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Title 43 — Public Lands

Chapter 12 — Reclamation and Irrigation of Lands by Federal Government

§ 499a. Transfer of title to movable property; use of appropriations

Statutory text

Whenever an irrigation district, municipality, or water users’ organization assumes operation and maintenance of works constructed to furnish or distribute a water supply pursuant to a contract entered into with the United States in accordance with the Federal reclamation laws (Act of , 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), the Secretary of the Interior may transfer to said district, municipality, or organization title to movable property which has been purchased with funds advanced by the district, municipality, or organization or which, in the case of property purchased with appropriated funds, is necessary to the operation and maintenance of such works and the value of which is to be repaid under a contract with the district, municipality, or organization. In order to encourage the assumption by irrigation districts, municipalities, and water users’ organizations of the operation and maintenance of works constructed to furnish or distribute a water supply, the Secretary is authorized to use appropriated funds available for the project involved to acquire movable property for transfer under the terms and conditions hereinbefore provided, at the time operation and maintenance is assumed.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 83–616 · 68 Stat. 762

    Enacted · 43 U.S.C. § 499a

    July 29, 1954, ch. 616, 68 Stat. 580

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    July 29, 1954, ch. 616, 68 Stat. 580

  2. Pub. L. 89–48 § 1 · 79 Stat. 172

    Amended · 43 U.S.C. § 499a

    Pub. L. 89–48, which directed that section 1 of the Act of July 29, 1954, be amended generally, was executed by amending generally this section which comprised all of the Act of July 29, 1954, as the probable intent of Congress, notwithstanding that such Act did not have any section designations. Prior to amendment, this section read as follows: “Whenever an irrigation district or water users’ organization assumes operation and maintenance of irrigation works pursuant to a contract entered into with the United States in accordance with the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), the Secretary of the Interior may transfer to said district or organization title to movable property which has been purchased with funds advanced by the district or organization or which, in the case of property purchased with appropriated funds, is necessary to the operation and maintenance of such works and the value of which is to be repaid under a contract with the district or organization. In order to encourage the assumption by irrigation districts and water users’ organizations of the operation and maintenance of irrigation works, the Secretary is authorized to use appropriated funds available for the project involved to acquire movable property for transfer at the time operation and maintenance is assumed under the terms and conditions hereinbefore provided.”

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 89–48, which directed that section 1 of the Act of July 29, 1954, be amended generally, was executed by amending generally this section which comprised all of the Act of July 29, 1954, as the probable intent of Congress, notwithstanding that such Act did not have any section designations. Prior to amendment, this section read as follows: “Whenever an irrigation district or water users’ organization assumes operation and maintenance of irrigation works pursuant to a contract entered into with the United States in accordance with the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), the Secretary of the Interior may transfer to said district or organization title to movable property which has been purchased with funds advanced by the district or organization or which, in the case of property purchased with appropriated funds, is necessary to the operation and maintenance of such works and the value of which is to be repaid under a contract with the district or organization. In order to encourage the assumption by irrigation districts and water users’ organizations of the operation and maintenance of irrigation works, the Secretary is authorized to use appropriated funds available for the project involved to acquire movable property for transfer at the time operation and maintenance is assumed under the terms and conditions hereinbefore provided.”

0 of 2 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 2 partial

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act of , referred to in text, is popularly known as the Reclamation Act, which is classified generally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 371 of this title and Tables.

Amendments1956–1965 · 2 rounds

1965

Pub. L. 89–48, which directed that section 1 of the Act of July 29, 1954, be amended generally, was executed by amending generally this section which comprised all of the Act of , as the probable intent of Congress, notwithstanding that such Act did not have any section designations. Prior to amendment, this section read as follows: “Whenever an irrigation district or water users’ organization assumes operation and maintenance of irrigation works pursuant to a contract entered into with the United States in accordance with the Federal reclamation laws (Act of , 32 Stat. 388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), the Secretary of the Interior may transfer to said district or organization title to movable property which has been purchased with funds advanced by the district or organization or which, in the case of property purchased with appropriated funds, is necessary to the operation and maintenance of such works and the value of which is to be repaid under a contract with the district or organization. In order to encourage the assumption by irrigation districts and water users’ organizations of the operation and maintenance of irrigation works, the Secretary is authorized to use appropriated funds available for the project involved to acquire movable property for transfer at the time operation and maintenance is assumed under the terms and conditions hereinbefore provided.”

1956

Act , authorized Secretary to use appropriated funds for a project to acquire movable property for transfer to irrigation districts and other water users’ organizations to encourage them to take over operation and maintenance of reclamation projects as soon as they are completed.

Short Title

This section is popularly known as the “Title to Movable Property Act”.

Credits

1954–1965 · 3 acts
  1. 1954July 29, 1954, ch. 616, 68 Stat. 580
  2. 1956Aug. 2, 1956, ch. 884, 70 Stat. 940
  3. 1965Pub. L. 89–48, § 1, , 79 Stat. 172.
Show as published

(July 29, 1954, ch. 616, 68 Stat. 580; Aug. 2, 1956, ch. 884, 70 Stat. 940; Pub. L. 89–48, § 1, , 79 Stat. 172.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc43.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-04-17

USLM identifier /us/usc/t43/s499a