I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1016 
To amend title 39, United States Code, to authorize the United States 
Postal Service to sell, at fair market value, any post office building 
subject to relocation, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 6, 2013 
Mr. PETERS of California (for himself, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Mr. 
VARGAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To amend title 39, United States Code, to authorize the 
United States Postal Service to sell, at fair market value, 
any post office building subject to relocation, 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 ‘‘Community Post Office 
Relocation Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. SALE OF POST OFFICE BUILDINGS SUBJECT TO RE-
LOCATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title 39, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 417. Authority to sell buildings containing post of-
fices subject to relocation 
‘‘(a) In addition to the authority provided under sec-
tion 401(5), the Postal Service may sell, at fair market 
value, to an eligible buyer fee simple title to a covered post 
office building. 
‘‘(b)(1) Beginning on the date on which the Postal 
Service makes an announcement, as described in para-
graph (2), that a covered post office building is for sale, 
an eligible buyer shall have 30 days to make an offer to 
the Postal Service for the purchase of such building. 
‘‘(2) The announcement under paragraph (1) shall be 
posted prominently in a publicly accessible space in the 
covered post office building subject to sale. 
‘‘(c)(1) The Postal Service shall enter into negotia-
tions for the sale of such building with the eligible buyer 
that submits the first offer, as determined by postmark 
date, during such 30-day period. If such negotiations fail, 
then the Postal Service shall enter into negotiations for 
sale with each subsequent eligible buyer, as determined by 
postmark date, that submits an offer during such 30-day 
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period until a sale is made or until all such eligible buyers 
are exhausted. 
‘‘(2) If an offer under paragraph (1) is for the fair 
market value of such building, and all other relevant con-
ditions have been met with respect to making a successful 
sale within 45 days after the postmark date of such offer, 
the Postal Service shall sell such building to such buyer. 
‘‘(3) The fair market value of a post office building 
sold by the Postal Service under this section shall be deter-
mined by an independent professional appraiser, licensed 
within the State in which such building is located, mutu-
ally agreed upon by the Postal Service and the eligible 
buyer. 
‘‘(d)(1) After the sale of a covered post office building 
to an eligible buyer under this section, the Postal Service 
may lease, at fair market value, such building from such 
buyer for purposes of operating a post office in such build-
ing. 
‘‘(2) If the Postal Service does not require all of the 
space in such building while operating a post office pursu-
ant to paragraph (1), the eligible buyer may use the re-
maining space for any purpose permitted under Federal, 
State, or local law or regulation. 
‘‘(e) If an eligible buyer makes a covered post office 
purchased under this section available for sale, the Postal 
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Service shall have the right of first refusal to purchase 
such building at fair market value or at the price of such 
purchase plus any improvements, whichever is less. 
‘‘(f) For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘covered post office building’ 
means a building owned by the Postal Service that 
contains a post office subject to relocation (as that 
term is described in section 241.4 of title 39, Code 
of Federal Regulations); and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible buyer’ means a private 
organization— 
‘‘(A) that is described in section 501(c)(3) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and ex-
empt from taxation under section 501(a) of 
such Code; 
‘‘(B) that operates primarily within the ge-
ographic area served by a covered post office 
building subject to sale under this section; and 
‘‘(C) that has been in operation within 
such area for at least 5 years prior to the date 
on which the announcement of the sale of the 
building is made (as described in subsection 
(b)(1)).’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
of chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code, is amended 
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