
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 48USC1405c]

 
              TITLE 48--TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS
 
                        CHAPTER 7--VIRGIN ISLANDS
 
                     SUBCHAPTER II--CIVIL GOVERNMENT
 
Sec. 1405c. Transfer of property to government


(a) Property not reserved

    All property which may have been acquired by the United States from 
Denmark in the Virgin Islands under the convention entered into August 
4, 1916, not reserved by the United States for public purposes prior to 
June 22, 1937, is placed under the control of the Government of the 
Virgin Islands.

(b) Applicability of United States law

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, all laws of the United 
States for the protection and improvement of the navigable waters of the 
United States shall apply to the Virgin Islands.

(c) Applicability of tonnage duties

    No Federal laws levying tonnage duties, light money, or entrance and 
clearance fees shall apply to the Virgin Islands.

(d) Presidential determination of applicable laws

    The legislature of the Virgin Islands shall have power to enact 
navigation, boat inspection, and safety laws of local application; but 
the President shall have power to make applicable to the Virgin Islands 
such of the navigation, vessel inspection, and coastwise laws of the 
United States as he may find and declare to be necessary in the public 
interest, and, to the extent that the laws so made applicable conflict 
with any laws of local application enacted by the legislature, such laws 
enacted by the legislature shall have no force and effect.

(e) Existing powers of United States officers unaffected

    Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to affect or impair in 
any manner the terms and conditions of any authorizations, permits, or 
other powers heretofore lawfully granted or exercised in or in respect 
of the Virgin Islands by any authorized officer or agent of the United 
States.

(June 22, 1936, ch. 699, Sec. 4, 49 Stat. 1808; Aug. 7, 1939, ch. 515, 
53 Stat. 1242; Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 654, Sec. 1(127), 65 Stat. 706; Pub. 
L. 97-357, title III, Sec. 306, Oct. 19, 1982, 96 Stat. 1709.)


                               Amendments

    1982--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 97-357 substituted ``legislature'' for 
``Legislative Assembly'' wherever appearing.
    1951--Subsec. (f). Act Oct. 31, 1951, repealed subsec. (f) which 
authorized the Secretary of the Interior to lease or sell any property 
under his administrative supervision in the Virgin Islands not needed 
for public purposes.
    1939--Act Aug. 7, 1939, designated existing provisions as subsecs. 
(a), (b), (e), and (f) and added subsecs. (c) and (d).


    Construction of Virgin Islands Projects by Secretary of the Army

    Pub. L. 101-640, title IV, Sec. 406, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4647, 
provided that:
    ``(a) General Rule.--Upon request of the Governor of the Virgin 
Islands with respect to a construction project in the Virgin Islands for 
which Federal financial assistance is available under any law of the 
United States, the Federal official administering such assistance may 
make such assistance available to the Secretary instead of the Virgin 
Islands. The Secretary shall use such assistance to carry out such 
project in accordance with the provisions of such law.
    ``(b) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section 
shall be construed as relieving the Virgin Islands from complying with 
any requirements for non-Federal cooperation with respect to a 
construction project carried out with Federal financial assistance 
provided to the Secretary pursuant to this section; except that the 
Secretary shall be responsible for complying with administrative and 
fiscal requirements associated with utilization of such assistance.
    ``(c) Termination Date.--Subsection (a) shall not be effective after 
the last day of the 3-year period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act [Nov. 28, 1990]; except that the Secretary shall complete 
construction of any project commenced under subsection (a) before such 
day.''

  Ex. Ord. No. 9170. Certain Navigation Laws Made Applicable to Virgin 
                                 Islands

    Ex. Ord. No. 9170, eff. May 21, 1942, 7 F.R. 384, provided in part:
    It is ordered that all of the navigation and vessel inspection laws 
of the United States be, and they are hereby, made applicable to the 
Virgin Islands of the United States, with the following exceptions:
    (1) The coastwise laws of the United States.
    (2) The act of Congress approved June 7, 1897 (30 Stat. 96), as 
amended by the acts of February 19, 1900 (31 Stat. 30), May 25, 1914 (38 
Stat. 381), March 1, 1933 (47 Stat. 1417), Aug. 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 668, 
669), May 20, 1936 (49 Stat. 1367), and April 22, 1940 (54 Stat. 150).
    (3) So much of the vessel inspection laws of the United States as 
requires the inspection as a passenger vessel of any cargo vessel, 
foreign or domestic, when carrying more than twelve passengers or 
persons in addition to the crew.
    (4) Federal laws levying tonnage duties, light money, or entrance 
and clearance fees.


                            Cross References

    Terms of the convention between the United States and Denmark, see 
Presidential Proclamation of Jan. 25, 1917, 39 Stat. 1706.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 1545 of this title.
