An Act creating the Muscatine Bridge Commission and authorizing said Commission and its successors to acquire by purchase or condemnation and to construct, maintain, and operate a bridge or bridges across the Mississippi River at or near the city of Muscatine, Iowa, and the town of Drury, Illinois
PL 84-811 (H.R.11010), enacted 07/26/1956

70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 811-JULY 26, 1956 
669 
Public Law 811 
CHAPTER 743 
AN ACT 
July 26, 1956 
Creating the Muscatine Bridge Commission and authorizing said Commission and —[H. R. i lo lO]— 
its successors to acquire by purchase or condemnation and to construct, main-
tain, and operate a bridge or bridges across the Mississippi River at or near 
the city of Muscatine, Iowa, and the town of Drury, Illinois. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in order to 
^^^^^ci^nZ 
facilitate interstate commerce, improve the postal service, and provide lowaMdDmry.ml 
for military and other purposes, the Muscatine Bridge Commission 
(hereinafter created, and hereinafter referred to as the "commission"), 
and its successors and assigns be, and are hereby, authorized to con-
struct, maintain, and operate a bridge or bridges and approaches 
thereto, across the Mississippi River at or near the city of Muscatine, 
Iowa, and the town of Drury, Rock Island County, Illinois, at a point 
or points suitable to the interest of navigation, subject to the condi-
tions and limitations contained in this Act, For like purposes said 
commission, or its successors and assigns, are hereby authorized to 
acquire by purchase or condemnation, and to reconstruct, maintain, 
and operate any existing bridge for vehicular traffic and pedestrian 
traffic crossing the Mississippi River at or near the city of Muscatine, 
Iowa, and may acquire control of any such existing bridge by purchase 
of stock in any corporation owning any such bridge, or by a convey-
ance from such corporation, or by purchase or conveyance of any in-
terest in such bridge from an individual, partnership, company, or 
other legal entity which might have ownership in such bridge, and in 
any case the existing right or rights, if any, of the city of Muscatine, 
Iowa, to acquire any such bridge shall be merged into and represented 
by acquisition thereof by the commission and said commission shall be 
authorized to maintain and operate said bridge subject to the con-
ditions and limitations contained in this Act: Provided, That the stati«'"°^*^ ^^' 
power granted in this Act with respect to the acquisition and pur-
chase of any bridge shall not be exercised by said commission until all 
terms of the proposed acquisition and purchase of any such bridge 
shall have been approved by the highway departments of the States of 
Iowa and Illinois. 
SEC. 2. Jurisdiction of all condemnation proceedings under this 
condemnation 
Act for the acquisition of any existing bridge is hereby conferred ^ jurUdictipn. 
upon the United States District Court for the Southern District of 
Iowa, and for such purpose the process of such court may be served 
outside of the State or district in which such court is located. 
Such 
proceedings shall follow as nearly as may be the law of the State of 
Iowa governing the proceedings for the condemnation of private 
property for public purposes Dy said State. 
Copies of any final 
judgment, decree, or order of such court in any such condemnation 
proceedings relating to land located outside said district shall be 
filed with the clerk of the court of the Federal district in which such 
land is located. In any such condemnation proceedings the commis-
sion shall be authorized to condemn all right, title, and interest in 
the bridge or bridges and approaches, and all right, title, and interest 
in real property necessary therefor. 
SEC. 3. There is hereby conferred upon the commission and its 
Acqui«ition„ 
successors and assigns the right and power to enter upon such lands ***'*' *
* P'^P^'^y* 
and to acquire, condemn, occupy, possess, and use such privately owned 
real estate and other property in the State of Iowa and the State of 
Illinois as may be needed for the location and construction of any 
such bridge or bridges and for the operation and maintenance of any 
bridge and its approaches hereby authorized to be acquired or con-
structed, upon maKing just compensation therefor, to be ascertained 
670 
PUBLIC LAW 811-JULY 26, 1956 
[70 
S T A T . 
Agreement w i t h 
U.S. 
Bonds. 
Truat agreement. 
Ad V e rtisement 
for bids. 
and paid according to the laws of the State in which such real estate 
or other property is situated, and the proceedings therefor shall be 
the same as in the condemnation of private property for public purpose 
in said State, respectively. 
The commission and its successors and 
assigns are further authorized to enter into agreements with the States 
of Illinois and Iowa, and any political subdivision thereof, for the 
acquisition, lease, or use of any lands or property owned by such State 
or political subdivision. 
The commission and its succe^ors and 
assigns are further authorized to enter into agreement with the United 
States of America, or any of its agencies, for the acquisition, lease, or 
use of any lands or property owned by or under the jurisdiction of 
the United States or its agencies. 
SEC. 4. The commission and its successors and assigns are hereby 
authorized to provide for the payment of the cost of such bridge 
or bridges as may be acquired, reconstructed, or constructed, as here-
in provided, and approaches (including the approach highways, 
which, in the judgment of the commission, it is necessary or advisable 
to construct or cause to be constructed to provide suitable and ade-
quate connection with existing improved highways) and the neces-
sary land easements and appurtenances thereto, by an issue or issues 
of negotiable bonds of the commission, bearing interest, payable semi-
annually, at the rate of not more than 6 per centum per annum, the 
principal and interest of which bonds shall be payable solely from 
the funds provided in accordance with this Act, and such payments 
may be further secured by mortgage of the bridge or bridges. 
