December 2023 –Idaho Legislators have introduced bills in the US Senate and House regarding how the US Postal Service handles notification of the public when relocating of post offices, and the Postal Service’s lack of a procedure for a town to ask for a new post office building.
Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho and Representative and Representative Russ Fulcher ID-1 are both interested in the plight of their constituents when postal services are relocated. Their bills ask for more public input before relocations as well as notification of local legislators. Additionally, the bills ask for the US Postal Service to create a procedure by which a town can request that a local post office be built. This bill follows an instance in Idaho wherein a building was relocated due to a landlord deciding against lease renewal, and a second instance where a building was closed due to needing extensive repairs. In the second instance, the USPS began building a new facility but ran out of money and is awaiting USPS approval of additional funds.
Read the full text of the Bill HERE. The Senate Bill and the House Bill are the same. House bill is not yet available.