United States Postal Service Shipping Equity Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1663 To amend title 18, United States Code, and title 39, United States Code, to provide the United States Postal Service the authority to mail alcoholic beverages, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 17, 2021 Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, and title 39, United States Code, to provide the United States Postal Service the authority to mail alcoholic beverages, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Postal 4 Service Shipping Equity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SHIPPING OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. 6 (a) MAILABILITY.— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1663.IS S1663 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1663 IS (1) NONMAILABLE ARTICLES.—Section 1716(f) 1 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by strik- 2 ing ‘‘mails’’ and inserting ‘‘mails, except to the ex- 3 tent that the mailing is allowable under section 4 3001(p) of title 39’’. 5 (2) ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.—Section 1154(a) 6 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by in- 7 serting ‘‘or, with respect to the mailing of alcoholic 8 beverages to the extent allowed under section 9 3001(p) of title 39’’ after ‘‘mechanical purposes’’. 10 (b) REGULATIONS.—Section 3001 of title 39, United 11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(p) SHIPPING OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Alcoholic beverages shall be 15 considered mailable if mailed— 16 ‘‘(A) by a covered entity in accordance 17 with applicable regulations under paragraph 18 (2); and 19 ‘‘(B) in accordance with the delivery re- 20 quirements otherwise applicable to a privately 21 carried shipment of an alcoholic beverage in the 22 State, territory, or district of the United States 23 where the addressee or duly authorized agent 24 takes delivery. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1663.IS S1663 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1663 IS ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Postal Service shall 1 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to 2 carry out this subsection, including regulations pro- 3 viding that— 4 ‘‘(A) the mailing shall be by a means es- 5 tablished by the Postal Service to ensure direct 6 delivery to the addressee or a duly authorized 7 agent at a postal facility; 8 ‘‘(B) the addressee (and any duly author- 9 ized agent) shall be an individual at least 21 10 years of age, and shall present a valid, govern- 11 ment-issued photo identification at the time of 12 delivery; 13 ‘‘(C) the alcoholic beverage may not be for 14 resale or other commercial purpose; and 15 ‘‘(D) the covered entity involved shall— 16 ‘‘(i) certify in writing to the satisfac- 17 tion of the Postal Service, through a reg- 18 istration process administered by the Post- 19 al Service, that the mailing is not in viola- 20 tion of any provision of this subsection or 21 regulation prescribed under this sub- 22 section; and 23 ‘‘(ii) provide any other information or 24 affirmation that the Postal Service may re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1663.IS S1663 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1663 IS quire, including with respect to the prepay- 1 ment of State alcoholic beverage taxes. 2 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub- 3 section— 4 ‘‘(A) the term ‘alcoholic beverage’ has the 5 meaning given the term in section 203 of the 6 Federal Alcohol Administration Act (27 U.S.C. 7 214); and 8 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered entity’ means an 9 entity (including a winery, brewery, or beverage 10 distilled spirits plant, or other wholesaler, 11 distributer, importer, or retailer of alcoholic 12 beverages) that has registered with, obtained a 13 permit from, or obtained approval of a notice or 14 an application from, the Secretary of the Treas- 15 ury pursuant to— 16 ‘‘(i) the Federal Alcohol Administra- 17 tion Act (27 U.S.C. 201 et seq.); or 18 ‘‘(ii) chapter 51 of the Internal Rev- 19 enue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 5001 et 20 seq.).’’. 21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 22 this section shall take effect on the earlier of— 23 (1) the date on which the United States Postal 24 Service prescribes regulations under section 3001(p) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1663.IS S1663 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1663 IS of title 39, United States Code, as added by this sec- 1 tion; or 2 (2) the date that is 2 years after the date of en- 3 actment of this Act. 4 (d) RELATION TO STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL 5 LAWS.— 6 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 7 (A) the term ‘‘alcoholic beverage’’ has the 8 meaning given the term in section 203 of the 9 Federal Alcohol Administration Act (27 U.S.C. 10 214); 11 (B) the term ‘‘Postal Service’’ means the 12 United States Postal Service; and 13 (C) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 14 several States, the District of Columbia, the 15 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other 16 territory or possession of the United States. 17 (2) NO PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR 18 TRIBAL LAWS PROHIBITING DELIVERIES, SHIP- 19 MENTS, OR SALES.—Nothing in this section, the 20 amendments made by this section, or any regulation 21 promulgated under this section or the amendments 22 made by this section, shall be construed to preempt, 23 supersede, or otherwise limit or restrict any State, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1663.IS S1663 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1663 IS local, or Tribal law that prohibits or regulates the 1 delivery, shipment, or sale of alcoholic beverages. 2 (3) LIABILITY OF POSTAL SERVICE.— 3 (A) CAUSE OF ACTION.—A State, local, or 4 Tribal government may bring a civil action 5 against the Postal Service in an appropriate 6 district court of the United States for a viola- 7 tion of a law of the State, locality, or Indian 8 Tribe, respectively, regarding the sale, mailing, 9 transportation, or importation of alcoholic bev- 10 erages. 11 (B) LIABILITY.—In an action brought 12 under subparagraph (A), the Postal Service— 13 (i) except as provided in clause (ii), 14 shall be liable in the same manner and to 15 the same extent as a private individual 16 under like circumstances; and 17 (ii) shall not be liable for— 18 (I) interest prior to judgment; or 19 (II) punitive damages. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1663.IS S1663 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS