[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 144 (Friday, July 30, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40974-40975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16294]


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POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION

39 CFR Part 3050

[Docket No. RM2021-7; Order No. 5945]


Periodic Reporting

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is acknowledging a recent filing requesting the 
Commission initiate a rulemaking proceeding to consider changes to 
analytical principles relating to periodic reports (Proposal Four). 
This document informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, 
and takes other administrative steps.

DATES: Comments are due: August 23, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing 
Online system at http://www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit comments 
electronically should contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section by telephone for advice on filing 
alternatives.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 
202-789-6820.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Proposal Four
III. Notice and Comment
IV. Ordering Paragraphs

[[Page 40975]]

I. Introduction

    On July 22, 2021, the Postal Service filed a petition pursuant to 
39 CFR 3050.11 requesting that the Commission initiate a rulemaking 
proceeding to consider changes to analytical principles relating to 
periodic reports.\1\ The Petition identifies the proposed analytical 
changes filed in this docket as Proposal Four.
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    \1\ Petition of the United States Postal Service for the 
Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed Changes in 
Analytical Principles (Proposal Four), July 22, 2021 (Petition).
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II. Proposal Four

    Background. The Postal Service currently develops the distribution 
factors used for the Special Purpose Route (SPR) city carrier cost 
pools based on manual data collection through the City Carrier Costing 
System SPR subsystem (CCCS-SPR). The Commission approved the use of 
this subsystem in Order No. 339, and it has been used each year since 
FY 2009.\2\
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    \2\ See Docket No. RM2009-10, Order on Analytical Principles 
Used in Periodic Reporting (Proposals Three through Nineteen), 
November 13, 2009 (Order No. 339); Petition, Proposal Four at 1.
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    Proposal. With Proposal Four, the Postal Service seeks to replace 
the CCCS-SPR subsystem with a new system called the Special Purpose 
Carrier Cost System (SPCCS). The Postal Service cites two objectives 
for this new system: ``to replace manual sampling with scan data from 
Product Tracking and Reporting (PTR) combined with the clock rings from 
the Time and Attendance Collection System (TACS)'' and to ``separate 
the weekday SPR cost pool into peak and non-peak pools and provide 
separate distribution factors for each cost pool.'' Petition, Proposal 
Four at 2.
    With respect to the first objective, the Postal Service plans to 
use PTR delivery scans that occur within time blocks when a city 
carrier is clocked to Management Operating Data System (MODS) Operating 
Codes specific to Special Purpose Routes. Id. The Postal Service 
proposes to use a sample of time blocks ``[d]ue to the disproportionate 
resources required to obtain a complete nationwide census.'' Id.
    Regarding the second objective, the Postal Service proposes to 
disaggregate the volume variabilities used for the SPR Monday through 
Saturday cost pool in order to create separate non-peak and peak 
weekday SPR cost pools. Id. at 3. The Postal Service also proposes 
annual updates to the hours used to weight the new weekday non-peak SPR 
cost pool variabilities. Id.
    Impact. The impacts of Proposal Four are outlined in Table 1 of the 
proposal. Id. at 7. The most significant change in unit costs is a 
decrease of $0.1743 for Collect on Delivery Service. Id. The unit cost 
of USPS Marketing Mail Parcels would increase by $0.0151, from $0.238 
to $0.254 per unit. Id. The unit cost for total domestic market 
dominant services would decrease by $0.0144 per unit. Id.

III. Notice and Comment

    The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2021-7 for consideration of 
matters raised by the Petition. More information on the Petition may be 
accessed via the Commission's website at http://www.prc.gov. Interested 
persons may submit comments on the Petition and Proposal Four no later 
than August 23, 2021. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Manon Boudreault is 
designated as an officer of the Commission (Public Representative) to 
represent the interests of the general public in this proceeding.

IV. Ordering Paragraph

    It is ordered:
    1. The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2021-7 for consideration 
of the matters raised by the Petition of the United States Postal 
Service for the Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed Changes 
in Analytical Principles (Proposal Four), filed July 22, 2021.
    2. Comments by interested persons in this proceeding are due no 
later than August 23, 2021.
    3. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints Manon 
Boudreault to serve as an officer of the Commission (Public 
Representative) to represent the interests of the general public in 
this docket.
    4. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this Order in the 
Federal Register.

    By the Commission.
Erica A. Barker,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-16294 Filed 7-29-21; 8:45 am]
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