AUTHORITY: 39 U.S.C. 202, 203, 205(c), 207, 401(2), as enacted by Pub. L. 91-375, and 5 U.S.C. 552b(f), (g), as enacted by Pub. L. 94409, unless otherwise noted.

SOURCE: 42 FR 12859, Mar. 7, 1977, unless otherwise noted.

§ 2.1 Establishment of the U.S. Postal

Service.

The U.S. Postal Service is established under the provisions of the Postal Reorganization Act, as an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States, under the direction of a Board of Governors, with the Postmaster General as its chief executive officer.

§ 2.2 Agent for receipt of process.

The General Counsel of the Postal Service shall act as agent for the receipt of legal process against the Postal Service, and as agent for the receipt of legal process against members of the Board of Governors and all other officers and employees of the Postal Service to the extent that the process arises out of the official functions of those officers and employees. The General Counsel shall also issue public certifications concerning closed meetings of the Board as appropriate under 5 U.S.C. 552b(f).

(39 U.S.C. 401(2), 402)

[46 FR 34329, July 1, 1981, as amended at 46 FR 40876, Aug. 13, 1981]

§ 2.3 Offices.

The principal office of the Postal Service is located in Washington, D.C., with such regional and other offices and places of business as the Postmaster General establishes from time to time, or the business of the Postal Service requires.

§ 2.4 Seal.

(a) The Seal of the Postal Service is filed by the Board in the Office of the Secretary of State, and is required by 39 U.S.C. 207 to be judicially noticed. The Seal shall be in the custody of the General Counsel, who shall affix it to all commissions of officers of the Postal Service, and use it to authenticate records of the Postal Service and for other official purposes. The follow

ing describes the Seal adopted for the Postal Service:

(1) A stylized bald eagle is poised for flight, facing to the viewer's right, above two horizontal bars between which are the words "U.S. MAIL", surrounded by a square border with rounded corners consisting of the words "UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE" on the left, top, and right, and consisting of nine five-pointed stars on the base.

(2) The color representation of the Seal shows, a white field on which the bald eagle appears in dark blue, the words "U.S. MAIL" in black, the bar above the words in red, the bar below in blue, and the entire border consisting of the words "UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE" and stars in ochre.

TATES POSTAL

* UNITED

U.S.MAIL

SERVICE

(b) The Postal Service emblem, which is identical with the seal, is registered as a trademark and service mark by the U.S. Patent Office. Except for the emblem on official stationery, the emblem must bear one of the following notations: "Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.", "Registered in U.S. Patent Office", or the letter R enclosed within a circle.

(39 U.S.C. 202, 205, 401 (2), (10), 1003, 3013) [42 FR 12859, Mar. 7, 1977, as amended at 49 FR 7229, Feb. 28, 1984]

§ 2.5 Authority.

These bylaws are adopted by the Board under the authority conferred

upon the Postal Service by 39 U.S.C. 401(2) and 5 U.S.C. 552b(g).

§ 2.6 Severability, amendment, repeal, and waiver of bylaws.

These invalidity of any provision of these bylaws does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions, and for this purpose these bylaws are severable. The Board may amend or repeal these bylaws at any special or regular meeting, provided that each member of the Board has received a written notice containing a statement of the proposed amendment or repeal at least 5 days before the meeting. The members of the Board may waive the 5 days' notice or the operation of any other provision of these bylaws by unanimous consent, if that action is not prohibited by law. The Secretary shall submit the text of any amendment to these bylaws for publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER as soon as practicable after the amendment is adopted by the Board.

PART 3-BOARD OF GOVERNORS [ARTICLE III]

Sec.

3.1 Composition of Board.

3.2 Reponsibilities of Board.

3.3 Compensation of Board.

3.4 Matters reserved for decision by the Board.

3.5 Delegation of authority by Board.

3.6 Information furnished to Board-statistical reports.

3.7 Information furnished to Board-program review.

3.8 Information furnished to Board-special reports.

3.9 Office of the Board of Governors.

AUTHORITY: 39 U.S.C. 202, 203, 205, 401(2), 402, as enacted by Pub. L. 91-375, and 5 U.S.C. 552b(g), (j), as enacted by Pub. L. 94409, unless otherwise noted.

SOURCE: 42 FR 12860, Mar. 7, 1977, unless otherwise noted.

§3.1 Composition of Board.

The Board of Governors consists of 11 members. Nine members (the Governors) are appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Not more than five Governors may be adherents of the same political party. The Governors are chosen to represent the public in

terest generally, may not be representatives of specific interests using the Postal Service, and may be removed only for cause. The Postmaster General, appointed by the nine Governors, and the Deputy Postmaster General, appointed by the Governors and the Postmaster General, are also voting members of the Board of Governors.

§ 3.2 Responsibilities of Board.

The Board directs the exercise of the powers of the Postal Service, reviews the practices and policies of the Postal Service, and directs and controls the expenditures of the Postal Service. Consistent with the broad delegation of authority to the Postmaster General in § 3.5 of these bylaws, and except for those powers, duties, or obligations which the Reorganization Act specifically vests in the Governors, as distinguished from the Board of Governors, the Board accomplishes its purposes by monitoring the operations and performance of the Postal Service, and by establishing basic objectives, broad policies, and long-range goals for the Postal Service.

§ 3.3 Compensation of Board.

As provided by 39 U.S.C. 202(a), each Governor receives a salary of $10,000 a year plus $300 a day for not more than 30 days of meetings each year, and reimbursement for travel and reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board.

§ 3.4 Matters reserved for decision by the Board.

The following matters are reserved for decision by the Board of Governors:

(a) Appointment, pay, term of service, and removal of the Postmaster General (by the Governors, 39 U.S.C. 202(c)).

(b) Appointment, term of service, and removal of the Deputy Postmaster General (by the Governors and the Postmaster General, 39 U.S.C. 202(d)); pay of the Deputy Postmaster General (by the Governors, 39 U.S.C. 202(d)).

(c) Election of the Chairman of the Board of Governors (by the Governors, 39 U.S.C. 202 (a)), the Vice Chairman of the Board, and the ap

pointment of the Secretary of the Board.

(d) Adoption of, and amendments to, the bylaws of the Board.

(e) Approval of the annual Postal Service budget program in both tentative and final form, including requests for appropriations.

(f) Approval of the annual financial statements of the Postal Service following receipt of the annual report of the Postal Service's independent, certified public accounting firm.

(g) Approval of Postal Service fiveyear plans and capital investment plans, including specific approval of each capital investment project and each lease/rental agreement exceeding $5 million. For the purpose of determining the cost of a capital investment project or lease/rental agreement,

(1) All such projects and agreements undertaken as part of a unitary plan (either for one location or for contemporaneous or sequential development in several locations) shall be considered one project or agreement, and

(2) The cost of a lease/rental agreement shall be the dollar amount which would, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, be included as a liability on the face of a balance sheet as of the date such liability is first incurred in respect of obligations under the lease/rental agreement, plus the cost of any leasehold improvements planned in connection with the lease/rental agreement.

(h) Approval of the budget of the Postal Rate Commission, or adjustment of the total amount of the budget (by unanimous written vote of the Governors in office, 39 U.S.C. 3604(d)).

(i) Authorization of the Postal Service to request the Postal Rate Commission to submit a recommended decision on changes in postal rates, including specific authorization of the amount of revenue estimated to be required so that total estimated income and appropriations will equal total estimated costs as nearly as practicable.

(j) Authorization of the Postal Service to request the Postal Rate Commission to submit a recommended decision on changes in the mail classification schedule.

(k) Action upon a recommended decision of the Postal Rate Commission, including action to approve, allow under protest, reject, or modify that decision (by the Governors, 39 U.S.C. 3625); determination of an effective date for changes in postal rates or mail classification.

(1) Authorization of the Postal Service to request the Postal Rate Commission to submit an advisory opinion on a proposed change in the nature of postal services which will generally affect service on a nationwide or substantially nationwide basis.

(m) Approval of any use of the authority of the Postal Service to borrow money under 39 U.S.C. 2005, except for short-term "line of credit" borrowings and purchase money obligations assumed in the normal course of business.

(n) Approval of the terms and conditions of each issue of obligations by the Postal Service under 39 U.S.C. 2005, including the time and manner of sale and the underwriting arrangements.

(0) Approval of any use of the authority of the Postal Service to require the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase Postal Service obligations under 39 U.S.C. 2006(b), or to request the Secretary of the Treasury to pledge the full faith and credit of the Government of the United States for the payment of principal and interest on Postal Service obligations under 39 U.S.C. 2006(c).

(p) Determination of the number of Assistant Postmasters General, including Senior Assistant Postmasters General and Regional Postmasters General.

(q) Compensation of officers of the Postal Service whose positions are included in Level II of the Postal Career Executive Service, including the Senior Assistant Postmasters General, Assistant Postmasters General, Regional Postmasters General, General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, Chief Inspector, Controller, Treasurer, Consumer Advocate, Executive Assistant to the Postmaster General, and Judicial Officer.

