Procedural Overview of the Advisory Opinion Process

The Postal Service announced a 10-year strategic plan on March 23, 2021. Prior to implementation, some parts of the plan require the Postal Service to request an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission (Commission). The law requires the Postal Service to seek such an opinion for changes that generally affect service on a nationwide or substantially nationwide basis.

On March 23, the Postal Service filed a notice of pre-filing conference with the Commission for the portion of its plan that involves changing service standards for First Class Mail and certain Periodicals. This notice and a pre-filing conference are parts of the process the Postal Service must follow when submitting its plan to the Commission.

The main steps in the advisory opinion process are listed below.

To seek important public input, the Commission requires the Postal Service to hold at least one pre-filing conference and make a good faith effort to address the concerns of interested persons. The Postal Service must give at least ten day’s advance notice before the first scheduled pre-filing conference.

*The Commission will publish notice of the pre-filing conference in the Federal Register and appoint a Commission employee (Public Representative) to represent the interests of the general public.
*Following the conference, the Postal Service must file the formal request for an advisory opinion with the Commission at least 90 days before implementing any of the proposed changes. This formal request must certify that the Postal Service has made good faith efforts to address the concerns raised at the pre-filing conference and meet other content requirements.
*After the Postal Service files its request for an advisory opinion with the Commission, the Commission will set forth a procedural schedule and provide further information in a notice and order that will be published in the Federal Register.
*The Commission is required by law to consider the Postal Service’s request for an advisory opinion. Before issuing its advisory opinion, the Commission must provide an opportunity for a formal, on-the-record hearing, with the Commissioners sitting en banc. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission is presently operating remotely and any hearing held in the near term would be virtual.
*By law, the Commission’s final opinion is advisory in nature. The law does not give the Commission authority to veto service changes. As a result, the Postal Service is not required to implement or take any further action with regard to the Commission’s opinion.
*Interested persons who do not want to formally participate in the proceedings may file comments with the Commission sharing their views.
The full regulations governing advisory opinions can be viewed at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=edb00c9a43c75fb2b21bcf7c91a85c3d&mc=true&n=pt39.1.3020&r=PART&ty=HTML#se39.1.3020\
https://www.prc.gov/press-releases/procedural-overview-advisory-opinion-process/5063

Related Posts

McClatchy To Merge With A360Media (mediapost.com)

Newspaper company McClatchy is merging with a360media, a magazine firm, creating a giant that will reach 100 million unique readers per year. The firms, both of which are owned by hedge fund Chatham Asset Management, are profitable, but the merger could triple overall revenue and profits, says Tony Hunter, chairman and CEO of McClatchy, who will hold the same titles at the new entity. “At the highest level, this creates value that, separately, both of us cannot do,” Hunter says. “If we don’t come together, the value of the individual companies is limited in the near-term.”

New Bloomsbury acquisition strengthens Bloomsbury Digital Resources division

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc announces that it has signed a sale and purchase agreement for the acquisition of certain assets of Red Globe Press (“RGP”), the academic imprint, from Macmillan Education Limited, a part of Springer Nature Group. The consideration is £3.7 million, of which £2.1 million will be satisfied in cash at completion and up to £1.6 million will be paid on or post-completion, subject to assignment of certain contracts. RGP specialises in high-quality publishing for Higher Education students globally in Humanities and Social Sciences, Business and Management, and Study Skills. RGP has a backlist of more than 7,000 titles and publishes more than 100 new titles per year, with content including digital platforms, textbooks, research-driven materials and general academic publishing. The acquired RGP titles are a good strategic fit, strengthen Bloomsbury’s existing academic publishing, and establish new areas of academic publishing in Business and Management, Study Skills and Psychology. RGP’s three digital products will be migrated to Bloomsbury Digital Resources’ own platform and its content added to Bloomsbury Collections. The business will operate within Bloomsbury’s Academic and Professional division.

Best Buy Reports Fourth Quarter Results

Domestic Segment Q4 FY21 Results: Domestic revenue of $15.40 billion increased 11.2% versus last year. Domestic GAAP gross profit rate was 20.9% versus 21.2% last year. International Segment Q4 FY21 Results: International revenue of $1.54 billion increased 14.0% versus last year. International GAAP gross profit rate was 21.6% versus 22.6% last year.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search