I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 670
To amend title 39, United States Code, to establish guidelines for the reloca-
tion, closing, consolidation, or construction of post offices, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 10, 1999
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. BORSKI, Mrs. KELLY,
Mr. FATTAH, Mr. PEASE, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. DOYLE, Mr.
SPRATT, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. ENGLISH,
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. GEORGE MIL-
LER of California, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. STARK, Ms.
BROWN of Florida, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO´, Mr.
STRICKLAND, Mr. FARR of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr.
THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts,
Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. WEYGAND, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr.
ALLEN, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. ANDREWS, Mrs. MINK of
Hawaii, Mr. CLAY, Mr. BALDACCI, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr.
UNDERWOOD, and Mr. GOODE) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Government Reform
A BILL
To amend title 39, United States Code, to establish guide-
lines for the relocation, closing, consolidation, or con-
struction of post offices, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Post Office Community
Partnership Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. GUIDELINES FOR RELOCATION, CLOSING, CONSOLI-
DATION, OR CONSTRUCTION OF POST OF-
FICES.
Section 404 of title 39, United States Code, is
amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(b)(1) Before making a determination under sub-
section (a)(3) as to the necessity for the relocation, clos-
ing, consolidation, or construction of any post office, the
Postal Service shall provide adequate notice to persons
served by that post office of the intention of the Postal
Service to relocate, close, consolidate, or construct that
post office not later than 60 days before the final deter-
mination is made to relocate, close, consolidate, or con-
struct.
‘‘(2)(A) The notification under paragraph (1) shall
be in writing, hand delivered or delivered by mail to per-
sons served by that post office, and published in 1 or more
newspapers of general circulation within the zip codes
served by that post office.
‘‘(B) The notification under paragraph (1) shall
include—
‘‘(i) an identification of the relocation, closing,
consolidation, or construction of the post office in-
volved;
‘‘(ii) a summary of the reasons for the reloca-
tion, closing, consolidation, or construction;
‘‘(iii) the proposed date for the relocation, clos-
ing, consolidation, or construction;
‘‘(iv) notice of the opportunity of a hearing, if
requested; and
‘‘(v) notice of the opportunity for public com-
ment, including suggestions.
‘‘(3) Any person served by the post office that is the
subject of a notification under paragraph (1) may offer
an alternative relocation, closing, consolidation, or con-
struction proposal during the 60-day period beginning on
the date on which the notice is provided under paragraph
(1).
‘‘(4)(A) At the end of the period specified in para-
graph (3), the Postal Service shall make a determination
under subsection (a)(3). Before making a final determina-
tion, the Postal Service shall conduct a hearing, if re-
quested by persons served by the post office that is the
subject of a notice under paragraph (1). If a hearing is
held under this paragraph, the persons served by such post
office may present oral or written testimony with respect
to the relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction of
the post office.
‘‘(B) In making a determination as to whether or not
to relocate, close, consolidate, or construct a post office,
the Postal Service shall consider—
‘‘(i) the extent to which the post office is part
of a core downtown business area;
‘‘(ii) any potential effect of the relocation, clos-
ing, consolidation, or construction on the community
served by the post office;
‘‘(iii) whether the community served by the post
office opposes a relocation, closing, consolidation, or
construction;
‘‘(iv) any potential effect of the relocation, clos-
ing, consolidation, or construction on employees of
the Postal Service employed at the post office;
‘‘(v) whether the relocation, closing, consolida-
tion, or construction of the post office is consistent
with the policy of the Government under section
101(b) that requires the Postal Service to provide a
maximum degree of effective and regular postal serv-
ices to rural areas, communities, and small towns in
which post offices are not self-sustaining;
‘‘(vi) the quantified long-term economic saving
to the Postal Service resulting from the relocation,
closing, consolidation, or construction;
‘‘(vii)(I) the adequacy of the existing post of-
fice; and
‘‘(II) whether all reasonable alternatives to relo-
cation, closing, consolidation, or construction have
been explored; and
‘‘(viii) any other factor that the Postal Service
determines to be necessary for making a determina-
tion whether to relocate, close, consolidate, or con-
struct that post office.
‘‘(C) In making a determination as to whether or not
to relocate, close, consolidate, or construct a post office,
the Postal Service may not consider compliance with any
provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.).
‘‘(5)(A) Any determination of the Postal Service to
relocate, close, consolidate, or construct a post office shall
be in writing and shall include the findings of the Postal
Service with respect to the considerations required to be
made under paragraph (4).
‘‘(B) The Postal Service shall respond to all of the
alternative proposals described in paragraph (3) in a con-
solidated report that includes—
‘‘(i) the determination and findings under sub-
paragraph (A); and
‘‘(ii) each alternative proposal and a response
by the Postal Service.
‘‘(C) The Postal Service shall make available to the
public a copy of the report prepared under subparagraph
(B) at the post office that is the subject of the report.
‘‘(6)(A) The Postal Service shall take no action to
relocate, close, consolidate, or construct a post office until
the applicable date described in subparagraph (B).
‘‘(B) The applicable date specified in this subpara-
graph is—
‘‘(i) if no appeal is made under paragraph (7),
the end of the 30-day period specified in that para-
graph; or
‘‘(ii) if an appeal is made under paragraph (7),
the date on which a determination is made by the
Commission under paragraph 7(A), but not later
than 120 days after the date on which the appeal is
made.
‘‘(7)(A) A determination of the Postal Service to relo-
cate, close, consolidate, or construct any post office may
be appealed by any person served by that post office to
the Postal Rate Commission during the 30-day period be-
ginning on the date on which the report is made available
‘‘(D) The provisions of sections 556 and 557, and
chapter 7 of title 5 shall not apply to any review carried
out by the Commission under this paragraph.
‘‘(E) A determination made by the Commission shall
not be subject to judicial review.
‘‘(8) In any case in which a community has in effect
procedures to address the relocation, closing, consolida-
tion, or construction of buildings in the community, and
the public participation requirements of those procedures
are more stringent than those provided in this subsection,
the Postal Service shall apply those procedures to the relo-
cation, closing, consolidation, or construction of a post of-
fice in that community in lieu of applying the procedures
established in this subsection.
‘‘(9) In making a determination to relocate, close,
consolidate, or construct any post office, the Postal Serv-
ice shall comply with any applicable zoning, planning, or
land use laws (including building codes and other related
laws of State or local public entities, including any zoning
authority with jurisdiction over the area in which the post
office is located).
‘‘(10) The relocation, closing, consolidation, or con-
struction of any post office under this subsection shall be
conducted in accordance with the National Historic Pres-
ervation Act (16 U.S.C. 470h–2).
‘‘(11) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed
to apply to a temporary customer service facility to be
used by the Postal Service for a period of less than 60
days.
‘‘(12)(A) For purposes of this paragraph the term
‘emergency’ means any occurrence that forces an imme-
diate relocation from an existing facility, including natural
disasters, fire, health and safety factors, and lease termi-
nations.
‘‘(B) If the Postmaster General makes a determina-
tion that an emergency exists relating to a post office, the
Postmaster General may suspend the application of the
provisions of this subsection for a period not to exceed
180 days with respect to such post office.
‘‘(C) The Postmaster General may exercise the sus-
pension authority under subparagraph (A) once with re-
spect to a single emergency for any specific post office.’’.
Æ