Administrative Practice and Procedure, Postal Service, 5230-5232 [E7-1787]
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5230
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 23 / Monday, February 5, 2007 / Proposed Rules
(International). However, other
personnel from the IRS and the Treasury
Department participated in their
development.
List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 1
Income taxes, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Proposed Amendments to the
Regulations
Accordingly, 26 CFR part 1 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 1—INCOME TAXES
Paragraph 1. The authority citation
for part 1 is amended by adding the
following new entries:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *
Section 1.367(a)–3T(e) also issued
under 367(a) and (b).* * *
Section 1.367(a)–8T also issued under
367(a) and (b).* * *
Par. 2. Section 1.367(a)–3 is amended
by revising paragraphs (e) and (f) to read
as follows:
§ 1.367(a)–3 Treatment of transfers of
stock or securities to foreign corporations.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) [The text of this proposed
amendment is the same as the text of
§ 1.367(a)–3T(e) published elsewhere in
this issue of the Federal Register].
(f) [The text of this proposed
amendment is the same as the text of
§ 1.367(a)–3T(f) published elsewhere in
this issue of the Federal Register].
*
*
*
*
*
Par. 3. Section 1.367(a)–8 is revised to
read as follows:
§ 1.367(a)–8 Gain recognition agreement
requirements.
[The text of proposed § 1.367(a)–8 is
the same as the text of § 1.367(a)–8T
published elsewhere in this issue of the
Federal Register.]
Kevin M. Brown,
Deputy Commissioner for Services and
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 07–496 Filed 2–1–07; 10:34 am]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
39 CFR 3001
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with PROPOSALS
[Docket No. RM2007–1; Order No. 2]
Administrative Practice and Procedure,
Postal Service
Postal Regulatory Commission.
Advance notice of proposed
rulemaking.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
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14:52 Feb 02, 2007
Jkt 211001
SUMMARY: Recent legislation alters the
postal ratemaking process, and tasks the
Postal Regulatory Commission to
develop regulations to implement this
process. This notice invites public
comment, in advance of formulating
substantive rule proposals, to guide this
process.
DATES: Initial comments due April 6,
2007; reply comments due May 7, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments
electronically via the Commission’s
Filing Online system at https://
www.prc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
202–789–6820 and
stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act,
Public Law 109–435 (PAEA), directs
that the Postal Regulatory Commission
(Commission) shall by regulation
establish a modern system for regulating
rates and classes for market dominant
postal products. The PAEA further
directs that the Commission shall
promulgate regulations to bound Postal
Service discretion in setting rates for
competitive postal products. Both of
these tasks are to be completed by June
19, 2008.
Interested persons are invited to
provide written comments and
suggestions as to how the Commission
can best fulfill these responsibilities to
achieve the purposes of the PAEA.
Comments are due within 60 days of the
date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register. All comments and
suggestions received will be available
for review on the Commission’s Web
site, https://www.prc.gov. Interested
persons are further invited to review
these submissions and provide followup comments and suggestions within 30
additional days, that is, within 90 days
of the publication of this notice in the
Federal Register.
Commenters are requested to
specifically explain how suggestions
will comport with the specific
applicable statutory directions as set out
below.
I. Modern Rate Regulation of Market
Dominant Products
The PAEA reforms the postal laws of
the United States. Among other things,
it alters the method by which the rates
and fees for postal products may be
changed. Separate rules are to apply for
market dominant, as opposed to
competitive, postal services. The
Commission is given 18 months to
develop and implement this system. In
fulfilling this responsibility, the
Commission is to effectuate the
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following specific policies set forth in
the PAEA.
A. Requirements
The system for regulating rates and
classes for market dominant products
shall:
1. Establish a schedule whereby rates,
when necessary and appropriate, would
change at regular intervals by
predictable amounts;
2. Include an annual limitation on the
percentage changes in rates, to be set by
the Commission, that will be equal to
the change in the Consumer Price Index
for All Urban Consumers unadjusted for
seasonal variation over the most recent
available 12-month period preceding the
date the Postal Service files notice of its
intention to increase rates;
3. Establish procedures whereby the
Postal Service may adjust rates not in
excess of the annual limitation;
4. Provide that not later than 45 days
before the implementation of any
adjustment in rates subject to this
limitation, including special rates
pursuant to factor (10), below:
(a) Require the Postal Service to
provide public notice of the adjustment;
(b) Provide an opportunity for review
by the Commission;
(c) Provide for the Commission to
notify the Postal Service of any
noncompliance of the adjustment with
this annual limitation;
(d) Require the Postal Service to
respond to the notice provided under
the previous clause and describe the
actions to be taken to comply with this
annual limitation; and
5. Establish procedures to allow rate
adjustments in excess of the annual
limitation on an expedited basis due to
either extraordinary or exceptional
circumstances, provided:
(a) There is not sufficient unused rate
authority as defined in 39 U.S.C.
3622(d)(2)(C); and
(b) The Commission determines, after
notice and opportunity for a public
hearing and comment, and within 90
days after any request by the Postal
Service, that such adjustment is
reasonable and equitable and necessary
to enable the Postal Service, under best
practices of honest, efficient, and
economical management, to maintain
and continue the development of postal
services of the kind and quality adapted
to the needs of the United States.
B. Objectives
The system for regulating rates and
classes for market dominant products
shall be designed to achieve the
following objectives, each of which
shall be applied in conjunction with the
others:
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05FEP1
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 23 / Monday, February 5, 2007 / Proposed Rules
1. To maximize incentives to reduce
costs and increase efficiency;
2. To create predictability and
stability in rates;
3. To maintain high quality service
standards established under 39 U.S.C.
3691;
4. To allow the Postal Service pricing
flexibility;
5. To assure adequate revenues,
including retained earnings, to maintain
financial stability;
6. To reduce the administrative
burden and increase the transparency of
the ratemaking process;
7. To enhance mail security and deter
terrorism;
8. To establish and maintain a just
and reasonable schedule for rates and
classifications, however the objective
under this paragraph shall not be
construed to prohibit the Postal Service
from making changes of unequal
magnitude within, between, or among
classes of mail; and
9. To allocate the total institutional
costs of the Postal Service appropriately
between market dominant and
competitive products.
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with PROPOSALS
C. Factors
In establishing the system for
regulating rates and classes for market
dominant products, the Commission
shall take into account:
1. The value of the mail service
actually provided each class or type of
mail service to both the sender and the
recipient, including but not limited to
the collection, mode of transportation,
and priority of delivery;
2. The requirement that each class of
mail or type of mail service bear the
direct and indirect postal costs
attributable to each class or type of mail
service through reliably identified
causal relationships plus that portion of
all other costs of the Postal Service
reasonably assignable to such class or
type;
3. The effect of rate increases upon
the general public, business mail users,
and enterprises in the private sector of
the economy engaged in the delivery of
mail matter other than letters;
4. The available alternative means of
sending and receiving letters and other
mail matter at reasonable costs;
5. The degree of preparation of mail
for delivery into the postal system
performed by the mailer and its effect
upon reducing costs to the Postal
Service;
6. Simplicity of structure for the
entire schedule and simple, identifiable
relationships between the rates or fees
charged the various classes of mail for
postal services;
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:52 Feb 02, 2007
Jkt 211001
7. The importance of pricing
flexibility to encourage increased mail
volume and operational efficiency;
8. The relative value to the people of
the kinds of mail matter entered into the
postal system and the desirability and
justification for special classifications
and services of mail;
9. The importance of providing
classifications with extremely high
degrees of reliability and speed of
delivery and of providing those that do
not require high degrees of reliability
and speed of delivery;
10. The desirability of special
classifications for both postal users and
the Postal Service in accordance with
the policies of Title 39, including
agreements between the Postal Service
and postal users, when available on
public and reasonable terms to similarly
situated mailers, that
(a) Either improve the net financial
position of the Postal Service through
reducing Postal Service costs or
increasing the overall contribution to
the institutional costs of the Postal
Service; or enhance the performance of
mail preparation, processing,
transportation, or other functions; and
(b) Do not cause unreasonable harm to
the marketplace;
11. The educational, cultural,
scientific, and informational value to
the recipient of mail matter;
12. The need for the Postal Service to
increase its efficiency and reduce its
costs, including infrastructure costs, to
help maintain high quality, affordable
postal services;
13. The value to the Postal Service
and postal users of promoting intelligent
mail and of secure, sender-identified
mail; and
14. The policies of this title as well as
such other factors as the Commission
determines appropriate.
D. Additional Consideration
The system for regulating rates and
classes for market dominant products
must enable the Commission to ensure
that workshare discounts, as defined in
39 U.S.C. 3622(e)(1), do not exceed the
cost that the Postal Service avoids as a
result of workshare activity unless:
1. The discount is
(a) Associated with a new postal
service, a change to an existing postal
service, or with a new workshare
initiative related to an existing postal
service; and
(b) Necessary to induce mailer
behavior that furthers the economically
efficient operation of the Postal Service
and the portion of the discount in
excess of the cost that the Postal Service
avoids as a result of the workshare
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5231
activity will be phased out over a
limited period of time; or
2. The amount of the discount above
costs avoided
(a) Is necessary to mitigate rate shock;
and
(b) Will be phased out over time; or
3. The discount is provided in
connection with subclasses of mail
consisting exclusively of mail matter of
educational, cultural, scientific, or
informational value; or
4. Reduction or elimination of the
discount would impede the efficient
operation of the Postal Service.
Application of these standards shall
not require that a workshare discount be
reduced or eliminated if the reduction
or elimination of the discount would:
1. Lead to a loss of volume in the
affected category or subclass of mail and
reduce the aggregate contribution to the
institutional costs of the Postal Service
from the category or subclass subject to
the discount below what it otherwise
would have been if the discount had not
been reduced or eliminated; or
2. Result in a further increase in the
rates paid by mailers not able to take
advantage of the discount.
II. Provisions Applicable to Rates for
Competitive Products
With regard to competitive products,
regulations are to be established that:
1. Prohibit the subsidization of
competitive products by market
dominant products;
2. Ensure that each competitive
product covers its costs attributable; and
3. Ensure that all competitive
products collectively cover what the
Commission determines to be an
appropriate share of the institutional
costs of the Postal Service.
Ordering Paragraphs
It is ordered:
1. Docket No. RM2007–1 is
established for the purpose of receiving
comments in advance of developing
regulations effectuating a modern
system of ratemaking.
2. Interested persons may submit
comments no later than 60 days from
the date of publication of this notice in
the Federal Register.
3. Reply comments also may be filed
no later than 90 days from the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register.
4. Shelley S. Dreifuss, director of the
Office of the Consumer Advocate, is
designated to represent the interests of
the general public in this docket.
5. The Secretary shall arrange for
publication of this Notice in the Federal
Register.
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5232
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 23 / Monday, February 5, 2007 / Proposed Rules
By the Commission.
Steven W. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7–1787 Filed 2–2–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R10–OAR–2006–1013; FRL–8275–8]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plan; Alaska
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with PROPOSALS
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: EPA invites public comment
on its proposal to approve numerous
revisions to the State of Alaska
Implementation Plan. The
Commissioner of the Alaska Department
of Environmental Conservation (ADEC)
submitted two requests to EPA dated
May 6, 2005 and June 30, 2006 to revise
certain sections of ADEC’s air quality
regulations. The revisions were
submitted in accordance with the
requirements of section 110 of the Clean
Air Act (hereinafter the Act or CAA).
Although EPA proposes to approve most
of the submitted revisions, EPA
proposes not to approve in this
rulemaking a number of submitted rule
provisions which are inappropriate for
EPA approval.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before March 7, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID Number EPA–
R10–OAR–2006–1013, by one of the
following methods:
A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
B. E-Mail:
cunningham.roylene@epa.gov.
C. Mail: Roylene A. Cunningham,
EPA, Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics
(AWT–107), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle,
Washington 98101.
D. Hand Delivery: EPA, Region 10
Mailroom, 9th Floor, 1200 Sixth
Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101.