(r) Selection of an independent, certified public accounting firm to certify the accuracy of Postal Service finan

cial statements as required by 39 U.S.C. 2008(e).

(s) Approval of official statements adopting major policy positions or departing from established major policy positions, and of official positions on legislative proposals having a major impact on the Postal Service.

(t) Approval of all positions taken with the Department of Justice on petitioning the Supreme Court of the United States for writs of certiorari.

(u) Approval and transmittal to the President and the Congress of the annual report of the Postmaster General under 39 U.S.C. 2402.

(v) Approval and transmittal to the Congress of the annual report of the Board under 5 U.S.C. 552b(j).

(w) Approval of the annual comprehensive statement of the Postal Service to Congress under 39 U.S.C. 2401(g).

(x) Approval and transmittal to the Congress of the semi-annual report of the Postmaster General under 39 U.S.C. 3013, summarizing the investigative activities of the Postal Service.

(y) All other matters that the Board may consider appropriate to reserve for its decision.

(39 U.S.C. 205, 401, 1003; 39 U.S.C. 202, 205, 401 (2), (10), 1003, 3013)

[42 FR 12860, Mar. 7, 1977, as amended at 44 FR 30686, May 29, 1979; 47 FR 56495, Dec. 17, 1982; 49 FR 7229, Feb. 28, 1984]

§ 3.5 Delegation of authority by Board.

As authorized by 39 U.S.C. 402, these bylaws delegate to the Postmaster General the authority to exercise the powers of the Postal Service to the extent that this delegation of authority does not conflict with powers reserved to the Governors or to the Board by law, these bylaws, or resolutions adopted by the Board. Any of the powers delegated to the Postmaster General by these bylaws may be redelegated by the Postmaster General to any officer, employee, or agency of the Postal Service.

(39 U.S.C. 202, 205, 401 (2), (10), 1003, 3013) [49 FR 7229, Feb. 28, 1984]

§ 3.6 Information furnished to Boardstatistical reports.

To enable the Board to monitor the operations and performance of the Postal Service during the most recent accounting periods for which data are available, postal management shall furnish the Board the following statistical reports at least quarterly:

(a) Detailed summaries of financial and operating statements of the Postal Service, with balance sheet information, for each accounting period during the fiscal year to date, together with comparable figures for the previous year and for the current budget plan, categorized as:

(1) Income (revenue by principal mail classification, subsidies, and reimbursements); and

(2) Expenditures (expenses by function and by unit of organization).

(b) Performance data for the most recent quarter, categorized as:

(1) Service performance measurement (by particular classes and types of mail, and showing delivery times within representative distances); and

(2) Employee productivity measurement (reflecting paid work hours and mail volume).

§ 3.7 Information furnished to Boardprogram review.

(a) To enable the Board to review the Postal Service operating program, postal management shall furnish the Board information on all aspects of the Postal Service budget plan, including:

(1) The tentative and final annual budgets submitted to the Office of Management and Budget and the Congress, and amendments to the budget;

(2) Five-year plans, annual operating and investment plans, and significant departures from estimates upon which the plans were based;

(3) The need for rate increases or decreases and the progress of any pending rate cases and related litigation; and

(4) Debt financing needs, including a review of all borrowings of the Postal Service from the U.S. Treasury and private sources.

(b) To enable the Board to review the effectiveness of the Postal Serv

States Court of Appeals of an adverse judicial decision.

(c) Any significant changes proposed in the Postal Service's system of accounts or methods of accounting.

(d) Matters of special importance, including but not limited to important research and development initiatives, major changes in Postal Service organization or structure, major law enforcement activities, and other matters having a significant impact upon the relationship of the Postal Service with its employees, with any major branch of Government, or with the general public.

(e) Other matters having important policy implications.

[47 FR 56496, Dec. 17, 1982]

§ 3.9 Office of the Board of Governors.

There shall be located in Washington, D.C. an Office of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service. It shall be the function of this Office to provide staff support for the Board, as directed by the Chairman of the Board, to enable the Board to carry out effectively its duties under the Reorganization Act. To further assist the Board in discharging its responsibilities, the Office of the Board, upon the request of any Governor, shall provide for staff support at that Governor's place of work. Such on-site support shall be limited to those services directly relating to a Governor's duties under the Reorganization Act that cannot reasonably be performed at postal headquarters and shall be provided in the most efficient manner possible.

[47 FR 56496, Dec. 17, 1982]