ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fourth Legislature

Second Regular Session

 

HCM2005: postal service; urging independence; prefunding

Sponsor:  Representative Andrade, LD 29

Committee on Federal Relations

Overview

Urges the United States (U.S.) Congress: to ensure the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) continues as a Federal government agency; and to reevaluate the associated Retiree Health Benefits (RHB) Fund.

History

The USPS has over 500,000 employees, delivering services to every address in the country, including 42,000 zip codes from large cities to small towns. The USPS handles 47% of the world's mail volume and processed 6.8 million passport applications in 2019.

In a report to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that the USPS is required to pre-fund its RHB costs. USPS must make payments into the RHB Fund, which is administered by the Office of Personal Management. USPS has not made any payments to the RHB Fund since fiscal year (FY) 2010 and by the end of FY 2017, USPS missed $38.2 million payments to the RHB Fund, which left the RHB Fund 44% funded. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

According to the Arizona Legislative Manual, A memorial is a message sent to an officer or entity outside the Legislature and allows the Legislature to petition the recipient to acknowledge stated facts and act in a manner consistent with the request. It implies that the “memorialist” (the Legislature) lacks authority to act directly on the subject. Memorials may request or propose that Congress or the President of the United States, federal agencies and officers or other states do things the Arizona Legislature has no jurisdiction to do itself. Memorials are not signed by the Governor.  Arizona Legislative Manual

Provisions

1.    Urges Congress to ensure that the USPS continues independently under the jurisdiction of the Federal government and that the agency not be privatized at all.

2.    ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteEncourages Congress:

a)    to modify the present USPS requirement to prefund the retiree health benefits; and

b)    to enact legislation that is actuarially based for funding the RHB Fund.

3.    Instructs the Arizona Secretary of State to transmit copies of this HCM to officials as follows:

a)    the President of the U.S. Senate;

b)    the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and

c)    each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.

d)     

e)     

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g)    Initials DC/GKS                      Federal Relations

h)     

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