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Title 31 — Money and FinanceRelease 119-73not60

§1323 Trust Funds for Certain Fees, Donations, Quasi-public Amounts, and Unearned Amounts

Title 31 › Subtitle SUBTITLE II— THE BUDGET PROCESS › Chapter 13— APPROPRIATIONS › Subchapter II— TRUST FUNDS AND REFUNDS › § 1323

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Requires money in checking accounts of officials who handle government payments to be put into Treasury trust fund accounts. That covers unearned money and lands from the Interior Department, and reentry‑permit, naturalization, and registry fees from the Justice Department. Those deposits can be used for refunds, and any part that is actually earned must be moved into the correct receipt account. Donations, quasi‑public amounts, and other unearned sums that are managed by U.S. government officers and kept in those checking accounts must also be deposited as trust funds and spent under their trust terms, except for clerks and marshals of U.S. district courts.

Full Legal Text

Title 31, §1323

Money and Finance — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Amounts from the following sources held in checking accounts of disbursing officials shall be deposited in the Treasury to the appropriate trust fund receipt accounts:
(1)unearned money, lands (Department of the Interior).
(2)reentry permit fees (Department of Justice).
(3)naturalization fees (Department of Justice).
(4)registry fees (Department of Justice).
(b)Amounts deposited under subsection (a) of this section are appropriated for refunds. Earned parts of those amounts shall be transferred and credited to the appropriate receipt fund accounts.
(c)Donations, quasi-public amounts, and unearned amounts shall be deposited in the Treasury as trust funds and are appropriated for disbursement under the terms of the trusts when the donation or amount is—
(1)administered by officers and employees of the United States Government; and
(2)carried in checking accounts of disbursing officials or others required to account to the Comptroller General (except clerks and marshals of the United States district courts).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 1323(a), (b)31:725r(less proviso).June 26, 1934, ch. 756, § 19, 48 Stat. 1232; Dec. 21, 1944, ch. 631, § 2, 58 Stat. 845. 1323(c)31:725r(proviso). In subsection (a), before clause (1), the words “Effective July 1, 1935” are omitted as executed. In clauses (2)–(4), the words “Department of Justice” are substituted for “Labor Department” (subsequently changed to “Justice Department” because of Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1940 (eff. June 14, 1940, 54 Stat. 1238)) for consistency with title 28. The words related to Patent Office (subsequently changed to Patent and Trademark Office because of section 3 of the Act of January 2, 1975 (Pub. L. 93–596, 88 Stat. 1949)), are omitted as superseded by 35:42. In subsection (c), the words “officers and employees of the United States Government” are substituted for “officers of the United States by virtue of their official capacity” for consistency and to eliminate unnecessary words.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

31 U.S.C. § 1323

Title 31 — Money and Finance

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60