Public Law 91–337

AN ACT

Making appropriations for the government of the District of Columbia and other activities chargeable in whole or In part against the revenues of said District for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1971, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Federal Payment to the District of Columbia For payment to the following funds of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1971: $105,000,000 to the general fund; $2,506,000 to the water fund; and $1,432,000 to the sanitary sewage works fund, as authorized by the District of Columbia Revenue Act of 1947, as amended (D.C. Code, Sec. 47–2501 (a); 82 Stat. 612), and the Act of May 18, 1954 (D.C. Code, Sec. 43–1541 and 1611).

Division of Expenses The following amounts are appropriated for the District of Columbia for the current fiscal year out of the general fund of the District of Columbia, except as otherwise specifically provided:

General Operating Expenses General operating expenses, $48,894,700, of which $574,800 shall be payable from the highway fund (including $59,000 from the motor vehicle parking account), $85,800 from the water fund, and $63,800 from the sanitary sewage works fund: Provided, That the certificates of the Commissioner (for $2,500) and of the Chairman of the City Council (for $2,500) shall be sufficient voucher for expenditures from this appropriation for such purposes, exclusive of ceremony expenses, as they may respectively deem necessary: Provided further, That, for the purpose of assessing and reassessing real property in the District of Columbia, $5,000 of the appropriation shall he available for services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, but at rates for individuals not in excess of $100 per diem: Provided further, That not to exceed $7,500 of this appropriation shall be available for test borings and soil investigations: Provided further, That $1,160,000 of this appropriation (to remain available until expended) shall be available solely for District of Columbia employees’ disability compensation: Provided further, That not to exceed $60,000 of this appropriation shall be available for settlement of property damage claims not in excess of $500 each and personal injury claims not in excess of $1,000 each: Provided further, That not to exceed $50,000 of any appropriations available to the District of Columbia may be used to match financial contributions from the Department of Defense to the District of Columbia Office of Civil Defense for the purchase of civil defense equipment and supplies approved by the Department of Defense, when authorized by the Commissioner.

Public Safety Public safety, including employment of consulting physicians, diagnosticians, and therapists at rates to be fixed by the Commissioner; cash gratuities of not to exceed $75 to each released prisoner; purchase of one hundred and twenty-five passenger motor vehicles for replacement only (including one hundred and twenty for police-type use and five for fire-type use without regard to the general purchase price limitation for the current fiscal year but not in excess of $400 per vehicle for police-type and $600 per vehicle for fire-type use above such limitation); $143,991,000, of which $5,004,600 shall be payable from the highway fund (including $112,000 from the motor vehicle parking account): Provided, That the Police Department and Fire Department are each authorized to replace not to exceed five passenger carrying vehicles annually whenever the cost of repair to any damaged vehicle exceeds three-fourths the cost of the replacement: Provided further, That $868,300 of this appropriation shall be transferred to the judiciary and disbursed by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts for expenses or the Legal Aid Agency of the District of Columbia.

Education Education, including, provision of insurance, maintenance, and acceptance of not to exceed thirty passenger motor vehicles on a loan basis for exclusive use in the driver education program, the development of national defense education programs, not to exceed $4,000,000 for payment to the Teachers’ Retirement and Annuity Fund, and matching of Federal grants under the National Defense Education Act of September 2, 1958 (72 Stat. 1580), as amended, $146,353,000, of which $125,100 shall be payable from the highway fund: Provided, That certificates of the following officials shall each be sufficient voucher for expenditures from this appropriation for such purposes as they may respectively deem necessary within the amounts specified: Superintendent of Schools, $1,000; President of the Federal City College, $1,000; and President of the Washington Technical Institute, $1,000. Section 5533(c) of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to compensation received by teachers of the public schools of the District of Columbia for employment in a civilian office during the period July 1, 1970, to August 31, 1970.

Recreation Recreation, $11,016,600.