Attention: Roylene A. Cunningham,
Office of Air Waste, and Toxics (AWT–
107). Such deliveries are only accepted
during normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made
for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–R10–OAR–2006–
1013. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change and may be
VerDate Aug<31>2005
14:52 Feb 02, 2007
Jkt 211001
made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through www.regulations.gov
or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web
site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system,
which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless
you provide it in the body of your
comment. If you send an e-mail
comment directly to EPA without going
through www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically
captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public
docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact
information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD–ROM
you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification,
EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form
of encryption, and be free of any defects
or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the
electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although
listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material is
not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy
form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either
electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business
hours at the Office of Air, Waste and
Toxics, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth
Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101.
Copies of the State submittal are also
available at the State of Alaska,
Department of Environmental
Conservation, 410 Willoughby Avenue,
Ste 303, Juneau, Alaska 99811–1800.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Roylene A. Cunningham, (206) 553–
0513, or by e-mail at
cunningham.roylene@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, whenever
‘‘we’’, ‘‘us’’, or ‘‘our’’ is used, we mean
the EPA. Information is organized as
follows:
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Table of Contents
I. Background of Submittal
II. Summary of Action
A. Provisions Approved by EPA and
Incorporated by Reference
1. Documents, Procedures, and Methods
Adopted by Reference
2. Opacity Standards
3. Nonroad Engines
4. Ambient Analysis Methods
5. Owner-Requested Limits
6. Preapproved Emission Limits
7. Prevention of Significant Deterioration
(PSD) Permits
8. Nonattainment Area Major Stationary
Source Permits
9. Source-Specific Minor Permits
10. General Minor Permits
11. Conclusion
B. Provisions Approved by EPA into the
SIP, But Not Incorporated by Reference
C. Provisions Not Approved by EPA
1. Provisions Not Related to Section 110 of
the CAA
2. Provisions Related to Clean Units and
the Pollution Control Projects Exclusion
3. Ambient Air Quality Analysis Methods
(18 AAC 50.215(a)(3))
4. Enforceable Test Methods (18 AAC
50.220(c)(2))
5. Excess Emissions (18 AAC 50.240)
6. Source Test Deadline (18 AAC 50.345(l))
7. Standard Operating Permit Condition II
(18 AAC 50.346(a))
8. Electronic Applications (18 AAC
50.542(b)(2))
9. Revisions to Minor Permits (18 AAC
50.546(b))
III. Requested Sections to be Removed from
the SIP
IV. Geographic Scope of SIP Approval
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background of Submittal
On May 6, 2005, the Commissioner of
ADEC submitted a request to EPA to
revise the Alaska SIP to include a
completely revised version of the State
of Alaska’s Air Quality Regulation in 18
AAC 50. These changes became
effective as a matter of State law on
January 29, 2005.
On June 30, 2006 the Commissioner of
ADEC submitted a request to EPA to
revise the Alaska SIP to include
additional revisions to 18 AAC 50. The
revised portions reflected in this
submittal include adoption by reference
of updated EPA rules and changes to the
portable oil and gas drill rig regulations.
These changes became effective as a
matter of State law on December 3,
2005. Included in the submittal was a
request that EPA exclude from
consideration for SIP approval the
portions of 18 AAC 50 affected by the
June 24, 2005, United States Court of
Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
decision which vacated portions of
EPA’s new source review rules
pertaining to clean units and pollution
control projects.
E:\FR\FM\05FEP1.SGM
05FEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 23 (Monday, February 5, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5230-5232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1787]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
39 CFR 3001
[Docket No. RM2007-1; Order No. 2]
Administrative Practice and Procedure, Postal Service
AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Recent legislation alters the postal ratemaking process, and
tasks the Postal Regulatory Commission to develop regulations to
implement this process. This notice invites public comment, in advance
of formulating substantive rule proposals, to guide this process.
DATES: Initial comments due April 6, 2007; reply comments due May 7,
2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing
Online system at https://www.prc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
202-789-6820 and stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Postal Accountability and Enhancement
Act, Public Law 109-435 (PAEA), directs that the Postal Regulatory
Commission (Commission) shall by regulation establish a modern system
for regulating rates and classes for market dominant postal products.
