BILL NUMBER: SJR 15CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 122 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2013 ADOPTED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 10, 2013 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 INTRODUCED BY Senator Hancock (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Skinner) (Coauthors: Senators Beall, Block, Calderon, DeSaulnier, Galgiani, Hernandez, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Pavley, Wolk, and Wright) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Fong, Fox, Gonzalez, Hall, Medina, V. Manuel Prez, and Wieckowski) AUGUST 12, 2013 Relative to the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 15, Hancock. Postal Service Protection Act of 2013. This measure would urge the United States Congress to pass legislation that reflects the value and intent set forth in the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, as introduced, in order to ensure the modernization and preservation of the United States Postal Service. WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013 is intended to 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, as introduced, is intended to 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, as introduced, is intended to 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, as introduced, is intended to 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, California produces 90 percent of all wine in the United States and beer producers had a 34 billion dollar economic impact on the state in 2012, and the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, as introduced, and the United States Postal Service Shipping Equity Act, as introduced, are intended to support economic growth of an important California industry; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, as introduced, is intended to 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, as introduced, is intended to reinstate overnight delivery standards to speed mail delivery and prevent shutdowns of mail sorting centers; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, as introduced, is intended to 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, Historic post offices slated for closure, relocation, or sale are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, have historic preservation covenants, or have memoranda of understanding with local and state historic preservation organizations; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, as introduced, is intended to 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; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, as introduced, repeals the mandate, not required of any other public or private entity in the United States, to prefund future retiree health benefits; and WHEREAS, The Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, as introduced, represents a critical step on the behalf of over 40,000 California active and retired letter carriers, 24 percent of whom are veterans of the United States Armed Forces, the United States Postal Service being the single largest employer of veterans in the nation outside of the United States Department of Defense; 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 legislation that reflects the values and intentions outlined in this resolution and contained in the February 13, 2013, introduced version of the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, Senate Bill 316, sponsored by Senator Bernard Sanders, and House Bill 630, sponsored by Representative Peter DeFazio, and the April 24, 2013, version of House Resolution 1718, sponsored by Representative Jackie Speier, 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.