[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 39, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 39CFR9.2]

[Page 19-20]
 
                        TITLE 39--POSTAL SERVICE
 
                 CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
 
PART 9_POLICY ON COMMUNICATIONS WITH GOVERNORS OF THE POSTAL 
 
Sec.  9.2  Communications with the Governors during the restricted period.

    Once the Commission issues a recommended decision, and until the 
Governors have acted on that recommended decision by approving, 
rejecting, allowing under protest or modifying it, the following 
guidelines apply to communications with the Governors that are relevant 
to the merits of the proceeding.
    (a) Oral communications. During the restricted period, it is the 
policy of the Governors not to receive oral communications relevant to 
the merits of the proceeding from any interested person. In the event 
such a conversation does inadvertently take place, the Governor involved 
shall prepare a memorandum of the conversation and submit it to

[[Page 20]]

the Secretary of the Board for inclusion in the public record, where it 
shall be available for public inspection.
    (b) Written communications. (1) During the restricted period any 
communication relevant to the merits of the proceeding that an 
interested person may wish to submit to the Governors must be in writing 
and should not exceed fifteen pages in length. Such comments should be 
based on the record and addressed to the Governors through the Secretary 
of the Board. If the commenter has been a party to the Commission 
proceeding, copies should be sent to all other parties to that 
proceeding. The Secretary shall make all such communications available 
for public inspection.
    (2) Because the Governors are often required to act promptly on a 
recommended decision from the Commission, interested persons seeking to 
communicate with the Governors should submit their comments no later 
than ten (10) days after the Commission has issued its recommended 
decision. This period may be extended at the discretion of the 
Governors.
    (c) Scope of the guidelines. These guidelines apply to 
communications from interested persons to the Governors, their staff, 
personal assistants (if any), the Secretary of the Board and any 
official of the Office of the Board. Since the Act assigns final 
decisionmaking authority on Commission recommended decisions to the 
Governors and not the Board, these guidelines do not apply to the 
Postmaster General or the Deputy Postmaster General, nor do they apply 
to other officers or officials of the Postal Service. Moreover, in order 
to carry out their statutory responsibility to direct ``the exercise of 
the power of the Postal Service,'' 39 U.S.C. 202(a), the Governors must 
be free to discuss all matters of postal policy with officers and 
employees of the Postal Service. Accordingly, no restrictions apply to 
communications between the Governors and Postal Service employees.