[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 99 (Monday, May 22, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32136-32138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12780]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

POSTAL SERVICE


Privacy Act of 1974, Systems of Records

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Notice of amendments to existing systems of records.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The purpose of this document is to publish notice of 
amendments to two Privacy Act systems of records. The amendments 
conform to a rule change published in the Federal Register on January 
25, 2000 (65 FR 3857-3859), amending Postal Service regulations that 
govern the disclosure of information contained in PS Form 1093, 
Application for Post Office Box or Caller Service, and PS Form 1583, 
Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent. Information collected 
by these forms is covered by Privacy Act systems of records USPS 
010.020, Collection and Delivery Records--Boxholder Records, and USPS 
010.050, Collection and Delivery Records--Delivery of Mail Through 
Agents, respectively, for which changes are proposed by this notice.

DATES: Any interested party may submit written comments on the proposed 
addition and modification. This proposal will become effective without 
further notice on June 21, 2000, unless comments received on or before 
that date result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this proposal should be mailed or 
delivered to Administration and FOIA, United States Postal Service, 475 
L'Enfant Plaza SW, RM 8141, Washington, DC 20260-5202. Copies of all 
written comments will be available at the above address for public 
inspection and photocopying between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through 
Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Betty Sheriff, (202) 268-2608.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Information about customers who use post 
office box service is maintained within Privacy Act system of records 
USPS 010.020, Collection and Delivery Records--Boxholder Records. In 
the past, the Postal Service has disclosed to the general public, upon 
request, the name, address, and telephone number of the holder of a 
post office box being used for the purpose of doing or soliciting 
business with the public. To provide a greater degree of privacy and 
security to the growing number of small business owners who operate out 
of their homes, that provision has been repealed. As a result, routine 
use No. 1 is deleted. The rule change referenced above also repeals a 
provision allowing disclosure of boxholder information in response to 
oral requests from law enforcement agencies made through the Postal 
Inspection Service, in the course of a criminal investigation, 
necessitating the deletion of routine use No. 4. The remaining routine 
use Nos. 2, 3, and 5 are redesignated as routine uses 1 through 3, 
respectively, and the ``Note'' preceding them is amended to delete the 
explanation as to when copies of PS Form 1093 may be provided (now 
incorporated into the routine use) and to succeed the routine uses as 
an exception. Under the exception, disclosure is not authorized by the 
routine uses if the individual boxholder has filed a protective order 
with the postmaster, unless the party seeking the information submits 
an order of a court of competent jurisdiction requiring disclosure.

[[Page 32137]]

    Information about customers who use commercial mail receiving 
agency (CMRA) services, and the agents who provide those services, is 
maintained within Privacy Act system of records USPS 010.050, 
Collection and Delivery Records--Delivery of Mail Through Agents. Each 
applicant for delivery of mail to a CMRA is required to complete and 
sign PS Form 1583, Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent. 
Information collected by PS Form 1583 includes the name, address, and 
telephone number of the agent and the addressee and, drivers license, 
or other forms of identification. In addition, the owner or manager of 
a CMRA is required to complete PS Form 1583-A, Application to Act as a 
Commercial Mail Receiving Agency, which includes the owner/manager's 
home address and telephone number. This notice amends the categories of 
records segment of the system notice to note the collection of 
additional information as a result of revision of PS Form 1583 and 
adoption of the new PS Form 1583-A.
    Consistent with past practice, information provided by a CMRA 
customer on PS Form 1583 will not be available to the public. A review 
of the general routine uses (those applied to most Postal Service 
systems of records to enable the routine conduct of postal business) 
applied to system of records USPS 010.050 has resulted in the deletion 
of three routine uses. These routine uses permit disclosure to: an 
auditor of Postal Service finances, the Office of Management and Budget 
for review of private relief legislation, and labor organizations for 
collective bargaining purposes. Since such disclosures of information 
covered by this system should be unnecessary for those purposes, the 
routine uses are deleted. Under the remaining routine uses, the Postal 
Service will not disclose the name or address of a customer who has 
submitted an appropriate court order of protection unless the requester 
obtains an order of a court of competent jurisdiction that requires the 
disclosure notwithstanding the existence of the protective order.
    In addition to the above, the Purpose statement for system USPS 
010.050 is enhanced by adding objectives directly related to the 
longstanding purpose for which records in this system are collected.
    The amendments proposed by this notice are not expected to diminish 
individual privacy rights. In fact, the amendments are intended to 
enhance the privacy of small business owners operating out of the home 
and of individuals such as battered individuals and stalking victims 
who feel they may be at risk of harm if their physical location is not 
kept private. In the interest of those protections, certain routine 
uses have been deleted to reduce the number of situations in which 
disclosure may be made outside of the Postal Service and to strengthen 
assurances of privacy.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11), interested persons are invited to 
submit written data, views, or arguments on this proposal. A report of 
the amendments has been sent to Congress and to the Office of 
Management and Budget for their evaluation.
    For the above reasons, the Postal Service proposes the following 
amendments. USPS Privacy Act system 010.020 was last published in its 
entirety in the Federal Register on October 26, 1989 (54 FR 43658-
43659), and amended on October 11, 1990 (55 FR 41398-41399), and on 
February 23, 1999 (64 FR 8878). USPS 010.050 was last published in its 
entirety in the Federal Register on October 26, 1989 (54 FR 43660-
43661), and amended on May 3, 1994 (59 FR 2284), and on February 23, 
1999 (64 FR 8878).
USPS 010.020

