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B-277719 1 (1997-08-20)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptagdk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 Office of the General Counsel B-277719 August 20, 1997 Congressional Requesters This responds to your July 29, 1997, letter asking whether section 108 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, is permanent law or expires at the end of fiscal year 1997.1 Section 108 of the Interior Appropriations Act states that: No final rule or regulation of any agency of the Federal Government pertaining to the recognition, management, or validity of a right-of-way pursuant to Revised Statute 2477 (43 U.S.C. 932) shall take effect unless expressly authorized by an Act of Congress subsequent to the date of enactment of this Act. 110 Stat. 3009-200. For the reasons discussed below, we believe section 108 is permanent law. Discussion Since an appropriation act is made for a particular fiscal year, the starting presumption is that everything contained in the act is effective only for the year covered. 31 U.S.C § 1301(c)(2)(1994). For this reason, a provision in an appropriation act will be considered to be permanent only if the statutory language or the nature of the provision makes it clear that Congress intended the provision to be permanent. 65 Comp. Gen. 588, 589 (1986). Permanency is indicated most clearly when the provision in the appropriation act uses words of futurity. While hereafter is a common word of futurity, we have afforded language such as after the date of approval of this act the same treatment. E.g., 36 Comp. Gen 434, 436 (1956). The language subsequent to the date of enactment of this Act found in section 108 of the fiscal year 1997 Interior Appropriations Act is of the same character. 1 The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, is contained in section 101(d) of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009, 3009-181(1996). 458815

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