Welcome to ACMA’s new newsletter focused on Washington, D.C. goings-on that affect your business. About once or twice a month, as the actions warrant it, we’ll be providing you with the following information that’s directly relevant to your business. As this is our inaugural edition, we welcome any comments, criticism, requests for improvement, etc., by simply emailing pmiller@catalogmailers.org.
Executive Summary
The chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission along with a former USPS Board member and former Chairman of a House committee recently co-authored a whitepaper calling for improvements to the postal regulatory process. Also, new privacy bills in several states, a potential improvement in sales tax collection, and the latest goings-on in the Washington legislature.
Postal: A Next-Generation, Proactive Postal Regulatory System (full article)
On May 22, 2023, Michael Kubayanda, Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission; Tom Davis, former Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee; and David Williams, former Vice Chairman of the USPS Board of Governors and former Inspector General of the Postal Service, released a whitepaper detailing their views on ways to improve the postal regulatory process.
As they note in the whitepaper, the PRC needs access to additional financial resources. They also explain that they believe the PRC needs to adapt to modern times, specifically with greater information technology. This would enable them to accurately track and access data from USPS and the PRC and be better used by postal stakeholders, policymakers, and the public. The authors believe that if these changes and others are made, it will allow the PRC to be “nimbler, more responsive, and better serve all Americans.”
Privacy: Montana Becomes Ninth State to Enact Comprehensive Privacy Legislation (full article)
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed SB 384, the Consumer Data Privacy Act (CDPA), into law on May 19th, making Montana the ninth state to enact a comprehensive consumer privacy bill. The CDPA establishes a framework to control and process consumer personal data in the state. The law includes a lower applicability threshold due to the state’s smaller population, a requirement to recognize universal opt-out mechanisms, additional children’s privacy provisions, broad privacy rights, and a sunset on right to cure. It will go into effect on October 1, 2024.
Sales Tax: Sales Tax Group Moves Forward on Single Filing Portal Concept (full article)
Last week, the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board (SSTGB) met to discuss the challenges of state compliance as it relates to sales tax. The SSTGB approved one recommendation that would encourage states participating in the tax simplification compact to exclude a transaction threshold for remote sellers. This provision would help to simplify compliance for remote sellers.
Debt Limit Deal
2024 Election Updates
Enacted State Privacy Laws
Soon to be Enacted Privacy Laws
Pending Privacy Legislation
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Please note that your contributions to ACMA Action Funds will not be used for any general ACMA “corporate purposes” other than a 5% service fee on funds raised and administered. Non-ACMA members are always eligible to make one-off donations. Such contributions support our network of consultants on whom we depend to advocate for the interests of direct and remote marketers and their suppliers. These funds are only used to pay for out-of-pocket expenses of the specific issues outlined below. Large volume donors may be considered for Steering Committees of each Fund. Click here for more information on how the funds are distributed and used.
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Lynn Noble is ACMA’s Vice President, Industry Relations, having joined the ACMA in May 2015, following an extensive direct marketing career in private industry as well as the US Postal Service. He is responsible for leading the membership development efforts for the ACMA through new member acquisitions and providing enhanced member value.
Throughout his career, Lynn has held key marketing & sales positions with several leading direct marketers, as well as several high-level management positions with the US Postal Service.
In 2009, at the request of the ACMA, the US Postal Service initiated a new position of Catalog Manager to lead the Service’s efforts to stabilize and grow the catalog industry. Lynn returned to the USPS to lead those efforts and was instrumental to developing a stronger industry partnership between the Postal Service and the catalog industry. Serving as the product manager for catalogs, Lynn helped to raise the awareness of catalog-specific business challenges within the executive ranks of the USPS. During his tenure, the ACMA and catalog companies enjoyed a collaborative and progressive environment that produced more stabilized rates and inclusion in key USPS promotional opportunities.
Just prior to joining the ACMA Lynn was the USPS’s Manager, Strategic Account Operations, leading a team of senior sales professionals who focused exclusively in the Catalog, Mail Order, and E-commerce arena. In addition to his Postal positions, Lynn previously held key positions with leading direct marketing companies, including Cox Target Media, Market Logic, Catalina Marketing, Freesamples.com, and Advantage Direct.
Named Vice President & Deputy Director in January 2010, Miller came to the ACMA following a lengthy career of more than two decades following the catalog/multichannel/e-commerce/retail businesses. Reporting to ACMA president & executive director Hamilton Davison, Miller oversees marketing and communications, membership development, and organizes and oversees ACMA’s National Catalog Forum, while working with Davison on most of ACMA’s postal-related efforts.
Miller started his career as a reporter with Catalog Showroom Business, following a form of retailing that was led by the likes of the Service Merchandise and Best Products retail chains.
After several years of editor/reporter roles with business magazines that followed the toy and gift industries, Miller was named associate editor of Catalog Age magazine (now Multichannel Merchant) in 1986. He rose up the ranks at Catalog Age over the next 18 years to be the magazine’s senior news editor.
Beginning in the late ’80s, Miller became Catalog Age’s postal beat reporter, where he’d follow key postal events and pull out the key catalog mail-related issues for readers. During that time, he attended many Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meetings and National Postal forums.
After leaving Catalog Age in 2004, Miller consulted with several catalogers and multichannel suppliers for a time, he was named news/website editor at Commercial Property News. Less than a year later, he was asked to take the reigns at Catalog Success (now All About ROI) where he served as editor-in- chief from 2006 till the end of 2009.
ACMA appointed Michael K. Plunkett as its President and Executive Director in January 2024, succeeding founder Hamilton Davison. Mr. Davison moved on to own and run a company. Mr. Plunkett brings years of executive leadership experience having been the President and CEO of the Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) since 2017. In the newly-formed dual role, he will continue his current role with PostCom and the two organizations will operate separately.
During his tenure, PostCom has continued to lead the mailing and shipping industry on policy and regulatory matters and to work with Government agency partners to advance issues of importance to members. Mr. Plunkett is also President of the Delivery Technology Advocacy Council, a nonprofit launched in 2020 to concentrate on delivery and logistics technologies.
Prior to PostCom, Mr. Plunkett accumulated more than 25 years Postal experience with the United States Postal Service in numerous executive roles in operations, marketing, product development and pricing. As a leader within the Postal Service’s management team, Mr. Plunkett developed a well-earned reputation for innovation by leading efforts to develop pricing agreements for domestic services and in the development of the forever stamp and the priority mail flat rate box.
Mr. Plunkett has testified on pricing and policy issues before the Postal Regulatory Commission and Congressional subcommittees. He has authored and presented papers on postal policies, economics, and operations for National and International conferences.
Mr. Plunkett holds Masters Degrees in Business from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Sloan Fellow. He earned a Bachelor Degrees in Economics and Finance from the Pennsylvania State University.
