An Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct the Santa Maria project, Southern Pacific Basin, Calif
PL 83-774 (H.R.2235), enacted 09/03/1954

1190 
PUBLIC LAW 774-SEPT. 3, 1954 
[68 S T A T . 
48 Stat. 15 9. 
32 u s e 66, 171-
176. 
61 Stat. 840. 
34 u s e 211a(o). 
(b) This Act does not modify in any manner any provision of sec-
tion 81 of the National Defense Act, as amended. 
(c) This Act does not modify in any manner any provision of sub-
section 304 (o) of the Officer Personnel Act of 1947, as amended. 
Approved September 3, 1954. 
Septembers, 1954 
[H. R. 2235] 
Public Law 774 
CHAPTER 1258 
AN ACT 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to construct the Santa Maria project, 
Southern Pacific Basin, California. 
S a n t a M a r i a 
project, ealif. 
43 u s e 423e. 
Repayment con-
tract. 
Appropriation. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of ^Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the Secretary 
of the Interior is hereby authorized to construct the project for irriga-
tion and the conservation of water, flood control, and for other pur-
poses, on Santa Maria River, California, pursuant to the laws of 
California relating to water and water rights, and, otherwise sub-
stantially in accordance with the recommendations of the Secretary 
of the Interior dated January 16, 1953, entitled "Santa Maria 
project, Southern Pacific Basin, California", in i-elation to the 
Vaquero Dam and Reservoir and any other conservation feature of 
the project: Provided^ That in view of the special circumstances of the 
Santa Maria project, neither the provisions of the third sentence of 
section 46 of the Act of May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 636, 649) nor any other 
similar provision of the Federal reclamation law^s shall be applicable 
thereto so long as the water utilized on project lands is acquired by 
pumping from the underground reservoir: Provided further^ That a 
repayment contract not exceeding a period of fifty years be executed 
prior to commencement of construction of the works herein authorized. 
SEC. 2. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any 
moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may 
be required for the purposes of this Act not to exceed $16,982,000. 
Approved September 3, 1954. 
Public Law 775 
CHAPTER 1259 
September 3, 1954 
^^ 
A C T 
[H. R. 5420] 
To amend section 161, title 35, United States Code, relating to the patenting 
of plants. 
P a t e n t s 
plants. 
66 Stat. 804. 
f o r 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That section 161, 
title 35, United States Code, is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 161. PATENTS FOR PLANTS.—Whoever invents or discovers and 
asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant, including 
cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and new^ly found seedlings, other 
than a tuber propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated 
state, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and 
requirements of this title. 
"The provisions of this title relating to patents for inventions shall 
apply to patents for plants, except as otherwise provided." 
Approved September 3, 1954.