Human Resources Human resources, including reimbursement for services rendered to the District of Columbia by Freedmen’s Hospital; and care and treatment of indigent patients in institutions, including those under sectarian control, under contracts to be made by the Director of Public Health; $157,164,900: Provided, That the inpatient rate and outpatient rate under such contracts, with the exception of Children’s Hospital, and for services rendered by Freedmen’s Hospital shall not exceed $38 per diem and the outpatient rate shall not exceed $6 per visit; the inpatient rate and outpatient rate for Children’s Hospital shall not exceed $40 per diem and $6.75 per visit; and the inpatient rate (excluding the proportionate share for repairs and construction) for services rendered by Saint Elizabeths Hospital for patient care shall be $18.52 per diem: Provided further, That total reimbursements to Saint Elizabeths Hospital, including funds from Title XIX of the Social Security Act, shall not exceed the amount for the fiscal year 1970: Provided further, That the hospital rates specified herein shall not apply, beginning July 1, 1969, to services provided to patients who are eligible for such services under the District of Columbia plan for medical assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act: Provided further, That this appropriation shall be available for the furnishing of medical assistance to individuals sixty-five years of age or older who arc residing in the District of Columbia without regard to the requirement of one-year residence contained in the District of Columbia Appropriation Act, 1946, under the heading “Operating Expenses, Gallinger Municipal Hospital”, and this appropriation shall also be available to render assistance to such individuals who are temporarily absent from the District of Columbia: Provided further, That the authorization included under the heading “Department of Public Health”, in the District of Columbia Appropriation Act; 1961, for compensation of convalescent patients as an aid to their rehabilitation is hereby extended to the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation: Provided further, That this appropriation shall be available for the treatment, in any institution, under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner and located either within or without the District of Columbia, of individuals found by a court to be chronic alcoholics.

Highways and Traffic Highways and traffic, including $153,700 for traffic safety education without reference to any other law; $600 for membership in the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and $1,200 for membership in the Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission; rental of three passenger-carrying vehicles for use by the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and Chairman of the City Council; and purchase of thirty-six passenger motor vehicles, of which twenty-four shall he for replacement only; $19,679,000, of which $13,280,800 shall be payable from the highway fund (including $692,500 from the motor vehicle parking account): Provided, That this appropriation shall not be available for the purchase of driver-training vehicles: Provided further, That this appropriation shall not be available for payment of premium pay to any employee assigned as a chauffeur for the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner, or the Chairman of the City Council which exceeds in the aggregate 25 percent of the animal rate of basic pay applicable to such employee.

Sanitary Engineering Sanitary engineering, including the purchase of eight passenger motor vehicles for replacement only, $36,069,000, of which $10,078,000 shall be payable from the water fund, $7,455,600 from the sanitary sewage works fund, and $15,500 from the metropolitan area sanitary sewage works fund.

Settlement of Claims and Suits For payment of property damage claims in excess of $500 and of personal injury claims in excess of $1,000, approved by the Commissioner in accordance with the provisions of the Act of February 11, 1929, as amended (45 Stat. 1160; 46 Stat. 500; 65 Stat. 131), $3,000.

Repayment of Loans and Interest For reimbursement to the United States of funds loaned in compliance with sections 108, 217, and 402 of the Act of May 18, 1954 (68 Stat. 103, 109, and 110), as amended; section 9 of the Act of September 7, 1957 (71 Stat. 619), as amended; section 1 of the Act of June 6, 1958 (72 Stat. 183), as amended; and section 4 of the Act of June 12, 1960 (74 Stat. 211), including interest as required thereby, $15,563,000, of which $4,905,100 shall be payable from the highway fund, $1,452,100 from the water fund, and $554,700 from the sanitary sewage works fund.

Capital Outlay For reimbursement to the United States of funds loaned in compliance with section 4 of the Act of May 29, 1930 (46 Stat. 482), as amended, the Act of August 7, 1946 (60 Stat. 896), as amended, the Act of May 14, 1948 (62 Stat. 235), and payments under the Act of July 2, 1954 (68 Stat. 443); construction projects as authorized by the Acts of April 22, 1904 (33 Stat. 244), February 16, 1942 (56 Stat. 91), May 18, 1954 (68 Stat. 105, 110), June 6, 1958 (72 Stat. 183), and August 20, 1958 (72 Stat. 686); including acquisition of sites; preparation of plans and specifications; conducting preliminary surveys; erection of structures, including building improvement and alteration and treatment of grounds; to remain available until expended, $57,384,000, of which $500,000 shall be payable from the highway fund, and $775,000 from the water fund: Provided, That $15,966,000 of this appropriation shall not be available for expenditure until July 1, 1971: Provided further, That $4,206,600 shall be available for construction services by the Director of General Services or by contract for architectural engineering services, as may be determined by the Commissioner, and the funds for the use of the Director of General Services shall be advanced to the appropriation account, “Construction services, Department of General Services”: Provided further, Notwithstanding the foregoing, all authorizations for capital outlay projects, except those projects covered by the first sentence of section 23(a) of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968 (Public Law 90–495, approved August 23, 1968), for which funds are provided by this paragraph, shall expire on June 30, 1972, except authorizations for projects as to which funds have been obligated in whole or in part prior to such date. Upon expiration of any such project authorization the funds provided herein for such project shall lapse: Provided further, Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any authorization for a capital outlay project, except those projects covered by the first sentence of section 23(a) of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968 (Public Law 90–495, approved August 23, 1968), for which funds have heretofore been appropriated shall expire two years from the date of the Act making such appropriation unless prior to the expiration of such period funds for such project were or will have been obligated in whole or in part. Upon expiration of any such project authorization the funds appropriated therefor shall lapse.

