[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 227 (Friday, November 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66514-66516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30766]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTAL RATE COMMISSION
[Docket No. MC2000-2; Order No. 1272]
Mailing Online Experimental Classification Proceeding
AGENCY: Postal Rate Commission.
ACTION: Notice of new experimental filing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document establishes a docket to consider a proposed
experimental classification and fee schedule for a new Mailing Online
service. It also addresses related administrative matters, including
dates for conferences and deadlines for certain filings. Publication of
this document provides interested persons with information on important
preliminary steps in the Commission's consideration of the case.
DATES: Key dates include:
1. December 2, 1999 (1:30 p.m): technical conference in PRC
hearing room.
2. December 8, 1999 (2 p.m.): deadline for filing notices of
intervention, statements opposing consideration of the request under
experimental rules, and answers to Postal Service motion for expedition
and waiver of certain provisions of rules 161 and 64(h).
3. December 13, 1999 (2 p.m.): prehearing conference in PRC
hearing room.
4. December 16, 1999: deadline for filing issue statements and
answers to Postal Service motion for designation of testimony and
cross-examination from previous docket [No. MC98-1].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
Postal Rate Commission, 1333 H Street NW., Washington, DC 20268-0001,
202-789-6820.
ADDRESSES: Send correspondence regarding this docket to the attention
of Margaret P. Crenshaw, Secretary, Postal Rate Commission, 1333 H
Street NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20268-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulatory History
The Commission provided notice of a predecessor case (Docket No.
MC98-1) in Order No. 1216 (63 FR 39600, July 23, 1998). The preamble
discusses that case and its subsequent withdrawal pursuant to action of
the Postal Service's Governors.
Background
Notice is hereby given that on November 16, 1999, the United States
Postal Service (Postal Service or USPS) filed a request with the Postal
Rate Commission (Commission or PRC) pursuant to section 3623 of the
Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. 101 et seq., for a recommended
decision on adding a proposed Mailing Online service to the Domestic
Mail Classification Schedule (DMCS) on an experimental basis. The
request also incorporates a proposal for the establishment of
associated new fees. The request includes attachments and is supported
by the testimony of five witnesses. The Postal Service has separately
filed two library references in support of this request. The request,
attachments, and library references are on file in the Commission
docket room and are available for inspection during the Commission's
regular business hours. For interested persons who have access to the
internet, the request and related documents are available on the
Commission's home page at http://www.prc.gov.
Description of Request
The proposed Mailing Online service would enable individuals and
organizations with access to a personal computer and an internet
connection to transmit documents created on their computers to the
Postal Service in digital form for printing and entry as mail, paying
online in a single transaction. Users would transmit digital document
files generated in any of several selected word processing and desktop
publishing applications, together with recipient information and other
data, to a designated Postal Service site on the world wide web. The
Postal Service would offer users a number of choices regarding printing
and finishing specifications, customization of output by recipient
variables in the user's database, and scheduling of a specific mailing
date.
Users of the proposed Mailing Online service would be charged
existing postage rates for mailing, plus a fee for production and other
pre-mailing services. Depending upon the character of the material
being sent and the user's service preference, mail pieces
[[Page 66515]]
generated by the Mailing Online service would be charged postage at
either: Express Mail next day service and second day service rates;
First-Class Mail letters and sealed parcels automation letters basic
rates; First-Class Mail letters and sealed parcels automation flats
basic rates; First-Class Mail cards automation basic rates; First-Class
Mail single-piece Priority mail rates; Standard mail regular automation
basic letters rates; Standard mail regular automation basic flats
rates; Standard mail nonprofit automation basic barcoded rates
(starting on a date to be specified by the Postal Service); Standard
mail nonprofit automation basic barcoded flats rates (starting on a
date to be specified by the Postal Service); or single-piece rates for
either First-Class Mail letters and sealed parcels or First-Class Mail
cards for non-conforming addresses. Postal Service Request, Attachment
A, at 4.
Fees
In lieu of specific unit fees for the Mailing Online special
service, the Postal Service proposes what might be described as a
``cost plus'' approach to fee calculation. For the duration of the
experiment, the Postal Service proposes that fees be 130 percent times
what the Postal Service is charged by printers to prepare the mail
piece, plus 0.1 cent per impression to recover other Postal Service
costs. Postal Service Request, Attachment B.
