[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 170 (Friday, September 2, 1994)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21753]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 2, 1994]


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POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 111

 

Special Bulk Third-Class Rates--State or Local Voting 
Registration Officials

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On May 13, 1993, the President signed into law Public Law 103-
31, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, amending Title 39, 
United States Code, by adding section 3629. The amendment authorizes 
voting registration officials to mail certain third-class matter at the 
special bulk third-class rates, effective January 1, 1995. This notice 
contains regulations that the Postal Service proposes for implementing 
this legislation.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 3, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or delivered to Manager, 
Mailing Standards, USPS Headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, 
Washington, DC 20260-2419. Copies of all written comments will be 
available for inspection and photocopying between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, in Room 6800 at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ernest Collins, (202) 268-5316.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
states that the Postal Service shall make available to a state or local 
voting registration official the rate for any class of mail that is 
available to a qualified nonprofit organization under 39 U.S.C. 3626 
for the purpose of making a mailing that the official certifies is 
required by the Act. The law applies only to state or local voting 
registration officials in those states and the District of Columbia 
that require a voter to register to vote before the date of voting in a 
general election for public office. In accordance with this 
legislation, the Postal Service proposes an amendment to Domestic Mail 
Manual (DMM) section E370.3.0 to describe the mailers eligible for an 
authorization to mail at the special rates, and to DMM E370.5.0 to 
describe the matter that may be mailed by those entitled to mail at the 
special rates under the new provision.
    As information, the procedures for mailers seeking authorization 
under the new provisions, and mailing under these authorizations, will 
be similar to those for nonprofit organizations mailing at the special 
rates. Each state and local voting registration official must submit 
Form 3624, Application to Mail at Special Bulk Third-Class Rates, at 
each post office where materials will be mailed at the special bulk 
third-class rates. Voting registration officials will not be allowed to 
mail at the special rates before receiving an authorization from the 
Postal Service. After submitting an application, the voting 
registration official may mail qualifying material under a pending 
arrangement through arrangements with the postmaster. If the 
application is approved, the Postal Service will refund to the voting 
registration official the difference in postage paid between the 
regular rates and the special bulk third-class rates for mailings made 
after the effective date of the authorization. The authorization should 
be requested, and will be issued, by the title of the official head of 
the government agency responsible for the registration of voters. As 
with all mailers authorized to mail at the special rates, only third-
class matter, deposited in prescribed minimum quantities and prepared 
in accordance with postal regulations, is eligible for these rates. In 
addition to these general requirements, the material must also be 
required or authorized by the Act. Finally, mailers must complete and 
deposit with each permit imprint mailing the appropriate mailing 
statement: Form 3602-N, Statement of Mailing With Permit Imprint Third-
Class Mail (Nonprofit Rates Only); or Form 3602-PVN, Plant-Verified 
Drop Shipment (PVDS) Consolidated Mailing Statement Register Third-
Class (Special Rates Only: Permit Imprint). The certification sections 
on the statements will be modified by inserting a new item number 6 as 
follows and renumbering current item 6 as item 7:

    ``The signature of a mailer certifies that: * * * (6) the 
mailing, if made by a voting registration official, is required or 
authorized by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; * * *.''

    Although exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c)) regarding proposed 
rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), the Postal Service invites comments on 
the following proposed revisions of the DMM, incorporated by reference 
in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR part 111.
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111
    Postal Service.
PART 111--[AMENDED]
    1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 3001-
3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3626, 5001.

    2. In the Domestic Mail Manual, section E370 is amended by revising 
E370.3.0 and E370.5.0. The proposed text is as follows:
E-Eligibility
* * * * *
E370  Special (Nonprofit) Bulk Rates
* * * * *
    [Change title of 3.0 as follows:]
3.0  Qualified Political Committees and State or Local Voting 
Registration Official
* * * * *
3.2  Definitions
    For the standards in 3.1:
* * * * *
    [Add 3.3 as follows:]
3.3  State or Local Voting Registration Official
    Voting registration officials in a state or the District of 
Columbia are authorized to mail certain third-class materials at the 
special bulk third-class rates under the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (see 5.10).
* * * * *
5.0  Eligible Matter
* * * * *
    [Renumber current 5.10 as 5.11 and add new 5.10 as follows:]
5.10  Voting Registration Official
    The voting registration official may mail, at the special rates, 
only qualifying third-class matter that is required or authorized to be 
mailed at those rates by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
* * * * *
    An appropriate amendment to 39 CFR 111.3 to reflect these changes 
will be published if the proposal is adopted.
Stanley F. Mires,
Chief Counsel, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 94-21753 Filed 9-1-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P