[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 897 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 897
To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide that the procedures
relating to the closing or consolidation of a post office be extended
to the relocation or construction of a post office, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 16 (legislative day, May 15), 2001
Mr. Baucus (for himself, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Allard, Mr. Leahy, and Mr.
Levin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 39, United States Code, to provide that the procedures
relating to the closing or consolidation of a post office be extended
to the relocation or construction of a post office, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 2001''.
SEC. 2. PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE PROPOSED CLOSING, CONSOLIDATION,
RELOCATION, OR CONSTRUCTION OF A POST OFFICE.
(a) Applicability.--Section 404(b) of title 39, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (5) as
paragraphs (3) through (6), respectively;
(2) by striking ``(b)(1)'' and inserting ``(2)''; and
(3) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(b)(1) This subsection shall apply in the case of any proposed
closing, consolidation, relocation, or construction of a post
office.''.
(b) Advance Notice.--Paragraph (2) of such section 404(b) (as so
redesignated) is amended to read as follows:
``(2)(A) The Postal Service, before making a determination under
subsection (a)(3) as to the necessity for a proposed action described
in paragraph (1), shall, in order to ensure that the persons, including
local government officials, who are (or would be) served by the post
office involved will have an opportunity to present their views,
provide adequate notice of its intention to take such action with
respect to such post office at least 60 days before--
``(i) in the case of the proposed construction of a post
office, the date of the determination under subsection (a)(3);
or
``(ii) in the case of an action other than the proposed
construction of a post office, the proposed date of such
action.
``(B) The requirements of this paragraph shall not be considered
met unless the notice--
``(i) has, by the deadline specified in subparagraph (A)--
``(I) been hand delivered or delivered by mail to
the persons required under subparagraph (A); and
``(II) been published once a week for at least 4
weeks in 1 or more newspapers regularly issued and of
general circulation within the zip code areas which are
(or would be) served by the post office involved; and
``(ii) includes a description of the action proposed to be
taken with respect to the post office involved, a summary of
the reasons for the proposed action, and the date on which such
action is proposed to be taken (or, if the construction of a
post office is involved, the proposed timetable therefor).''.
(c) Considerations.--Paragraph (3) of such section 404(b) (as so
redesignated) is amended--
(1) in the matter before subparagraph (A), by striking ``to
close or consolidate'' and inserting ``to take a proposed
action with respect to'';
(2) by striking ``such closing or consolidation'' each
place it appears and inserting ``such action'';
(3) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking the semicolon and
inserting ``, taking into account (I) the extent to which the
post office is part of a core downtown business area (if at
all), and (II) the nature and the extent of any opposition
within the community to the proposed action;'';
(4) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``Service employed
at such office;'' and inserting ``Service;'';
(5) in subparagraph (A)(iv), by inserting ``quantified
long-term'' before ``economic''; and
(6) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end of
clause (iv), by redesignating clause (v) as clause (viii), and
by inserting after clause (iv) the following:
``(v) any views or concerns expressed by any
officials or other representatives of local government,
including whether the proposed action is reasonable in
light of local population projections;
``(vi) consistency with the size, scale, design,
and general character of the surrounding community;
``(vii) whether all reasonable alternatives to such
action have been explored; and''.
(d) Notice of Determination.--Paragraph (4) of such section 404(b)
(as so redesignated) is amended--
(1) by striking ``to close or consolidate'' and inserting
``to take a proposed action (described in paragraph (1)) with
respect to'';
(2) by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph
(3)''; and
(3) by striking ``office.'' and inserting ``office
(including by posting a copy of such determination in the post
office or each post office serving the persons who will be
affected by such action) and shall be transmitted to
appropriate local officials.''.
(e) Additional Requirements.--Such section 404(b) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(7) In any case in which a community has promulgated any
procedures to address the relocation, closing, consolidation, 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 relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction
of a post office in that community in lieu of applying the procedures
established in this subsection.
``(8) In making a determination to relocate, close, consolidate, or
construct any post office, the Postal Service shall comply with any
applicable zoning, planning, or land use laws (including design
guidelines, building codes, and all other provisions of law) to the
same extent and in the same manner as if the Postal Service were not an
establishment of the Government of the United States.
``(9) 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.
``(10)(A) In this paragraph the term `emergency' means any
occurrence that forces an immediate relocation from an existing
facility, including natural disasters, fire, health and safety factors,
and lease terminations.
``(B) If the Postmaster General determines that there exists an
emergency affecting a particular post office, the Postmaster General
may suspend the application of this subsection, with respect to such
post office, for a period of not to exceed 180 days.
``(C) The Postmaster General may exercise the suspension authority
under this paragraph with respect to a post office once for each
discrete emergency affecting such post office.
``(11) The relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction of
any post office shall be conducted in accordance with applicable
provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et
seq.).''.
(f) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Such section 404(b) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated) by striking
``take no action to close or consolidate'' and inserting ``take
no action described in paragraph (1) with respect to''; and
(2) in paragraph (6) (as so redesignated)--
(A) by striking ``to close or consolidate'' and
inserting ``to take any action described in paragraph
(1) with respect to''; and
(B) by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and inserting
``paragraph (4)''.
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