[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 39, Volume 1]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 39CFR9.2]



[Page 21-22]

 

                        TITLE 39--POSTAL SERVICE

 

                 CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

 

PART 9_POLICY ON COMMUNICATIONS WITH GOVERNORS OF THE POSTAL SERVICE 

DURING PENDENCY OF RATE AND CLASSIFICATION PROCEEDINGS [APPENDIX]

--Table of Contents

 

Sec.  9.2  Communications with the Governors during the restricted period.



    Once the Commission issues a recommended decision, and until the 

Governors have acted on that recommended decision by approving, 

rejecting, allowing under protest or modifying it, the following 

guidelines apply to communications with the Governors that are relevant 

to the merits of the proceeding.

    (a) Oral communications. During the restricted period, it is the 

policy of the Governors not to receive oral communications relevant to 

the merits of the proceeding from any interested person. In the event 

such a conversation does inadvertently take place, the Governor involved 

shall prepare a memorandum of the conversation and submit it to the 

Secretary of the Board for inclusion in the public record, where it 

shall be available for public inspection.

    (b) Written communications. (1) During the restricted period any 

communication relevant to the merits of the proceeding that an 

interested person may wish to submit to the Governors must be in writing 

and should not exceed fifteen pages in length. Such comments



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should be based on the record and addressed to the Governors through the 

Secretary of the Board. If the commenter has been a party to the 

Commission proceeding, copies should be sent to all other parties to 

that proceeding. The Secretary shall make all such communications 

available for public inspection.

    (2) Because the Governors are often required to act promptly on a 

recommended decision from the Commission, interested persons seeking to 

communicate with the Governors should submit their comments no later 

than ten (10) days after the Commission has issued its recommended 

decision. This period may be extended at the discretion of the 

Governors.

    (c) Scope of the guidelines. These guidelines apply to 

communications from interested persons to the Governors, their staff, 

personal assistants (if any), the Secretary of the Board and any 

official of the Office of the Board. Since the Act assigns final 

decisionmaking authority on Commission recommended decisions to the 

Governors and not the Board, these guidelines do not apply to the 

Postmaster General or the Deputy Postmaster General, nor do they apply 

to other officers or officials of the Postal Service. Moreover, in order 

to carry out their statutory responsibility to direct ``the exercise of 

the power of the Postal Service,'' 39 U.S.C. 202(a), the Governors must 

be free to discuss all matters of postal policy with officers and 

employees of the Postal Service. Accordingly, no restrictions apply to 

communications between the Governors and Postal Service employees.