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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 84 (Monday, May 2, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25595-25598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09327]

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POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION

39 CFR Part 3055

[Docket No. RM2022-7; Order No. 6160]
RIN 3211-AA32

Periodic Reporting

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is proposing revisions to existing annual and 
periodic service performance reporting requirements for the Postal 
Service's market dominant products as well as related revisions 
consistent with the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. This document 
informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes 
other administrative steps.

DATES: Comments are due: June 3, 2022. Reply comments are due: June 24, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing 
Online system at https://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. Background
III. Invitation To Comment
IV. Administrative Actions
V. Ordering Paragraphs

I. Introduction

    The Commission initiates this rulemaking to consider revisions to 
update the existing annual and periodic service performance reporting 
requirements for the Postal Service's Market Dominant products, which 
are codified in 39 CFR part 3055, subparts A and B, as well as related 
revisions consistent with the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 
(PSRA).\1\ The Commission hereby seeks comments to facilitate the 
Commission's examination of these reporting requirements.
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    \1\ See Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, H.R. 3076, 117th 
Cong. (2022).
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II. Background

    The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) granted the 
Commission enhanced information gathering and reporting 
responsibilities. See 39 U.S.C. 3652(e)(1). The PAEA provides that the 
Commission shall prescribe the content and form of the public reports 
that the Postal Service files with the Commission under section 3652. 
Id. In doing so, the Commission must attempt to provide the public with 
timely information that is adequate to allow it to assess the 
lawfulness of Postal Service rates, should attempt to avoid unnecessary 
or unwarranted Postal Service effort and expense, and must endeavor to 
protect the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information. See 
id. The Commission may initiate proceedings to improve the quality, 
accuracy, or completeness of Postal Service reporting whenever it 
determines that the service performance data have become significantly 
inadequate, could be significantly improved, or otherwise require 
revision as necessitated by the public interest. 39 U.S.C. 3652(e)(2).
    In Docket No. RM2009-11, the Commission issued its initial periodic 
reporting requirements of service performance measurements under the 
PAEA.\2\ Since then, there have been a number of relevant modifications 
to those requirements as well as the systems used to measure service 
performance generally.\3\ Moreover, in

[[Page 25596]]

