)(ii); and if the Postal Service is unable to provide alternative access through the option identified under clause (i), or if that option is cost prohibitive— the Postal Service may provide alternative access through a different method; and upon selecting an alternative access method other than the option identified under clause (i), the Postal Service shall provide written notice to the postal patrons served by the post office identifying the alternative access method and explaining why the option identified under clause
(i)was not possible or was cost prohibitive. . Section 404(d) of title 39, United States Code, as amended by this section, is amended by adding at the end the following: For purposes of this subsection, the term post office means a post office and any other postal retail facility, as defined in section 3 of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2018 . . In the case of any post office, as defined in subsection
(d)of section 404 of title 39, United States Code, as amended by paragraph (1), that, but for that amendment, would not otherwise be subject to such subsection (d), the amendments made by subsections
(a)and
(d)of this section shall be effective with respect to any closure or consolidation, the proposed effective date of which occurs on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. Section 3652(a) of title 39, United States Code, is amended— in paragraph (1), by striking and at the end; in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by inserting after paragraph
(2)the following: which shall provide the overall change in Postal Service productivity and the resulting effect of such change on overall Postal Service costs during such year, using such methodologies as the Commission shall by regulation prescribe, if necessary. . Beginning not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Postal Service shall conduct a 1-year review of the impacts of the POSTPlan post office restructuring plan on Postal Service expenses, revenue, and retail service provision. In conducting the review under paragraph (1), the Inspector General shall examine— changes in the costs for the provision of Postal Service operated retail service, both nationwide and in the aggregate for each of the Level 2, Level 4, Level 6, and Level 18 post offices for which the hours, functions, or responsibilities changed as a result of the POSTPlan initiative before and after the implementation of the POSTPlan initiative; changes in revenue received by Postal Service operated retail service, both nationwide and in the aggregate for each of the Level 2, Level 4, Level 6, and Level 18 post offices for which the hours, functions, or responsibilities changed as a result of the POSTPlan initiative before and after the implementation of the POSTPlan initiative; a determination of the relative cost savings, taking into account any changes in revenue earned, realized on an annual basis for Level 2, Level 4, Level 6, and Level 18 offices each in the aggregate and any trends in such cost savings; the relative impact on retail access to postal services for individuals served by Level 2, Level 4, Level 6, and Level 18 offices each in the aggregate; and any other factors the Inspector General determines appropriate. Upon completion of the review required under paragraph (1), the Inspector General shall submit to the Postal Service, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives a report containing— the results of the review; and any recommendations resulting from such review. Prior to any hour changes or consolidation decisions related to POSTPlan initiative-impacted post offices, the Postal Service shall— review the report and any recommendations submitted pursuant to paragraph (3); and revise any planned efforts regarding the POSTPlan initiative, as appropriate.
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Sec. 205
Efficient and flexible universal postal service
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