BILL NUMBER: SJR 15INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Hancock (Coauthors: Senators Beall, Block, Calderon, DeSaulnier, Galgiani, Hernandez, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Pavley, Wolk, and Wright) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Gonzalez, Hall, and Wieckowski) AUGUST 12, 2013 Relative to the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 15, as introduced, Hancock. Postal Service Protection Act of 2013. This measure would urge the United States Congress to pass the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 in order to ensure the modernization and preservation of the United States Postal Service. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 would sustain the United States Postal Service and avert unnecessary closures that hurt communities; and WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service's financial issues are due to unnecessary requirements and regulations imposed on it. The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 would remove burdensome regulations, so the United States Postal Service can manage its budget more effectively and be more competitive with other delivery service providers; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 would prohibit cuts to Saturday delivery, thus reducing the need for customers to seek other delivery options; and WHEREAS, Cuts to Saturday delivery would disproportionately impact rural communities, small businesses, and senior citizens; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 would allow the United States Postal Service to look for innovative new ways to generate revenue by allowing them to provide additional services, including notarizing documents, issuing hunting and fishing licenses, and allowing shipments of wine and beer; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 would establish a commission of successful business innovators and representatives to explore other ways the United States Postal Service could generate new revenue and thrive in the 21st century; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 would reinstate overnight delivery standards to speed mail delivery and prevent shutdowns of mail sorting centers; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 would provide additional oversight and transparency to the United States Postal Service's plan to close, relocate, or sell 3,270 post offices, including historic buildings in the Cities of Berkeley, Burlingame, Fullerton, Glendale, Huntington Beach, La Jolla, Palo Alto, Redlands, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, South Gate, Ukiah, and Venice; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 would protect rural and historic post offices by putting in place a fair and open process before the United States Postal Service could sell or consolidate invaluable property assets; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the United States Congress to pass the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, Senate Bill 316, sponsored by Senator Bernard Sanders, and House Bill 630, sponsored by Representative Peter DeFazio, that would ensure the modernization and preservation of the United States Postal Service; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, to the United States Postmaster General, and to the author for appropriate distribution.