NOTE: COMMENTS REGARDING ANY FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE MUST BE SENT TO THE ADDRESS INDICATED IN THE DOCUMENT. ANY COMMENTS ON THE RAPID INFORMATION BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM (RIBBS) ABOUT ANY FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES WILL NOT BE USED OR CONSIDERED IN THE COURSE OF ANY RULE MAKING. ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Special Bulk Third-Class Rates--State or Local Voting Registration Officials AGENCY: Postal Service. ACTION: Proposed rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: On May 13, 1993, the President signed into law Public Law 103- 31, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, amending Title 39, United States Code, by adding section 3629. The amendment authorizes voting registration officials to mail certain third-class matter at the special bulk third-class rates, effective January 1, 1995. This notice contains regulations that the Postal Service proposes for implementing this legislation. DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 3, 1994. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or delivered to Manager, Mailing Standards, USPS Headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-2419. Copies of all written comments will be available for inspection and photocopying between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, in Room 6800 at the above address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ernest Collins, (202) 268-5316. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 states that the Postal Service shall make available to a state or local voting registration official the rate for any class of mail that is available to a qualified nonprofit organization under 39 U.S.C. 3626 for the purpose of making a mailing that the official certifies is required by the Act. The law applies only to state or local voting registration officials in those states and the District of Columbia that require a voter to register to vote before the date of voting in a general election for public office. In accordance with this legislation, the Postal Service proposes an amendment to Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) section E370.3.0 to describe the mailers eligible for an authorization to mail at the special rates, and to DMM E370.5.0 to describe the matter that may be mailed by those entitled to mail at the special rates under the new provision. As information, the procedures for mailers seeking authorization under the new provisions, and mailing under these authorizations, will be similar to those for nonprofit organizations mailing at the special rates. Each state and local voting registration official must submit Form 3624, Application to Mail at Special Bulk Third-Class Rates, at each post office where materials will be mailed at the special bulk third-class rates. Voting registration officials will not be allowed to mail at the special rates before receiving an authorization from the Postal Service. After submitting an application, the voting registration official may mail qualifying material under a pending arrangement through arrangements with the postmaster. If the application is approved, the Postal Service will refund to the voting registration official the difference in postage paid between the regular rates and the special bulk third-class rates for mailings made after the effective date of the authorization. The authorization should be requested, and will be issued, by the title of the official head of the government agency responsible for the registration of voters. As with all mailers authorized to mail at the special rates, only third- class matter, deposited in prescribed minimum quantities and prepared in accordance with postal regulations, is eligible for these rates. In addition to these general requirements, the material must also be required or authorized by the Act. Finally, mailers must complete and depoit with each permit imprint mailing the appropriate mailing statement: Form 3602-N, Statement of Mailing With Permit Imprint Third- Class Mail (Nonprofit Rates Only); or Form 3602-PVN, Plant-Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS) Consolidated Mailing Statement Register Third- Class (Special Rates Only: Permit Imprint). The certification sections on the statements will be modified by inserting a new item number 6 as follows and renumbering current item 6 as item 7: ``The signature of a mailer certifies that: * * * (6) the mailing, if made by a voting registration official, is required or authorized by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; * * *.'' Although exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c)) regarding proposed rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), the Postal Service invites comments on the following proposed revisions of the DMM, incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR part 111. List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111 Postal Service. PART 111--[AMENDED] 1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 3001- 3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3626, 5001. 2. In the Domestic Mail Manual, section E370 is amended by revising E370.3.0 and E370.5.0. The proposed text is as follows: E-Eligibility * * * * * E370 Special (Nonprofit) Bulk Rates * * * * * [Change title of 3.0 as follows:] 3.0 Qualified Political Committees and State or Local Voting Registration Official * * * * * 3.2 Definitions For the standards in 3.1: * * * * * [Add 3.3 as follows:] 3.3 State or Local Voting Registration Official Voting registration officials in a state or the District of Columbia are authorized to mail certain third-class materials at the special bulk third-class rates under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (see 5.10). stdn* * * * * 5.0 Eligible Matter * * * * * [Renumber current 5.10 as 5.11 and add new 5.10 as follows:] 5.10 Voting Registration Official The voting registration official may mail, at the special rates, only qualifying third-class matter that is required or authorized to be mailed at those rates by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. * * * * * An appropriate amendment to 39 CFR 111.3 to reflect these changes will be published if the proposal is adopted. Stanley F. Mires, Chief Counsel, Legislative. [FR Doc. 94-21753 Filed 9-1-94; 8:45 am]