FY 2019 and again in FY 2021, service performance reporting for many 
products that had previously been measured using external methods began 
to use the Postal Service's internal service performance measurement 
system.\4\
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    \2\ Docket No. RM2009-11, Order Establishing Final Rules 
Concerning Periodic Reporting of Service Performance Measurements 
and Customer Satisfaction, May 25, 2010 (Order No. 465).
    \3\ See Docket No. PI2015-1, Order Approving Use of Internal 
Measurements Systems, July 5, 2018, at 13 n.31 (Order No. 4697); 
Docket No. PI2015-1, Errata to Order No. 4697, August 21, 2018 
(Order No. 4771); see also Docket No. PI2022-3, United States Postal 
Service Notice of Filing Changes to Service Performance Measurement 
Plan Document, April 22, 2022, at 1 (describing changes to the 
service performance measurement plan pending before the Commission, 
including a revision to how ``Start-the-Clock'' events are measured, 
the addition of Reply Mail in the Single-Piece First-Class Letters/
Cards/Flats category, and a revision to the critical entry time for 
Periodicals); United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector 
General, Report No. CRR-AR-11-003, Service Performance Measurement 
Data--Commercial Mail, September 6, 2011, at 2-3, 13, available at 
https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/document-library-files/2015/CRR-AR-11-003.pdf (determining that the process used to obtain 
service performance scores for commercial mail was ``not effective'' 
due to ``significant data quantity, accuracy, and reliability 
issues,'' based on an interim audit conducted from November 2010 
through September 2011); United States Postal Service, Office of 
Inspector General, Report No. CRR-AR-12-005, Service Performance 
Measurement Data--Commercial Mail, June 25, 2012, at 3, 11, 
available at https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/document-library-files/2015/CRR-AR-12-005.pdf (reviewing the actions of the 
Postal Service taken to address the issues identified in Report No. 
CRR-AR-11-003 and concluding that service performance measurement 
data for mail measured with Full Service Intelligent Mail barcodes 
(IMbs) were ``generally reliable,'' based on audit conducted from 
July 2011 through June 2012); Docket No. PI2016-1, Order Enhancing 
Service Performance Reporting Requirements and Closing Docket, 
August 26, 2016, at 1-3 (Order No. 3490) (enhancing the reporting 
requirements imposed on the Postal Service in continuation of the 
Commission's monitoring of service performance and assessment of the 
accuracy, reliability, and representativeness of the underlying 
data).
    \4\ See Order No. 4697 at 1-4, 66-67; Docket No. PI2019-1, Order 
Granting Request and Approving Use of Internal Service Performance 
Measurement System, July 1, 2020, at 1-2, 10-11 (Order No. 5576).
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    There have also been several significant changes to relevant 
service standards. Most recently, in FY 2021 the Postal Service 
modified its service standards for First-Class Mail and end-to-end 
Periodicals.\5\ Subsequently, the Commission explained that it intended 
to initiate a separate rulemaking proceeding to consider potential 
improvements to the existing service performance reporting 
requirements.\6\
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    \5\ See Revised Service Standards for Market-Dominant Mail 
Products, 86 FR 43941 (Aug. 11, 2021) (codified at 39 CFR part 121); 
see also Docket No. N2021-1, Advisory Opinion on Service Changes 
Associated with First-Class Mail and Periodicals, July 20, 2021 
(Docket No. N2021-1 Advisory Opinion). The Postal Service also 
requested an advisory opinion from the Commission regarding 
revisions to service standards for a Competitive product, First-
Class Package Service, but has not implemented the new standards 
yet. See Docket No. N2021-2, United States Postal Service Request 
for an Advisory Opinion on Changes in the Nature of Postal Services, 
June 17, 2021; see also Docket No. N2021-2, Advisory Opinion on the 
Service Standard Changes Associated with First-Class Package 
Service, September 29, 2021. Additionally, the Postal Service 
requested an advisory opinion from the Commission regarding changes 
to the service standards for two additional Competitive products, 
Retail Ground and Parcel Select Ground, which remain pending before 
the Commission. See Docket No. N2022-1, United States Postal 
Service's Request for an Advisory Opinion on Changes in the Nature 
of Postal Services, March 21, 2022.
    \6\ See Docket No. PI2021-3, Order Approving Modifications to 
Market Dominant Service Performance Measurement Systems and Closing 
Docket, September 28, 2021, at 8 (Order No. 5989).
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    Additionally, on April 6, 2022, the PSRA was signed into law. The 
PSRA imposed requirements on the Postal Service and the Commission that 
require consideration of changes to 39 CFR part 3055. Specifically, the 
PSRA directs the Postal Service to develop and maintain a publicly 
available online ``dashboard'' that provides weekly service performance 
data for Market Dominant products. See 39 U.S.C. 3692(c). It also 
mandates that the Commission provide reporting requirements for this 
Postal Service dashboard as well as ``recommendations for any 
modifications to the Postal Service's measurement systems necessary to 
measure and publish the performance information'' located on the 
dashboard. 39 U.S.C. 3692(b). The PSRA also authorizes the Postal 
Service to provide certain nonpostal services to the public and other 
Governmental agencies and requires the Postal Service to periodically 
report the quality of service for these nonpostal services. See 39 
U.S.C. 3703-3705.
    In light of these developments, the Commission has initiated this 
docket in order to update the service performance reporting 
requirements codified in 39 CFR part 3055.

III. Invitation To Comment

    Interested persons are invited to provide written comments to 
facilitate the Commission's examination of the service performance 
reporting requirements. The Commission seeks comments specifically on 
the usefulness and relevance of the potential new reporting 
requirements and the frequency of the Postal Service's obligation to 
provide such corresponding data. In making their comments, commenters 
are encouraged to provide specific language (so-called ``redlines'') 
for the new or amended regulations. If the Postal Service claims that a 
potential modification is particularly onerous, involves costly new 
data collection, or does not appear to add useful transparency, the 
Postal Service is requested to quantify its incremental cost or burden.

A. Modifications to 39 CFR Part 3055, Subparts A and B

    In terms of the proposed changes to 39 CFR part 3055, subparts A 
and B, the Commission intends for the Postal Service to continue to 
provide on-time service percentage and variance data for each Market 
Dominant product. The Commission is seeking comment on the following 
specific potential new reporting requirements concerning its Market 
Dominant products.
    First, the Commission is considering requiring the Postal Service 
to report the average actual calendar days to delivery for all Market 
Dominant products. This information is often provided by the Postal 
Service in communications that it submits directly to the public for 
certain types of mail--for example, via press releases and election 
reports.\7\ This type of information is useful in that it is easily 
understood by the public and presents a picture of the actual service 
being provided at any given time.
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    \7\ See, e.g., David Partenheimer, USPS Highest Service 
Performance Scores Across All Mail Categories Since Pre-2021 Holiday 
Season, United States Postal Service (April 1, 2022), available at 
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2022/0401-usps-highest-service-performance-scores-across-all-mail-categories.htm 
(reporting that ``[a]verage mail delivery time across nation remains 
2.7 days''); United States Postal Service, 2020 Post-Election 
Analysis: Delivering the Nation's Election Mail in an Extraordinary 
Year, updated January 12, 2021, at 2, available at https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2021/usps_postelectionanalysis_1-12-21_georgia.pdf (explaining that the 
Postal Service ``delivered ballots to voters in 2.1 days'' and 
``delivered ballots from voters to election officials in just 1.6 
days'').
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    Second, the Commission intends to require the Postal Service to 
report root cause point impact data for all Market Dominant 
products.\8\ The term ``point impact'' refers to the amount (number of 
percentage points) by which on-time performance decreased due to a 
specific root cause of failure. These data are useful in isolating 
significant drivers of delay for an individual product and have been 
previously provided by the Postal Service as part of the Annual 
Compliance Review proceedings. See, e.g., FY 2021 ACD at 150.
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    \8\ See, e.g., Docket No. ACR2021, Annual Compliance 
Determination, March 29, 2022, at 150 (FY 2021 ACD) (displaying 
point impact data for the top five root causes for the failure of 3-
5-Day Single-Piece Letters/Postcards to be delivered on time in FY 
2021). As part of this reporting requirement, the Commission intends 
for the Postal Service to inform the Commission whenever it changes 
its method of calculating point impact data.
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    Third, the Commission intends to require the Postal Service to 
report the performance for each national operating plan target (also 
referred to as the 24-Hour Clock national clearance goals) for all 
Market Dominant products. These data are useful in isolating 
bottlenecks in processing that are causing the most significant 
negative service impacts on each product and have been previously 
provided by the Postal Service as part of

[[Page 25597]]

the Annual Compliance Review proceedings.\9\
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    \9\ See, e.g., FY 2021 ACD at 167 (requiring the Postal Service 
to report the performance of First-Class Mail products against 24-
Hour Clock national clearance goals).
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    Fourth, the Commission intends to create reporting requirements for 
the quality of service for all of the Postal Service's nonpostal 
products, which it will set out in the previously reserved 39 CFR 
3055.25. As explained above, the PSRA requires the Postal Service to 
submit to the Commission, no later than 90 days after the end of each 
year, a report that analyzes, among other things, the ``quality of 
service for each agreement or substantially similar set of agreements 
for the provision of property or nonpostal services'' under 
methodologies prescribed by the Commission. 39 U.S.C. 3705(a)(1). By 
regulation, the Commission must prescribe the content and form of this 
report, giving due consideration to: (a) Providing the public with 
timely, adequate information; (b) avoiding unnecessary burden to the 
Postal Service; and (c) protecting confidentially sensitive commercial 
information. 39 U.S.C. 3705(b)(1). The Commission seeks comment on how 
best to effectuate these requirements by regulation.
    Fifth, the Commission is considering requiring the Postal Service 
to regularly report: (a) Mail excluded from measurement, disaggregated 
by reason(s) for exclusion; and (b) mail volumes measured and 
unmeasured by Full Service Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb). In Docket 
No. PI2016-1, the Commission invited public comment on issues related 
to the quality and completeness of service performance data measured by 
the Postal Service. Order No. 3490 at 1. In response, several 
commenters expressed concerns about the quantity and impact of mail 
excluded from Postal Service measurement. See, e.g., id. at 15-19. As a 
result, the Commission required the Postal Service to regularly report 
certain exclusion information, finding that this information would 
``enhance the quality and completeness of service performance data.'' 
Id. at 24-25. The Commission invites comments on whether to codify 
those requirements and if so, whether any modifications to these 
requirements is warranted.
    The Commission also seeks comment on how best to require the Postal 
Service to disaggregate service performance data for the aforementioned 
subjects. The Commission requires product-level data in order to 
analyze the quality of service as part of its Annual Compliance 
Determination. See 39 U.S.C. 3652(a)(2)(B)(i). In addition, data 
disaggregated below the product level should align with the Postal 
Service's service standards in order to allow the Commission to monitor 
the Postal Service's level of achievement of its service performance 
targets.\10\ Therefore, the Commission invites comments on whether the 
reporting rules in 39 CFR part 3055, subpart B, should directly cross-
reference the Postal Service's service standards, contained in 39 CFR 
121.1 et seq., thus obviating the need for the Commission to revise its 
regulations whenever the Postal Service amends its service standards. 
The Commission also invites comments on how best to align the reporting 
requirements geographically.
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    \10\ See, e.g., Order No. 465 at 10 (``Reporting on quality of 
service allows assessment of whether the Postal Service is meeting 
the objective of maintaining the `high quality service standards 
established under section 3691' '') (quoting 39 U.S.C. 3622(b)(3)).
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    The Commission also plans to update the terminology used in its 
requirements where it has become outdated--for instance, with regard to 
class and product names and performance measurement systems. The 
Commission invites suggestions as to what specific terminology should 
be updated and how to do so.