General Provisions Sec. 1. Except as otherwise provided herein, all vouchers covering expenditures of appropriations contained in this Act shall be audited before payment by the designated certifying official and the vouchers as approved shall be paid by checks issued by the designated disbursing official without countersignature. Sec. 2. Whenever in this Act an amount is specified within an appropriation for particular purposes or object of expenditure, such amount, unless otherwise specified, shall be considered as the maximum amount which may be expended for said purpose or object rather than an amount set apart exclusively therefor. Sec. 3. Appropriations in this Act shall be available, when authorized or approved by the Commissioner, for allowances for privately owned automobiles used for the performance of official duties at 10 cents per mile but not to exceed $35 a month for each automobile, unless otherwise therein specifically provided, except that one hundred and sixty-three (fifty for investigators in the Department of Public Welfare and eighteen for venereal disease investigators in the Department of Public Health) such allowances at not more than $550 each per annum may be authorized or approved by the Commissioner. Sec. 4. Appropriations in this Act shall be available for expenses of travel and for the payment of dues of organizations concerned with the work of the District of Columbia government, when authorized by the Commissioner: Provided, That the total expenditures for this purpose shall not exceed $150,000. Sec. 5. Appropriations in this Act shall be available for services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109. Sec. 6. The disbursing officials designated by the Commissioner are authorized to advance to such officials as may be approved by the Commissioner such amounts and for such purposes as lie may determine. Sec. 7. Appropriations in this Act shall not be used for or in connection with the preparation, issuance, publication, or enforcement of any regulation or order of the Public Service Commission requiring the installation of meters in taxicabs, or for or in connection with the licensing of any vehicle to be operated as a taxicab except for operation in accordance with such system of uniform zones and rates and regulations applicable thereto as shall have been prescribed by the Public Service Commission. Sec. 8. Appropriations in this Act shall not be available for the payment of rates for electric current for street lighting in excess of 2 cents per kilo watt-hour for current consumed. Sec. 9. All passenger motor vehicles (including watercraft) owned by the District of Columbia shall be operated and utilized in conformity with section 16 of the Act of August 2, 1946 (60 Stat. 810), and shall be under the direction and control of the Commissioner, who may from time to time alter or change the assignment for use thereof or direct the alteration of interchangeable use of any of the same by officers and employees of the District, except as otherwise provided in this Act. “Official purposes” as used in the section 16 shall not apply to the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner, and the Chairman of the City Council of the District of Columbia or in cases of officers and employees the character of whose duties make such transportation necessary, but only as to such latter cases when approved by the Commissioner. Sec. 10. Appropriations contained in this Act, for highways and traffic and sanitary engineering shall be available for snow and ice control work when ordered by the Commissioner hi writing. Sec. 11. Appropriations in this Act shall be available, when authorized by the Commissioner, for the rental of quarters without reference to section 6 of the District of Columbia Appropriation Act, 1945. Sec. 12. Appropriations in this Act shall be available for the furnishing of uniforms when authorized by the Commissioner. Sec. 13. There are hereby appropriated from the applicable funds of the District of Columbia such sums as may be necessary for making refunds and for the payment of judgments which have been entered against the government of the District of Columbia, including refunds authorized by section 10 of the Act approved April 23, 1924 (43 Stat. 108): Provided, That nothing contained in this section shall be construed as modifying or affecting the provisions of paragraph 3, subsection (e) of section 11 of title XII of the District of Columbia Income and Franchise Tax Act of 1947, as amended. Sec. 14. Except as otherwise provided herein, limitations and legislative provisions contained in the District of Columbia Appropriation Act, 1961, shall be applicable during the current fiscal year: Provided, That the limitation for “Construction Services, Department of General Services” shall, during the current fiscal year, be 10 per centum of appropriations for all construction projects: Provided further, That the limitation on expenditure of funds by the Chief of Police for prevention and detection of crime during the current fiscal year shall be $100,000: Provided further, That during the current fiscal year, the limitation with respect to a central heating system, under the heading “Department of Sanitary Engineering”, shall not be applicable. Sec. 15. Appropriations in this Act shall be available for the payment of public assistance without reference to the requirement of subsection (b) of section 5 of the District of Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1962 and for the non-Federal share of funds necessary to qualify for Federal assistance under the Act of July 31, 1968 (Public Law 90–445). Sec. 16. No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein. This Act may be cited as the “District of Columbia Appropriation Act, 1971”.

Approved July 16, 1970.