Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 82.djvu/882

 840

Comptroller.

Duties.

PUBLIC LAW 90-496-AUG. 23, 1968

[82 STAT.

SEC. 9. Effective on the date of the enactment of this Act, section 17 of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands (68 Stat. 497, 504; 48 U.S.C. 1599) is amended to read as follows: u^^^ ^7 (^^ rpj^^ Secretary of the Interior shall appoint in the Department of the Interior a government comptroller for the Virgin Islands who shall be under the general supervision of the Secretary of the Interior and shall not be a part of any executive department in the government of the Virgin Islands, and whose salary and expenses of office shall be paid by the United States from funds derived by transfer from the internal revenue collections appropriated for the Virgin Islands. Sixty days prior to the effective date of transfer or removal of the government comptroller, the Secretary shall communicate to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his intention to so transfer or remove the government comptroller and his reasons therefor. "(b) The government comptroller shall audit all accounts and review and recommend adjudication of claims pertaining to the revenue and receipts of the government of the Virgin Islands and of funds derived from bond issues, and he shall audit, m accordance with law and administrative regulations, all expenditures of funds and property pertaining to the government of the Virgin Islands, including those pertaining to trust funds held by the government of the Virgin Islands. "(c) I t shall be the duty of the government comptroller to bring to the attention of the Secretary of the Interior and the Governor of the Virgin Islands all failures to collect amounts due the government, and expenditures of funds or uses of property which are irregular or not pursuant to law. The audit activities of the government comptroller shall be directed so as to (1) improve the efficiency and economy of programs of the government of the Virgin Islands, and (2) discharge the responsibility incumbent upon the Congress to insure that the substantial Federal revenues which are covered into the treasury of the government of the Virgin Islands are properly accounted for and audited. " (d) I t shall be the duty of the government comptroller to certify to the Secretary of the Interior the net amount of government revenues which form the basis for Federal grants for the civil government of the Virgin Islands. "(e) The decisions of the government comptroller shall be final except that appeal therefrom may, with the concurrence of the Governor, be taken by the party aggrieved or the head of the department concerned, within one year from the date of the decision, to the Secretary of the Interior, which appeal shall be in writing and shall specifically set forth the particular action of the government comptroller to which exception is taken, with the reasons and the authorities relied upon for reversing such decision. " (f) If the Governor does not concur in the taking of an appeal to the Secretary, the party aggrieved may seek relief by suit in the District Court of the Virgin Islands if the claim is otherwise within its jurisdiction. No later than thirty days following the date of the decision of the Secretary of the Interior, the party aggrieved or the Governor, on behalf of the head of the department concerned, may seek relief by suit in the District Court of the Virgin Islands if the claim is otherwise within its jurisdiction. " (g) The government comptroller is authorized to communicate directly with any person or with any department officer or person having official relation with his office. H e may summon witnesses and administer oaths.

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