Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Proposed Rules 5085 

1 Docket No. R2013–10R, Order Resolving Issues 

on Remand, January 22, 2016 (Order No. 3047). 

(e) * * * 

(2) Structure of cost-sharing. For 

inpatient admissions, there is a nominal 

copayment for retired members, 

dependents of retired members, and 

survivors. This nominal copayment 

shall apply to an inpatient admission to 

any hospital or other authorized 

institutional provider, including 

inpatient admission to a residential 

treatment center, substance use disorder 

rehabilitation facility residential 

treatment program, or skilled nursing 

facility. 

(3) Amount of inpatient cost-sharing 

requirements. In fiscal year 2001, the 

inpatient cost-sharing requirements for 

retirees and their dependents for acute 

care admissions and other inpatient 

admissions is a per diem charge of $11, 

with a minimum charge of $25 per 

admission. 

* * * * * 

Dated: January 26, 2016. 

Morgan E. Park, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 2016–01703 Filed 1–29–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

39 CFR Part 3001 

[Docket No. RM2016–6; Order No. 3048] 

Procedures Related to Motions 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is proposing 

rules which standardize the procedure 

and timeframe by which interested 

parties file motions with the 

Commission as they relate to mail 

preparation changes and their 

compliance with the price cap rules. 

The Commission invites public 

comment on the proposed rules. 

DATES: Comments are due: March 2, 

2016. Reply comments are due: March 

17, 2016. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 

202–789–6820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. Background 

III. Proposed Rule 

IV. Comments Requested 

V. Ordering Paragraphs 

I. Introduction 

The Commission initiates this 

proposed rulemaking to request 

comments on a procedural rule for 

motions concerning mail preparation 

changes that require compliance with 

the price cap rules. 

The primary purpose of the 

rulemaking is to ensure that the Postal 

Service properly accounts for the rate 

effects of mail preparation changes 

under § 3010.23(d)(2) of this chapter in 

accordance with the Commission’s 

standard articulated in Order No. 3047.1

The proposed rule is intended to 

standardize the procedure and 

timeframe by which interested parties 

must file a motion with the Commission 

when they contend that a mail 

preparation change has a rate effect 

requiring compliance with the price cap 

rules. 

II. Background 

In Docket No. R2013–10R, the 

Commission issued Order No. 3047 and 

articulated a clear standard to determine 

when mail preparation changes require 

compliance with § 3010.23(d)(2). Id. 

Under § 3010.23(d)(2), a mail 

preparation change has a rate effect 

when the change results in the deletion 

and/or redefinition of a rate cell. Id. at 

15. The Postal Service is required to 

comply with § 3010.23(d)(2) where the 

mail preparation change results in either 

the deletion of a previously available 

rate or significantly changes the basic 

characteristic of the mailing so that the 

rate cell is effectively ‘‘redefined.’’ Id. at 

16. The Commission determined that 

the Postal Service has an affirmative 

burden to decide whether a mail 

preparation change requires compliance 

with the price cap rules as set forth 

under the Commission’s standard. Id. at 

20. Where the Postal Service determines 

that a mail preparation change has a rate 

effect, it must comply with the existing 

rules and procedures governing rate 

adjustments prior to implementing the 

change. 

However, despite this affirmative 

burden, the possibility exists that the 

Postal Service may not recognize or 

account for all mail preparation changes 

that have rate effects. In that case, the 

current regulations do not provide a 

specific mechanism or timeframe by 

which interested parties can alert the 

Commission to mail preparation 

changes that they conclude have rate 

effects requiring compliance with 

§ 3010.23(d)(2). Although the 

Commission’s general motion rules 

would provide an avenue for motions 

concerning mail preparation changes, 

the rules do not set a timeframe by 

which motions must be made and the 

Commission believes the proposed rule 

is better suited to handle the specific 

issue at hand. In light of the complexity 

of administering the price cap, the 

timeframe set forth in the proposed rule 

is intended to promote certainty for the 

Postal Service and users of the mail 

when making operational changes. 

In Order No. 3047 setting forth the 

standard, the Commission indicated that 

it would propose procedures whereby 

interested parties could submit motions 

concerning mail preparation changes 

that have rate effects. As a result, the 

proposed rule is intended to clarify and 

streamline the process by which mail 

preparation changes that have rate 

effects may be reviewed by the 

Commission for compliance with the 

price cap rules. 

III. Proposed Rule 

The rule proposed in this notice of 

proposed rulemaking adds to the 

current § 3001.21. Proposed § 3001.21(d) 

requires interested parties to file a 

motion with the Commission upon 

actual or constructive notice of a mail 

preparation change that has a rate effect 

requiring compliance with 

§ 3010.23(d)(2). This proposed section 

establishes a 30-day timeframe within 

which interested parties may file a 

motion concerning a mail preparation 

change, after which the Commission 

will either institute a proceeding or 

consider the motion within an ongoing 

matter. 

The Commission proposes permitting 

interested parties to file a motion 

concerning a mail preparation change if 

the parties, in good faith, demonstrate 

that the change has a rate effect and 

requires compliance with the price cap 

rules. The proposed procedure is 

triggered by actual or constructive 

notice of the mail preparation change. 

Actual or constructive notice will occur 

when an interested party becomes aware 

of or should have reasonably become 

aware of the mail preparation change. 

The Commission intends for actual or 

constructive notice to occur when the 

Postal Service publishes written notice 

of the implementation of the mail 

preparation change. For example, the 

Postal Service commonly publishes 

notice of mail preparation changes in 

the Federal Register, Postal Bulletin, 

and on the RIBBS Web site. 

