This bill designates the United States Postal Service facility at 12109 New Kent Highway in New Kent, Virginia, as the Patricia Paige Post Office. It specifies that any reference to the facility in law, maps, regulations, or official documents should be treated as a reference to the Patricia Paige Post Office.
The designation is a naming action with no associated authorities, funding, or service changes.
There are no additional programmatic provisions, oversight, or eligibility criteria tied to the designation. The bill is focused solely on officially naming the facility and standardizing references across official records.
As written, it does not provide background on who Patricia Paige is or establish criteria for selecting honorees in future designations.
At a Glance
What It Does
Designates the USPS facility at 12109 New Kent Highway as the Patricia Paige Post Office and requires that references to the facility in federal documents use that name.
Who It Affects
USPS personnel at the New Kent facility; federal record-keepers; local customers and businesses relying on USPS services.
Why It Matters
Creates an official, standardized name for the facility, aiding clarity in official documents and maps with minimal disruption to operations or funding.
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What This Bill Actually Does
HB6317 is a straightforward naming bill. It designates the United States Postal Service facility located at 12109 New Kent Highway in New Kent, Virginia, as the Patricia Paige Post Office.
The text requires that any reference to the facility in laws, maps, regulations, and other official records refer to the Patricia Paige Post Office. The designation does not alter how the USPS operates, fund, or delivers mail, nor does it create any new programs or authorities.
There are no ancillary provisions—no funding, no new powers, and no service changes attached to the designation. The bill focuses purely on nomenclature and the consistency of references across federal documents.
One notable omission is any background or justification for who Patricia Paige is, or any criteria for future honorees, which could raise questions about process in similar future bills.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The facility at 12109 New Kent Highway is designated as the Patricia Paige Post Office.
All references in federal law and official documents to that facility must use the Patricia Paige Post Office name.
The designation contains no changes to USPS operations, funding, or services.
The bill provides no background on who Patricia Paige is or why she is honored.
No additional policy or program changes accompany the naming designation.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Designation of Patricia Paige Post Office
Section 1(a) designates the United States Postal Service facility at 12109 New Kent Highway, New Kent, Virginia, as the Patricia Paige Post Office. This creates an official, singular name for the facility in all federal references and records. The practical effect is to standardize naming in maps, laws, and regulatory documents without affecting operations, funding, or service levels.
References and cross-references
Section 1(b) provides that any reference in law, maps, regulations, or official records to the designated facility must be treated as a reference to the Patricia Paige Post Office. This ensures consistency across documents and reduces ambiguity in official materials.
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Who Benefits
- USPS employees at the New Kent facility, who gain clarity in official designation and record-keeping for daily operations.
Who Bears the Cost
- USPS for minor signage updates and administrative alignment with the new name.
- Federal, state, and local record-keeping offices that must update references in internal systems and public databases.
- Map publishers and GIS databases that will need to reflect the updated facility name in their datasets.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is whether naming a single USPS facility creates value through local recognition and official clarity, or whether it introduces potential process questions about whom to honor and how those decisions are made, given the lack of background or criteria in the bill.
The bill is a symbolic naming action and does not create new authorities, funding, or policy changes. Because it offers no background on Patricia Paige, there is an implicit question about who she is and why the designation was chosen, which can matter for future naming actions and consistency of naming standards.
Implementation tasks—such as updating signage, maps, and internal records—will rely on existing USPS and government processes, incurring only negligible administrative costs.
A real policy tension here is the balance between honoring individuals and maintaining neutral, consistent naming conventions within federal records. While the impact is largely ceremonial, the absence of a stated selection process or background for honorees could lead to questions about eligibility and criteria for future designations.
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