B. Postal Service Online Dashboard

    The Commission is also seeking comments on implementing the PSRA's 
new online dashboard mandate. As explained above, the PSRA requires 
that the Postal Service develop an online dashboard ``that provides 
performance information for market-dominant products that is updated on 
a weekly basis.'' 39 U.S.C. 3692(c)(1). In regards to this Postal 
Service dashboard, the Commission shall provide ``requirements for the 
Postal Service to publish nationwide, regional, and local delivery area 
performance information'' that are consistent with the organizational 
structure of the Postal Service, ``reflect the most granular geographic 
level of performance information appropriate for the Postal Service to 
publish,'' and include ``performance information for different time 
periods, including annual, quarterly, monthly, and weekly segments.'' 
39 U.S.C. 3692(b)(1), (c)(2). The Commission shall also provide 
``recommendations for any modifications to the Postal Service's 
measurement systems necessary to measure and publish the performance 
information'' for the Postal Service's dashboard. 39 U.S.C. 3692(b)(2). 
With these statutory provisions in mind, the Commission invites 
comments on what specific data should be required of the Postal Service 
and any recommended corresponding revisions to the Postal Service's 
measurement systems.

IV. Administrative Actions

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires Federal agencies, in 
promulgating rules, to consider the impact of those rules on small 
entities. See 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. If the proposed or final rules will 
not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities, the head of the agency may 
certify that the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis 
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604 do not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 605(b). 
In the context of this rulemaking, the Commission's primary 
responsibility is regulatory oversight of the Postal Service. The rules 
that are the subject of this rulemaking have a regulatory impact on the 
Postal Service, but do not impose any regulatory obligation upon any 
other entity. Based on these findings, the Chairman of the Commission 
certifies that the rules that are the subject of this rulemaking will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this rulemaking is 
exempt from the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis 
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604.
    Comments are due no later than June 3, 2022. Reply comments are due 
no later than June 24, 2022. All comments and suggestions received will 
be available for review on the Commission's website, https://www.prc.gov.
    Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Kenneth E. Richardson is appointed to 
serve as an officer of the Commission (Public Representative) to 
represent the interests of the general public in the above-captioned 
docket.

V. Ordering Paragraphs

    It is ordered:
    1. The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2022-7 to consider 
revisions to the periodic reporting requirements.
    2. Comments are due no later than June 3, 2022. Reply comments are 
due no later than June 24, 2022.
    3. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints Kenneth E. 
Richardson 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 notice in 
the Federal Register.

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    By the Commission.
Erica A. Barker,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-09327 Filed 4-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P
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