The proposed procedure also ties 

notice to the ‘‘implementation date of 

the change.’’ The Commission intends 

this provision to cover changes where 

the Postal Service either immediately 

implements a mail preparation change 

or provides published notice that it 

intends to implement a mail preparation 

change on a date certain. For example, 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
5086 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

2 78 FR 23137 (April18, 2013) (Notice). 

the Postal Service routinely implements 

mail preparation changes at the same 

time notice of the change is provided to 

the mailer. It is at this time the 30-day 

clock to file a motion with the 

Commission would be triggered. 

Alternatively, when the Postal Service 

publishes notice of a mail preparation 

change that it intends to implement on 

a date certain in the future, the 30-day 

clock would be triggered upon notice of 

the implementation date, not from the 

actual date of implementation. 

The Full Service IMb change serves as 

an example of how the proposed 30-day 

timeframe would work. The Full Service 

IMb change was published as a revision 

to the Postal Service’s Domestic Mail 

Manual and set forth in a Federal 

Register notice on April 18, 2013.2 In 

the Notice, the Postal Service indicated 

it planned to implement this change to 

the IMb requirements beginning on 

January 26, 2014. Id. Accordingly, under 

the Commission’s proposed rule, 

mailers would be required to file a 

motion with the Commission within 30 

days of the Notice (by May 20, 2013, 

allowing for a Monday filing), not 

within 30 days of the January 26, 2014 

implementation date. 

The proposed procedure is intended 

to provide a reasonable but definite 

timeframe by which interested parties 

may challenge a mail preparation 

change where the Postal Service has 

failed to indicate that it would be 

subject to the price cap rules. The 

Commission intends for the proposed 

rule to encourage the Postal Service to 

affirmatively designate only those 

changes that require compliance with 

§ 3010.23(d)(2). For example, in a 

Federal Register notice implementing a 

mail preparation change that implicated 

the price cap, the Postal Service would 

confirm that the change would be 

subject to the price cap. For a change 

that does not implicate the price cap, 

the Federal Register notice would be 

silent and the absence of such a 

designation will inform mailers that the 

Postal Service does not recognize this 

change as requiring price cap 

compliance. 

The procedure is also intended to 

allow the Postal Service to implement 

mail preparation changes with limited 

disruption. The proposed rule is not 

intended to stay implementation of any 

mail preparation change required by the 

Postal Service, rather it is intended to 

set forth a reasonable timeframe by 

which users of the mail may file a 

motion with the Commission where 

such mail preparation changes may 

have rate effects. The proposed rule 

does not change the Postal Service’s 

burden to first determine whether the 

mail preparation change has a rate effect 

under the Commission’s standard 

articulated in Order No. 3047. The 

proposed rule also does not change the 

Postal Service’s obligation to comply 

with the rules regarding the price cap, 

which require the Postal Service to 

adjust for the effects of mail preparation 

changes that result in the introduction, 

deletion, or redefinition of a rate cell. 

Rather, the proposed rule provides an 

avenue for interested parties to raise the 

possibility that the Postal Service may 

have erred by failing to account for the 

price cap impact of a mail preparation 

change. 

IV. Comments Requested 

Interested persons are invited to 

provide written comments concerning 

the proposed rule. Comments are due no 

later than 30 days after the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register. All comments and suggestions 

received will be available for review on 

the Commission’s Web site, http://

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. 

IV. Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered: 

1. Docket No. RM2016–6 is 

established for the purpose of receiving 

comments on the proposed change to 

part 3001, as discussed in this Order. 

2. Interested persons may submit 

comments no later than 30 days from 

the date of the publication of this notice 

in the Federal Register. 

3. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Kenneth 

E. Richardson is appointed to serve as 

the Public Representative in this 

proceeding. 

4. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this Order in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Stacy L. Ruble, 

Secretary. 

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 3001 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Postal Service. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Commission proposes to 

amend chapter III of title 39 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations as follows: 

PART 3001—RULES OF PRACTICE 

AND PROCEDURE 

■ 1. The authority citation of part 3001 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 39 U.S.C. 404(d); 503; 504; 

3661. 

■ 2. Amend § 3001.21 by adding 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 3001.21 Motions 

* * * * * 

(d) Motions concerning mail 

preparation changes. Motions regarding 

mail preparation changes are challenges 

to instances where an announced mail 

preparation change does not contain a 

Postal Service indication that the 

change has a rate effect requiring 

compliance with § 3010.23(d)(2) of this 

chapter. Motions may be filed by any 

interested party and shall set forth with 

particularity the mail preparation 

change at issue and the grounds by 

which the mail preparation change must 

comply with § 3010.23(d)(2) of this 

chapter. Motions concerning mail 

preparation changes must be filed at 

least 30 days after a party has actual or 

constructive notice of the 

implementation date of the change. 

[FR Doc. 2016–01735 Filed 1–29–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 73 

[MB Docket No. 03–185; GN Docket No. 12– 

268; ET Docket No. 14–175; FCC 15–175] 

Low Power Television Digital Rules 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) seeks comment on 

additional issues relating to channel 

sharing outside of the auction context 

and announces that it intends to resolve 

all of the outstanding issues regarding 

channel sharing outside the incentive 

auction context, including those raised 

in a prior notice, in a forthcoming 

decision. 

DATES: Comments Due: February 22, 

2016. Reply Comments Due: March 3, 

2016. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by MB Docket No. 03–185, 

GN Docket No. 12–268 and ET Docket 

No. 14–175 and/or FCC 15–175, by any 

of the following methods: 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS