Except as specifically provided for elsewhere in this chapter with respect to surveying work authorized to be performed by a registered land surveyor, it shall be the duty of the Surveyor to execute any surveying work for the District of Columbia without charge, on the order of the Mayor; and all fees for surveys made by the Surveyor or the Assistant Surveyor shall be paid over to the Collector of Taxes of the District of Columbia under regulations to be prescribed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and be covered into the Treasury of the United States as other revenues of the District are now; and the field notes of the Surveyor and his Assistant shall be preserved and shall be a part of the public property of the District of Columbia, and all records, plats, plans, and other papers or documents now existing, or hereafter made or secured by the Office of the said Surveyor, shall be delivered by each Surveyor to his successor in office, and no plat or survey of land shall be recorded in the Office of the Surveyor of the District of Columbia except it be certified to as correct by the Surveyor of said District, or a registered land surveyor.
CREDIT(S)
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1426, ch. 854, § 1591; Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-261, § 5005(a), 46 DCR 3142.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-916.
1973 Ed., § 1-616.
Legislative History of Laws
Law 12-261, the “Second Omnibus Regulatory Reform Amendment Act of 1998,” was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 12-845, which was referred to the Committee of the Whole. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 1, 1998, and December 15, 1998, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on December 31, 1998, it was assigned Act No. 12-615 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 12-261 became effective on April 20, 1999.
Change in Government
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.
Miscellaneous Notes
Office of Collector of Taxes abolished: The Office of the Collector of Taxes was abolished and the functions thereof transferred to the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia by Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952. All functions of the Office of the Collector of Taxes including the functions of all officers, employees and subordinate agencies were transferred to the Director, Department of General Administration by Reorganization Order No. 3, dated August 28, 1952. Reorganization Order No. 20, dated November 10, 1952, transferred the functions of the Collector of Taxes to the Finance Office. The same Order provided for the Office of the Collector of Taxes headed by a Collector in the Finance Office, and abolished the previously existing Office of the Collector of Taxes. Reorganization Order No. 20 was superseded and replaced by Organization Order No. 121, dated December 12, 1957, which provided that the Finance Office (consisting of the Office of the Finance Officer, Property Tax Division, Revenue Division, Treasury Division, Accounting Division, and Data Processing Division) would continue under the direction and control of the Director of General Administration, and that the Treasury Division would perform the function of collecting revenues of the District of Columbia and depositing the same with the Treasurer of the United States. Organization Order No. 121 was revoked by Organization Order No. 3, dated December 13, 1967, Part IVC of which prescribed the functions of the Finance Office within a newly established Department of General Administration. The executive functions of the Board of Commissioners were transferred to the Commissioner of the District of Columbia by § 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967. Functions of the Finance Office as stated in Part IVC of Organization Order No. 3 were transferred to the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue by Commissioner's Order No. 69-96, dated March 7, 1969. The collection functions of the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue were transferred to the District of Columbia Treasurer by § 47-316 on March 5, 1981.