SYSTEM NAME:
    Collection and Delivery Records--Boxholder Records, 010.020.
* * * * *

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    [CHANGE TO READ:]
    General routine use statements a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, j, and m 
listed in the prefatory statement at the beginning of the Postal 
Service's published system notices apply to this system. A copy of PS 
Form 1093 may be furnished pursuant to any of the general routine uses. 
Other routine uses are as follows:
    1. Subject to the exception noted below, disclosure of boxholder 
information may be made to a federal, state, or local government agency 
upon prior written certification that the information is required for 
the performance of its duties. A copy of PS Form 1093 may be furnished.
    2. Subject to the exception noted below, the name or address of the 
holder of a post office box may be disclosed to a person empowered to 
serve legal process, or the attorney for a party in whose behalf 
service will be made, or a party who is acting pro se, on receipt of 
written information that meets prescribed certification requirements. A 
copy of the PS Form 1093 will not be furnished.
    3. Subject to the exception noted below, disclosure of boxholder 
information may be made, on prior written certification from a foreign 
government agency citing the relevance of the information to an 
indication of a violation or potential violation of law and its 
responsibility for investigating or prosecuting such violation, and 
only if the address is (a) outside the United States and its 
territories, and (b) within the territorial boundaries of the 
requesting foreign government. A copy of PS Form 1093 may be furnished.
    Exception: Information concerning an individual boxholder who has 
filed an appropriate protective court order with the postmaster will 
not be disclosed under any routine use except pursuant to the order of 
a court of competent jurisdiction.
USPS 010.050

SYSTEM NAME:
    Collection and Delivery Records--Delivery of Mail Through Agents, 
010.050.
* * * * *

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Records contain the name, address, and telephone number of the 
agent and of the addressee, the signatures of both parties, and copies 
of forms of identification of the addressee.
* * * * *

PURPOSE(S):
    [CHANGE TO READ:]
    a. Serves as the written authority for delivery of mail to the 
addressee's agent.
    b. Promotes security of the mail.
    c. Protects postal customers from mail fraud and identity theft.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    [CHANGE TO READ:]
    General routine use statements a, b, c, d, e, f, and g listed in 
the prefatory statement at the beginning of the Postal Service's 
published system notices apply to this system. Other routine uses are 
as follows:
    1. Information may be disclosed for the purpose of identifying an 
address as an address of an agent to whom mail is delivered on behalf 
of other persons. This routine use does not authorize the disclosure of 
the identities of persons on behalf of whom agents receive mail.
    Exception: Information concerning an individual who has filed an 
appropriate protective court order with the postmaster will not be 
disclosed under any of the general routine uses except

[[Page 32138]]

pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
* * * * *

Stanley F. Mires,
Chief Counsel, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 00-12780 Filed 5-19-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P