The Mayor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized to accept advancements for the District of Columbia from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, or its successor, and said Administration, or its successor, with the approval of the President, is authorized to advance to said Mayor the sum of $450,000, or any part thereof, in addition to any sums heretofore advanced to the District of Columbia by said Administration, or its successor, out of funds authorized by law for said Administration, or its successor, for a building for the Office of the Recorder of Deeds to be located on premises now known as 515 D Street Northwest, formerly used as the Police Court, as recommended by a committee appointed by the Mayor under order of January 12, 1940, and the making of such advances is hereby included among the purposes for which funds heretofore appropriated or authorized for said Administration or its successor, including funds appropriated by the Public Works Administration Appropriation Act of 1938, may be used, in addition to the other purposes specified in the respective acts appropriating or authorizing said funds.

(July 11, 1940, 54 Stat. 757, ch. 583, § 1.)

1981 Ed., § 9-214.

1973 Ed., § 9-215.

This section is referenced in § 10-615, § 10-616, and § 10-617.

The Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works was consolidated into the Federal Works Agency to be administered by the Public Works Administration by 1939 Reorganization Plan No. 1, §§ 301, 305, 4 F.R. 2729, 53 Stat. 1426. All functions of the Public Works Administration and the Commissioner of Public Works, in the Federal Works Agency, were transferred to the Federal Works Administrator by Executive Order No. 9357, June 30, 1943, 8 F.R. 9041. All functions of the Federal Works Agency and of all agencies thereof, together with all functions of the Federal Works Administrator, were transferred to the Administrator of General Services by § 103(a) of the Act of June 30, 1949, 63 Stat. 380, ch. 288. Both the Federal Works Agency and the Office of Federal Works Administrator were abolished by § 103(b) of the Act of June 30, 1949.

Act of April 1, 1942, 56 Stat. 190, ch. 207, § 1, consolidated the Police Court and the Municipal Court into a single court, to be known as “The Municipal Court for the District of Columbia”. Act of July 8, 1963, 77 Stat. 77, Pub. L. 88-60, § 1, changed the name of the court to the “District of Columbia Court of General Sessions”. Act of July 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 570, Pub. L. 91-358, § 155(a), changed the name of the court to Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.