S. 155

119 S155 IS: Mandating Advisable and Informed Locations and Solutions Act
 U.S. Senate
 2025-01-21
 text/xml
 EN
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 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 155  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   January 21, 2025   Mr. Crapo  (for himself,  Mr. Risch , and  Mr. Schatz ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs    A BILL
To improve communication between the United States Postal Service and local communities relating to the relocation and establishment of Postal Service retail service facilities, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Mandating Advisable and Informed Locations and Solutions Act   or the   MAILS Act  .
2.
Definitions
In this Act:
(1)
Post office
The term  post office —
(A)
means a facility that—
(i)
is owned or leased by the Postal Service;
(ii)
is managed by a Postmaster;
(iii)
has responsibility for—
(I)
customer services;
(II)
local delivery; and
(III)
receipt and dispatch of all classes of mail; and
(iv)
may have responsibility for processing and distribution of mail for other such facilities in the surrounding geographic area; and
(B)
includes a remotely managed post office, a part-time post office, and an administrative post office.
(2)
Postal service
The term  Postal Service  means the United States Postal Service.
(3)
Temporary relocation
The term  temporary relocation  means a temporary relocation of retail services from a post office to support Postal Service business for a holiday, special event, or overflow business, as described in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of section 241.4 of title 39, Code of Federal Regulations.
3.
Requests for new post offices
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Postal Service shall establish by regulation a formal process for a local government official to request a new post office within the locality.
4.
Communication relating to post office relocation
The Postal Service shall amend section 241.4 of title 39, Code of Federal Regulations, to provide the following:
(1)
Community input
The Postal Service may not implement a temporary relocation, including for a commemorative event, for a period longer than 2 days without collecting and considering community input under paragraph (c) of that section.
(2)
Notification
(A)
Elected officials
Not later than 30 days before the date of a temporary relocation, the Postal Service shall—
(i)
submit to 1 or more local elected officials in the area in which the affected post office is located a written outline of the proposal; and
(ii)
offer to discuss the proposal with the elected official under paragraph (c) of that section.
(B)
Public presentation
The Postal Service shall—
(i)
not later than 15 days before the date of a temporary relocation, provide public notice of the temporary relocation in the area in which the affected post office is located; and
(ii)
not later than 15 days after providing notice to local elected officials under subparagraph (A)(i), hold a public presentation under paragraph (c) of that section.
(3)
Periodic updates
Not later than 60 days after the end of the initial 30-day comment period under paragraph (c) of that section, and every 60 days thereafter until the date that is 60 days after the last day of a temporary relocation, the Postal Service shall submit to relevant local government officials updates on the status of the temporary relocation.
5.
Report
(a)
Report required
With respect to any temporary relocation for a period that is longer than 180 days (whether due to the originally projected length of the relocation or due to an extension), not later than 30 days after the first day of the temporary relocation (or of the extension that caused the length of the relocation to exceed 180 days, if applicable), the Postal Service shall submit a report relating to the temporary relocation or extension to—
(1)
the  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate ;
(2)
the  Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives ; and
(3)
the members of Congress who represent the congressional district or State in which the affected post office is located.
(b)
Contents of report
Each report described in subsection (a) shall include a discussion of—
(1)
whether the communication requirements were met within the required timelines, and if not, an explanation for the failure to comply with the requirements; and
(2)
whether the period of the temporary relocation is being extended, and if so, an explanation for the extension.