Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 54 Part 1.djvu/270

 236 Tolls. Application of, to operation, sinking fund, etc. Maintenance as free bridge after amortiz- ing costs, etc. Record of expendi- tures and receipts. Transfer of title to State after 25 years, if costs, etc., are amor- tized. Maintenance as free bridge. Statement of actual costs, etc., filing. Investigation ol costs within three year period. Availability of reo ords. Secretary's findings conclusive; exception Right to transfer etc., rights, powers and privileges. PUBLIC LAWS-CH. 245-JUNE 6, 1940 such interests in real property; (3) actual financing and promotion costs, not to exceed 10 per centum of the sum of the cost of construct- ing the bridge and its approaches and acquiring such interest in real property; and (4) actual expenditures for necessary improvements. SEC. 5. If such bridge shall be taken over or acquired by the State or public agencies or political subdivisions thereof, or by either of them, as provided in section 4 of this Act, and if tolls are thereafter charged for the use thereof, the rates of tolls shall be so adjusted as to provide a fund sufficient to pay for the reasonable cost of main- taining, repairing, and operating the bridge and its approaches under economical management, and to provide a sinking fund sufficient to amortize the amount paid therefor, or to amortize the bonds or other securities issued for that purpose with reasonable financing costs, as soon as possible under reasonable charges, but within a period of not to exceed twenty years from the date of acquiring the same. After a sinking fund sufficient for such amortization shall have been so provided; such bridge shall thereafter be maintained and operated free of tolls. An accurate record of the amount paid for acquiring the bridge and its approaches, the actual expenditures for maintain- ing, repairing, and operating the same, and of the daily tolls col- lected, shall be kept and shall be available for the information of all persons interested. SEm. 6. At any time after twenty-five years from the date such bridge shall have been completed, if the tolls from such bridge have produced sufficient revenue to amortize the bonds and other securities issued in connection with the construction and maintenance of such bridge and its approaches with reasonable interest and financing costs, and if such bridge shall not have been taken over or acquired by the State of Florida or by any political subdivision or public agency thereof under section 4 of this Act, then all the right, title, and interest of the said Bradenton Company, its successors and assigns, in such bridge and its approaches, and any interest in real estate necessary therefor, shall be turned over to the State of Florida, upon proper demand. Such bridge shall thereafter be maintained and operated by the State of Florida or by any political subdivision or public agency thereof free of tolls. SEO. 7. The Bradenton Company, its successors and assigns, shall within ninety days after the completion of such bridge file with the Secretary of War and with the highway department of such State a sworn itemized statement showing the actual original cost of con- structing the bridge and its approaches, the actual cost of acquiring any interest in real property necessary therefor, and the actual financing and promotion costs. The Secretary of War may, and upon request of the highway department of such State shall, at any time within three years after the completion of such bridge, investigate such costs and determine the accuracy and the reasonableness of the cost alleged in the statement of costs so filed, and shall make a finding of the actual and reasonable costs of constructing, financing, and pro- moting such bridge; for the purpose of such investigation the said Bradenton Company, its successors and assigns, shall make available all records in connection with the construction, financing, and promo- tion thereof. The findings of the Secretary of War as to the reason- able costs of the construction, financing, and promotion of the bridge shall be conclusive for the purposes mentioned in section 4 of this Act, subject only to review in a court of equity for fraud or gross mistake. SEc. 8. The right to sell, assign, transfer, and mortgage all the rights, powers, and privileges conferred by this Act prior to acquire- ment of such rights, powers, and privileges by the State of Florida or [54 STAT.