The PAEA further directs that the Commission shall promulgate
regulations to bound Postal Service discretion in setting rates for
competitive postal products. Both of these tasks are to be completed by
June 19, 2008.
Interested persons are invited to provide written comments and
suggestions as to how the Commission can best fulfill these
responsibilities to achieve the purposes of the PAEA. Comments are due
within 60 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. All comments and suggestions received will be available for
review on the Commission's Web site, https://www.prc.gov. Interested
persons are further invited to review these submissions and provide
follow-up comments and suggestions within 30 additional days, that is,
within 90 days of the publication of this notice in the Federal
Register.
Commenters are requested to specifically explain how suggestions
will comport with the specific applicable statutory directions as set
out below.
I. Modern Rate Regulation of Market Dominant Products
The PAEA reforms the postal laws of the United States. Among other
things, it alters the method by which the rates and fees for postal
products may be changed. Separate rules are to apply for market
dominant, as opposed to competitive, postal services. The Commission is
given 18 months to develop and implement this system. In fulfilling
this responsibility, the Commission is to effectuate the following
specific policies set forth in the PAEA.
A. Requirements
The system for regulating rates and classes for market dominant
products shall:
1. Establish a schedule whereby rates, when necessary and
appropriate, would change at regular intervals by predictable amounts;
2. Include an annual limitation on the percentage changes in rates,
to be set by the Commission, that will be equal to the change in the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers unadjusted for seasonal
variation over the most recent available 12-month period preceding the
date the Postal Service files notice of its intention to increase
rates;
3. Establish procedures whereby the Postal Service may adjust rates
not in excess of the annual limitation;
4. Provide that not later than 45 days before the implementation of
any adjustment in rates subject to this limitation, including special
rates pursuant to factor (10), below:
(a) Require the Postal Service to provide public notice of the
adjustment;
(b) Provide an opportunity for review by the Commission;
(c) Provide for the Commission to notify the Postal Service of any
noncompliance of the adjustment with this annual limitation;
(d) Require the Postal Service to respond to the notice provided
under the previous clause and describe the actions to be taken to
comply with this annual limitation; and
5. Establish procedures to allow rate adjustments in excess of the
annual limitation on an expedited basis due to either extraordinary or
exceptional circumstances, provided:
(a) There is not sufficient unused rate authority as defined in 39
U.S.C. 3622(d)(2)(C); and
(b) The Commission determines, after notice and opportunity for a
public hearing and comment, and within 90 days after any request by the
Postal Service, that such adjustment is reasonable and equitable and
necessary to enable the Postal Service, under best practices of honest,
efficient, and economical management, to maintain and continue the
development of postal services of the kind and quality adapted to the
needs of the United States.
B. Objectives
The system for regulating rates and classes for market dominant
products shall be designed to achieve the following objectives, each of
which shall be applied in conjunction with the others:
[[Page 5231]]
1. To maximize incentives to reduce costs and increase efficiency;
2. To create predictability and stability in rates;
3. To maintain high quality service standards established under 39
U.S.C. 3691;
4. To allow the Postal Service pricing flexibility;
5. To assure adequate revenues, including retained earnings, to
maintain financial stability;
6. To reduce the administrative burden and increase the
transparency of the ratemaking process;
7. To enhance mail security and deter terrorism;
8. To establish and maintain a just and reasonable schedule for
rates and classifications, however the objective under this paragraph
shall not be construed to prohibit the Postal Service from making
changes of unequal magnitude within, between, or among classes of mail;
and
9. To allocate the total institutional costs of the Postal Service
appropriately between market dominant and competitive products.