Relationship to Mailing Online Service, PRC Docket No. MC98-1
The requested Mailing Online Experiment is substantially similar to
the Mailing Online Service presented in PRC Docket No. MC98-1 (63 FR
39600, July 23, 1998). In MC98-1, the Commission recommended and the
Postal Service implemented a market test of Mailing Online. The market
test ran from October 30, 1998 through October 29, 1999. The Postal
Service request for a market test included a request for a Mailing
Online Service experiment. The Postal Service Board of Governors
directed the withdrawal of the request for experiment on May 3, 1999,
because of events that rendered inaccurate the cost foundation
underlying the request for the initial Mailing Online Service
experiment.
Differences Between the Two Cases
The instant Mailing Online Experiment differs from its predecessor
in duration, internet implementation, options offered, and cost
structure. The following are highlights of the proposed differences.
The duration of the experiment is for three years as opposed to the two
years proposed in MC98-1. The service will be accessed through the
USPS.com web site rather than through PostOffice Online. Many of the
service options planned for implementation during the original
experiment will now be offered at the outset of the Mailing Online
experiment. The service may be used with more mail subclasses and rate
categories. The proposed mark-up has increased from 125 percent to 130
percent.
Expedited Consideration of the Request
The Postal Service request invokes the operation of sections 67
through 67d of the Commission's rules of practice and procedure which
provide for expedited consideration of requests for new services or
mail classification changes that are experimental in character. See 39
CFR 67-67d. These rules provide for the adoption of streamlined
procedures for considering such requests, and require participants to
identify the genuine issues of material fact raised by the Postal
Service proposal in order to limit formal hearings to those issues. 39
CFR 3001.67a. They also provide for establishment of a procedural
schedule that will allow issuance of a recommended decision within 150
days from any favorable determination the Commission may make as to the
propriety of treating the Postal Service proposal as experimental. 39
CFR 3001.67d.
The proposed service qualifies for consideration as an experiment,
the Postal Service submits, in view of its novelty as an electronic
means of presenting documents for entry into the mail; the modest
anticipated magnitude of its impact upon postal costs and revenues, and
the mailing costs and practices of mail users; and the need to gather
information suitable for supporting a request for a permanent mail
classification change. Postal Service Request at 4-5.
Motion for Expedition and Waiver of Certain Provisions
The Postal Service request is accompanied by a pleading captioned
``Motion of the United States Postal Service for Expedition and for
Waiver of Certain Provisions of Rule 161 and Certain Provisions of Rule
64(h).'' (Motion for Expedition.) In this pleading, the Service asks
the Commission to expedite consideration of its request as provided for
in the experimental service rules and to issue a decision that would
allow the Postal Service's preferred objective of implementing the
Mailing Online experiment as soon as mid-April 2000. Pursuant to rule
64(h)(3), the Postal Service also asks to be relieved of the obligation
to produce certain information regarding cost and revenue effects of
its proposal, on the grounds that its proposal would not change any
existing rates or fees, or produce a significant impact upon the cost-
revenue relationships of existing postal services. Motion for
Expedition at 3-5. Specifically, the Service seeks waiver of rules
54(b)(3) in part, 54(f)(2), 54(f)(3), 54(h), 54(j), and 54(l) in part.
Motion for Expedition at 5-6.
Motion for Designation of Testimony and Cross-Examination From Previous
Docket as Evidence
The Postal Service request also is accompanied by a pleading
captioned ``Motion for Designation of Testimony and Cross-Examination
From Previous Docket as Evidence in Commission Docket No. MC2000-2.''
In this pleading the Service asks the Commission to admit as record
evidence in this docket, the direct testimony and cross examination of
witness Rothschild from PRC Docket No. MC98-1. The referenced direct
testimony is the direct testimony of Beth B. Rothschild on behalf of
United States Postal Service, PRC Docket No. MC98-1, USPS-T-4. The
referenced cross-examination testimony is in the official transcript of
proceeding, PRC Docket No. MC98-1, Vol. 2, at 428-79.
Notice of Technical Conference
The Postal Service request is accompanied by a notice captioned
``Notice of Technical Conference.'' In this notice, the Postal Service
announces that a technical conference in this proceeding will be held
on December 2, 1999 at 1:30 p.m. The conference will be held in the
Postal Rate Commission hearing room located at 1333 H Street NW., Suite
300, Washington, DC 20268-0001. The Postal Service plans to have all
witnesses and their counsel present. Persons considering intervention
are encouraged to attend the technical conference to determine if real
issues of fact or policy exist.
Further Procedures; Filing Address
Rules 20 and 20a provide that interested persons may intervene in
proceedings to consider Postal Service requests by filing a notice of
intervention no later than the date fixed for such filing in any notice
or order with respect to the proceeding issued by the Commission or its
Secretary. Accordingly, anyone wishing to be heard in this matter is
directed to file a written notice of intervention with Margaret P.
Crenshaw, Secretary of the
[[Page 66516]]
Commission, 1333 H Street NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20268-0001, on
or before December 8, 1999. Intended participants should indicate
whether they request formal intervention or limited participator
status. See 39 CFR 3001.20 and 3001.20a.
With regard to the Postal Service request to establish Mailing
Online service as an experimental mail classification, rule 67(c)
provides that the Commission will entertain representations by
participants that the proposal should not be considered as an
experiment, and should follow the normal mail classification change
procedures. Any participant intending to make such a representation
shall do so by pleading no later than December 8, 1999.
In addition, rule 67a(b) requires parties to proceedings in which
the Postal Service seeks a classification change it denominates as
experimental in character to file statements of the issues they
perceive in the case at the earliest possible time following the filing
of the Postal Service request, or following a determination that the
proposed change is experimental in character. In view of the Postal
Service motion for expeditious consideration of its proposal,
participants' statements of issues shall also be due no later than
December 16, 1999.
A prehearing conference will be held in this proceeding on Monday,
December 13, 1999, at 2 p.m. in the Commission's hearing room.
Participants should be prepared to discuss what formal procedures,
including hearings, may be necessary and appropriate in this docket. In
addressing the issue of appropriate procedures in this docket,
participants should also be prepared to address the potentially
different procedural requirements presented by the Postal Service's
proposal and its request for establishment of Mailing Online as an
experimental service. If the Commission determines that formal hearings
to resolve genuine issues of material fact are required, the presiding
officer will establish subsequent procedural dates.
Representation of the General Public
In conformance with 39 U.S.C. 3624(a), the Commission designates
Ted P. Gerarden, director of the Commission's Office of the Consumer
Advocate (OCA), to represent the interests of the general public in
this proceeding. Pursuant to this designation, Mr. Gerarden will direct
the activities of Commission personnel assigned to assist him and, when
requested, will supply their names for the record. Neither Mr. Gerarden
nor any of the assigned personnel will participate in or provide advice
on any Commission decision in this proceeding. The OCA shall be
separately served with three copies of all filings, in addition to and
contemporaneous with, service on the Commission of the 24 copies
required by rule 10(c). 39 CFR 3001.10(c).
Ordering Paragraphs
Paragraph no. 1 states that the Commission will sit en banc in this
proceeding. Paragraph no. 2 directs that notices of intervention shall
be filed no later than December 8, 1999. Paragraph no. 3 directs that
statements of issues presented by the Postal Service's request in this
docket to establish a Mailing Online experimental mail classification
in conformance with 39 CFR 3001.67a(b) shall be filed no later than
December 16, 1999. Paragraph no. 4 directs that statements by parties
asserting that the proposal should not be considered as an experiment
and should follow the normal mail classification change procedures in
conformance with 39 CFR 3001.67(c) shall be filed no later than
December 8, 1999. Paragraph no. 5 directs that answers to the Postal
Service's motion for expedition and for waiver of certain provisions of
rule 161 and certain provisions of rule 64(h) are to be submitted no
later than December 8, 1999. Paragraph no. 6 directs that answers to
the Postal Service's motion for designation of testimony and cross-
examination from a previous docket (MC98-1) as evidence in Commission
docket no. MC2000-2 are to be submitted no later than December 16,
1999. Paragraph no. 7 directs the Postal Service shall provide, within
10 days, responses to any written discovery requests submitted to it
before December 13, 1999. Paragraph no. 8 designates Ted P. Gerarden,
director of the Commission's OCA, to represent the general public.
Paragraph no. 9 schedules a prehearing conference in this docket on
December 13, 1999, at 2:00 p.m. in the Commission's hearing room.
Paragraph no. 10 directs the Secretary to cause this notice and order
to be published in the Federal Register.
Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3623.
Dated: November 19, 1999.
Margaret P. Crenshaw,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-30766 Filed 11-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7715-01-P