§3714a — Title 22 Foreign Relations and Intercourse | U.S. Code

Summary

The Commission must study what it will cost to close itself down. The study must look at the costs of creating and running the office to handle the close-out (including who works there and where it will be located) and any costs or debts the Commission will still have when it dissolves. The Commission must send a report of the study to Congress by September 30, 1996, and that report must estimate how long it may take to finish winding up affairs after the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 ends. The Commission must set up an office in fiscal year 1998 to finish any pending matters after the treaty ends. A Panama Canal Commission Dissolution Fund will be created in the U.S. Treasury to pay for the office and other dissolution expenses. The Commission manages the Fund until the treaty ends and the new office manages it after that. The Fund may be used after September 30, 1998. Payments from October 1, 1998, until the treaty ends must have Board approval. The Fund gets money from toll deposits and earnings from Treasury investments, and interest stays in the Fund. Money cannot be spent from the Fund in a year unless a law allows it. The office may spend Fund money until October 1, 2004. On October 1, 2004, the Fund ends and any remaining money goes into the Treasury general fund.

Title 22, §3714a

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Commission shall conduct a study of—

(A)the costs associated with the dissolution of the Commission, including the composition, location, and costs of the office authorized to be established under subsection (b); and

(B)costs and liabilities incurred or administered by the Commission that will not be paid before the date of that dissolution.

(2)The Commission shall submit to the Congress, by not later than September 30, 1996, a report on the findings and conclusions of the study under this subsection. The report shall include an estimate of the period of time which may be required to close out the affairs of the Commission after the termination of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.

(b)The Commission shall during fiscal year 1998 establish an office to close out the affairs of the Commission that are still pending after the termination of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.

(c)(1)There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the “Panama Canal Commission Dissolution Fund” (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Fund”). The Fund shall be managed by the Commission until the termination of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and by the office established under subsection (b) thereafter.

(2)(A)Subject to paragraph (5), the Fund shall be available after September 30, 1998, to pay—

(i)the costs of operating the office established under subsection (b); and

(ii)the costs and liabilities associated with dissolution of the Commission, including such costs incurred or identified after the termination of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.

(B)Payments from the Fund made during the period beginning on October 1, 1998, and ending with the termination of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 shall be subject to the approval of the Board provided for in section 3612 of this title.

(3)The Fund shall consist of—

(A)such amounts as may be deposited into the Fund by the Commission, from amounts collected as toll receipts, to pay the costs described in paragraph (2); and

(B)amounts credited to the Fund under paragraph (4).

(4)(A)The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest excess amounts in the Fund in public debt securities with maturities suitable to the needs of the Fund, as determined by the manager of the Fund.

(B)Securities invested under subparagraph (A) shall bear interest at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration current market yields on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturity.

(C)Interest earned on securities invested under subparagraph (A) shall be credited to and form part of the Fund.

(5)(A)Amounts in the Fund may not be obligated or expended in any fiscal year unless the obligation or expenditure is specifically authorized by law.

(B)The office established by subsection (b) is authorized to expend or obligate funds from the Fund for the purposes enumerated in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (2)(A) until October 1, 2004.

(6)The Fund shall terminate on October 1, 2004. Amounts in the Fund on that date shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury of the United States.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1999—Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 106–65 designated existing provisions as subpar. (A) and added subpar. (B).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Operation of Office of Transition Administration and Oversight of Close-Out Activities Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXV, § 3504(b), (c), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 975, provided that: “(b) Operation of the Office of Transition Administration.—“(1) In general.—The Panama Canal Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) shall continue to govern the Office of Transition Administration until October 1, 2004. “(2) Procurement.—For purposes of exercising authority under the procurement laws of the United States, the director of the Office of Transition Administration shall have the status of the head of an agency. “(3) Offices.—The Office of Transition Administration shall have offices in the Republic of Panama and in the District of Columbia. section 1110(b)(1) of the Panama Canal Act of 1973 (22 U.S.C. 3620(b)(1)) does not apply to such office in the Republic of Panama. “(4) Office of transition administration defined.—In this subsection the term ‘Office of Transition Administration’ means the office established under section 1305 of the Panama Canal Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. 3714a) to close out the affairs of the Panama Canal Commission. “(5)

Effective Date

.—This subsection shall be effective on and after the termination of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977. “(c) Oversight of Close-Out Activities.—The Panama Canal Commission shall enter into an agreement with the head of a department or agency of the Federal Government to supervise the close out of the affairs of the Commission under section 1305 of the Panama Canal Act of 1979 and to certify the completion of that function.”

§3714a Dissolution of Commission