May It Please The Court: Weblog of legal news and observations, including a quote of the day and daily updates
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Quote of the Day - Them politicians is such twisters that if they chewed up nails they'd spit out corkscrews.
Do Not Mail Bills Create Conflict Between States and Federal GovernmentAbout eleven states have introduced "Do not mail" bills, modeled after the Federal Trade Commission's "Do not call" telephone registry. The states include Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Vermont (just last week) and Washington. Don't worry if your state is not among them, though. The laws, if enacted, will not likely survive a constitutional attack. You may remember from your Civics class that the Postal Service is regulated solely by the federal government, and that the several states have no authority to get in the middle. In legal jargon, we call it preemption. Nevertheless, many legislators around the company are jumping on the bandwagon. They argue that homeowners should be able to control what arrives in their mailbox. True or not, MIPTC wishes those legislators would turn their attention to what arrives in my e-mail inbox, not my mailbox. That sentiment aside, the "Do not mail" bills being proposed exempt two important categories: politicians and non-profit organizations. Surprise, surprise. From about August to November 2 each year, my mailbox is overcome by mailers from politicians and I can't find my regular mail in between the political advertisements. I also don't need any more "free" return address labels from non-profit groups. At the rate I send letters, it will be 2075 before I start writing my return address by hand again. On the other side of the issue, direct mail marketers argue the legislation would hurt businesses that advertise by mail and will financially hurt the Postal Service because it relies heavily on mail advertising as a main revenue source. Can you imagine where the cost of a first class stamp will go next? If you want to get off direct mailing lists whether your state enacts these laws or not, then register here. Now if the politicians and the non-profit groups would honor that registration, we'd be all set. |
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