C. Factors
In establishing the system for regulating rates and classes for
market dominant products, the Commission shall take into account:
1. The value of the mail service actually provided each class or
type of mail service to both the sender and the recipient, including
but not limited to the collection, mode of transportation, and priority
of delivery;
2. The requirement that each class of mail or type of mail service
bear the direct and indirect postal costs attributable to each class or
type of mail service through reliably identified causal relationships
plus that portion of all other costs of the Postal Service reasonably
assignable to such class or type;
3. The effect of rate increases upon the general public, business
mail users, and enterprises in the private sector of the economy
engaged in the delivery of mail matter other than letters;
4. The available alternative means of sending and receiving letters
and other mail matter at reasonable costs;
5. The degree of preparation of mail for delivery into the postal
system performed by the mailer and its effect upon reducing costs to
the Postal Service;
6. Simplicity of structure for the entire schedule and simple,
identifiable relationships between the rates or fees charged the
various classes of mail for postal services;
7. The importance of pricing flexibility to encourage increased
mail volume and operational efficiency;
8. The relative value to the people of the kinds of mail matter
entered into the postal system and the desirability and justification
for special classifications and services of mail;
9. The importance of providing classifications with extremely high
degrees of reliability and speed of delivery and of providing those
that do not require high degrees of reliability and speed of delivery;
10. The desirability of special classifications for both postal
users and the Postal Service in accordance with the policies of Title
39, including agreements between the Postal Service and postal users,
when available on public and reasonable terms to similarly situated
mailers, that
(a) Either improve the net financial position of the Postal Service
through reducing Postal Service costs or increasing the overall
contribution to the institutional costs of the Postal Service; or
enhance the performance of mail preparation, processing,
transportation, or other functions; and
(b) Do not cause unreasonable harm to the marketplace;
11. The educational, cultural, scientific, and informational value
to the recipient of mail matter;
12. The need for the Postal Service to increase its efficiency and
reduce its costs, including infrastructure costs, to help maintain high
quality, affordable postal services;
13. The value to the Postal Service and postal users of promoting
intelligent mail and of secure, sender-identified mail; and
14. The policies of this title as well as such other factors as the
Commission determines appropriate.
D. Additional Consideration
The system for regulating rates and classes for market dominant
products must enable the Commission to ensure that workshare discounts,
as defined in 39 U.S.C. 3622(e)(1), do not exceed the cost that the
Postal Service avoids as a result of workshare activity unless:
1. The discount is
(a) Associated with a new postal service, a change to an existing
postal service, or with a new workshare initiative related to an
existing postal service; and
(b) Necessary to induce mailer behavior that furthers the
economically efficient operation of the Postal Service and the portion
of the discount in excess of the cost that the Postal Service avoids as
a result of the workshare activity will be phased out over a limited
period of time; or
2. The amount of the discount above costs avoided
(a) Is necessary to mitigate rate shock; and
(b) Will be phased out over time; or
3. The discount is provided in connection with subclasses of mail
consisting exclusively of mail matter of educational, cultural,
scientific, or informational value; or
4. Reduction or elimination of the discount would impede the
efficient operation of the Postal Service.
Application of these standards shall not require that a workshare
discount be reduced or eliminated if the reduction or elimination of
the discount would:
1. Lead to a loss of volume in the affected category or subclass of
mail and reduce the aggregate contribution to the institutional costs
of the Postal Service from the category or subclass subject to the
discount below what it otherwise would have been if the discount had
not been reduced or eliminated; or
2. Result in a further increase in the rates paid by mailers not
able to take advantage of the discount.
II. Provisions Applicable to Rates for Competitive Products
With regard to competitive products, regulations are to be
established that:
1. Prohibit the subsidization of competitive products by market
dominant products;
2. Ensure that each competitive product covers its costs
attributable; and
3. Ensure that all competitive products collectively cover what the
Commission determines to be an appropriate share of the institutional
costs of the Postal Service.
Ordering Paragraphs
It is ordered:
1. Docket No. RM2007-1 is established for the purpose of receiving
comments in advance of developing regulations effectuating a modern
system of ratemaking.
2. Interested persons may submit comments no later than 60 days
from the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
3. Reply comments also may be filed no later than 90 days from the
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
4. Shelley S. Dreifuss, director of the Office of the Consumer
Advocate, is designated to represent the interests of the general
public in this docket.
5. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this Notice in
the Federal Register.
[[Page 5232]]
By the Commission.
Steven W. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-1787 Filed 2-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P
