[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70904-70905]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28485]


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POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION

39 CFR Part 3050

[Docket No. RM2014-2; Order No. 1891]


Periodic Reporting

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is establishing a rulemaking docket to consider 
eliminating a requirement that the Postal Service prepare the cost and 
revenue analysis report in an alternative format for the annual 
compliance review process. The Postal Service also seeks waiver of this 
requirement for the upcoming annual review process if the Commission 
cannot complete consideration of the request for permanent elimination 
before that process begins. The Commission provides public notice of 
the establishment of this docket, describes the Postal Service's 
request, and invites public comment on both the requested reporting 
change and the application for waiver.

DATES: Responses to waiver request are due: December 3, 2013. Comments 
are due: January 9, 2014. Reply comments are due: January 23, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing 
Online system at http://www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit comments 
electronically should contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section by telephone for advice on filing 
alternatives.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel, 
at 202-789-6820.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Petition
III. Notice and Comment
IV. Ordering Paragraphs

I. Introduction

    On November 15, 2013, the Postal Service filed a petition 
requesting that the Commission initiate a rulemaking proceeding to 
eliminate the requirement for the production and submission, as part of 
the Annual Compliance Report (ACR) process, of the ``Alternate CRA 
(Cost and Revenue Analysis Report)'' required by Commission rule 
3050.14. 39 CFR 3050.14. The Postal Service proposes the Commission 
remove the requirement to prepare the Alternate CRA by striking the 
second sentence of Commission rule 3050.14.\1\ Petition at 1.
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    \1\ Petition of the United States Postal Service for the 
Initiation of a Proceeding to Eliminate the Requirement for an 
Alternative Format CRA Report, November 15, 2013 (Petition).
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    Additionally, the Postal Service requests that if the Commission 
anticipates that it might not be able to complete the requested 
rulemaking prior to the time at which preparation of this year's ACR 
must be finalized, the Postal Service contingently requests that the 
requirement be waived for fiscal year 2013. Id.

II. Petition

A. Request for Amendment of Rule 3050.14

    The Postal Service explains that Commission rule 3050.14 
establishes the format for the Cost and Revenue Analysis Report (CRA), 
which reports costs, revenues, volumes, contribution, and other 
information ``reflecting the classification structure in the Mail 
Classification Schedule.'' The same rule also calls for ``an 
alternative, more disaggregated format capable of reflecting the 
classification structure in effect prior to the adoption of the Postal 
Accountability and Enhancement Act.'' Id.
    Initially, the Postal Service was able to file both public and non-
public

[[Page 70905]]

versions of the Alternate CRA. The Alternative CRA folders presented 
the best approximation that the Postal Service could provide of the 
costs, revenues, volumes, and contributions for the pre-Postal 
Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) classifications. In recent 
years, however, as more products or more parts of products have been 
shifted to Competitive products, the Postal Service has provided only a 
non-public version of the Alternate CRA. Id. at 2. The resulting non-
public folder presented the alternative format materials for market 
dominant and competitive mail while attempting to revert back to their 
pre-PAEA mail categories the revenues, volumes, costs, and weights of 
mail, including those that had subsequently been moved to the 
Competitive product list. Id. Because the data systems cannot always 
track the information by pre-PAEA categories, other methods of 
estimating the data required for the Alternate CRA were developed, with 
the result that the methodologies used to attempt to populate this 
chart vary. Id.
    In order to reassemble the pre-PAEA classifications, the estimation 
approaches vary, such that the aggregation of cost data from underlying 
categories of mail from one report or estimation methodology may not 
always match those developed via a different estimation technique, and 
data for some categories may not exist at all. Id. at 3-4.
    The Postal Service points out that the Alternate CRA provided a 
bridge from the pre-PAEA era to the post-PAEA era as a way of 
maintaining trend data based on the pre-PAEA categories to ensure no 
categories of postal products were inadvertently omitted, and to ensure 
the integrity of the data reporting. Citing changed circumstances, 
e.g., the shifting of products and parts thereof from market dominant 
to competitive, the Postal Service questions the usefulness of 
maintaining the report in a necessarily non-public format, when the 
information reported is increasingly the result of ratio analyses, 
estimates, and splits tied to shares from seven years ago. Id. at 4. 
The Postal Service believes that any possible use of the report is now 
overshadowed by the weakness of the information contained therein, and 
that it is no longer relevant. Id.
    The Postal Service also claims that the burden to produce this 
alternative format report is substantial when Postal Service resources 
are already most fully taxed by preparation of the other components of 
the ACR. By necessity, the Alternate CRA cannot be produced until all 
other ACR work has been completed, as it requires inputs from the CRA 
itself, the cost avoidance studies, and other analyses, which means 
that the Alternate CRA is the last part of the ACR production process 
and requires last-minute attention Id. at 4-5.
    Therefore, the Postal Service requests the Commission delete the 
second sentence of Commission rule 3050.14 establishing the requirement 
for production and submission of the alternative format CRA with the 
ACR. Id. at 6.

B. Request for Waiver of Reporting Alternate Format CRA for FY 2013

    The Postal Service recognizes that it may not be possible for the 
Commission to accomplish a permanent change in its rules in the next 
month prior to the Postal Service's preparation of the ACR. Id. at 5. 
As such, the Postal Service requests that the Commission waive 
application of the Alternative format CRA portion of rule 3050.14 for 
FY 2013. Id. at 5-6.

III. Notice and Comment

    The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2014-2 for consideration of 
matters raised by the Petition. For specific details on the request, 
interested persons are encouraged to review the Petition which is 
available via the Commission's Web site at http://www.prc.gov. 
Information concerning access to these non-public materials is located 
in 39 CFR part 3007.
    Interested persons may submit comments on the Petition to amend 
rule 3050.14 relating to the Alternative format CRA no later than 
January 9, 2014. Reply comments are due no later than January 23, 2014.
    Responses to the Postal Service's request for a waiver of the 
Alternate CRA reporting requirement for FY 2013 are due no later than 
December 3, 2013.
    Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Cassie D'Souza is designated as an 
officer of the Commission (Public Representative) to represent the 
interests of the general public in this proceeding.

IV. Ordering Paragraphs

    It is ordered:
    1. The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2014-2 for consideration 
of the matters raised by the Petition of the United States Postal 
Service for the Initiation of a Proceeding to eliminate the requirement 
for an Alternative format CRA Report.
    2. Responses to the request for waiver of application of the 
Alternative format CRA portion of rule 3050.14 for FY 2013 are due no 
later than December 3, 2013.
    3. Comments by interested persons in this proceeding on the request 
to eliminate the second sentence of rule 3050.14 relating to the 
Alternative format CRA are due no later than January 9, 2014. Reply 
comments are due no later than January 23, 2014.
    4. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints Cassie 
D'Souza to serve as an officer of the Commission (Public 
Representative) to represent the interests of the general public in 
this docket.
    5. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this order in the 
Federal Register.

    By the Commission.
Shoshana M. Grove,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-28485 Filed 11-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P