31 USC 6902 – Authority and Eligibility 1
(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Interior shall make a payment for each fiscal year to each unit of general local government in which entitlement land is located as set forth in this chapter. A unit of general local government may use the payment for any governmental purpose.
Terms Used In 31 USC 6902
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
(2) For each unit of general local government described in section 6901(2)(A)(ii), the Secretary of the Interior shall make a payment for each fiscal year to the State of Alaska for entitlement land located within such unit as set forth in this chapter. The State of Alaska shall distribute such payment to home rule cities and general law cities (as such cities are defined by the State) located within the boundaries of the unit of general local government for which the payment was received. Such cities may use monies received under this paragraph for any governmental purpose.
(b) A unit of general local government may not receive a payment for land for which payment under this Act 2 otherwise may be received if the land was owned or administered by a State or unit of general local government and was exempt from real estate taxes when the land was conveyed to the United States except that a unit of general local government may receive a payment for—
(1) land a State or unit of general local government acquires from a private party to donate to the United States within 8 years of acquisition;
(2) land acquired by a State through an exchange with the United States if such land was entitlement land as defined by this chapter; or
(3) land in Utah acquired by the United States for Federal land, royalties, or other assets if, at the time of such acquisition, a unit of general local government was entitled under applicable State law to receive payments in lieu of taxes from the State of Utah for such land: Provided, however, That no payment under this paragraph shall exceed the payment that would have been made under State law if such land had not been acquired.