All 
such bonds may be registered as to principal alone or both principal 
and interest, shall be payable as to prmcipal within not to exceed thirty 
years from the date thereof, shall be in such denominations, shall be 
executed in such manner, and shall be payable in such medium and 
at such place or places as the commission may determine, and the 
face amount thereof shall be so calculated as to produce, at the price 
of their sale, the cost of the bridge or bridges acquired or constructed, 
and approaches and the land easements, and appurtenances used in 
connection therewith, when added to any other funds made available 
to the commission for said purposes. 
The commission may reserve 
the right to redeem any or all of said bonds before maturity in such 
manner and at such price or prices not exceeding 105 per centum of 
the face value and accrued interest as may be fixed by the commission 
prior to the issuance of the bonds. The commission when it deems it 
advisable may issue refunding bonds to refinance any outstanding 
bonds at maturity or before maturity when called for redemption: 
Provided^ That such refunding bonds shall mature within not to exceed 
thirty years from the date thereof and shall not exceed in principal 
amount the principal amount of outstanding bonds replaced by such 
refunding bonds. The commission may enter into an agreement with 
any bank or trust company in the United States as trustee having the 
power to make such agreement, setting forth the duties of the com-
mission, in respect to the acquisition, construction, maintenance, opera-
tion, repair, and insurance of the bridge or bridges, the conservation 
and application of all funds, the security for the payment of the bonds, 
the saieguarding of money on hand or on deposit, and the rights 
and remedies of said trustee and the holders of the bonds, restricting 
the individual right of action of the bondholders as is customary in 
trust agreements respecting bonds of corporations. 
Such trust agree-
ment may contain such provisions for protecting and enforcing the 
rights and remedies of the trustee and the bondholders as may be rea-
sonable and proper and not inconsistent with the law. 
Said bonds may be sold at not less than par after public advertise-
ment for bids to be opened publicly at the time and place stated in such 
advertisement and at the price bid which will yield the greatest re-
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 811-JULY 26, 1956 
671 
Tolls. 
34 Stat. 84. 
33 u s e 491-498. 
turn to the commission for the bonds to be sold. 
Such advertisement 
for bids shall be published at least once each week for four consecutive 
weeks in a newspaper or financial journal having recognized circula-
tion among bidders for bonds of the type and character offered. 
The 
price to be paid for the bridge or bridges acquired hereunder shall 
not exceed the reasonable value thereof as determined by the commis-
sion at the time of acquisition. 
The cost of the bridge to be con-
structed as provided herein, together with the approaches and ap-
proach highways, shall be deemed to include interest during construc-
tion of the bridge and for twelve months thereafter, and all engineer-
ing, legal, financing, architectural, traffic-surveying, condemnation, 
and other expenses incident to the bridge and the acquisition of the 
necessary property, including the cost of riparian rights relating to 
the bridge. 
If the proceeds of the bonds shall exceed the cost as 
finally determined the excess shall be placed in the fund hereafter 
provided to pay the principal and interest of such bonds. 
Prior to 
the preparation of definitive bonds the commission may, under like 
restrictions, issue temporary bonds or may, under like restrictions, 
issue temporary bonds or interim certificates without coupons, of any 
denomination whatsoever, exchangable for definitive bonds when such 
bonds that have been executed are available for delivery. 
SEC. 5. The commission and its successors and assigns are hereby 
authorized to fix and charge tolls for transit over such bridge or 
bridges in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and as provided 
by the Act of Congress approved March 23, 1906, as amended or sup-
plemented. 
The rates and schedule of toll to be charged for the use 
of such bridge or bridges shall be adjusted from year to year and main-
tained so as to provide a fund sufficient to pay for the reasonable cost 
of maintaining, repairing, and operating the bridge or bridges and 
approaches under efficient management, and to provide a fund suffi-
cient to pay the principal and interest of such bonds as the same shall 
fall due and the redemption or repurchase price of all or any thereof 
redeemed or repurchased before maturity as herein provided. 
All 
tolls and other revenues from said bridge or bridges are hereby pledged 
to such uses and to the application thereof as hereinafter in this sec-
tion required. 
After payment or provision for payment therefrom 
of all such cost of maintenance, repair, and operation, and the reserva-
tion of an amount of money estimated to be sufficient for the same 
purpose diiring an ensuing period of not more than six months, the 
remainder of tolls collected shall be placed in a fund, at intervals to be 
determined by the commission prior to the issuance of the bonds, to 
pay the principal and interests of such bonds. An accurate record 
of the cost of the bridge or bridges and approaches; the expenditures 
for maintaining, repairing, and operating the same; and of the daily 
tolls collected, shall be kept and shall be available for the information 
of all persons interested. 
The commission shall classify in a reason-
able way all traffic over the bridge or bridges so that the tolls shall be 
so fixed and adjusted by it as to be uniform in the application thereof 
to all traffic falling within reasonable classes, regardless of the status 
or character of any person, firm, or corporation participating in such 
traffic, and shall prevent all use of such bridge or bridges for traffic 
except upon payment of tolls so fixed and adjusted. 
No toll shall be 
charged officials or employees of the commission, nor shall toll be 
charged officials of the Government of the United States while in the 
discharge of duties incident to their office or employment, nor shall 
toll be charged members of the fire department or peace officers when 
engaged in the performance of their official duties. 
Within a reasonable time after the construction of any bridge or 
bridges, or the acquisition of any bridge or bridges, the commission StVtemei^ 
Restriction. 
F i l i n g of con-
s t r u c t i o n 
c o s t 
672 
PUBLIC LAW 811-JULY 26, 1966 
[70 ST A T . 
D i s p o s a l of 
existing bridge. 
Record. 
Conveyance to 
Iowa and niinois 
interests. 
Conditions. 
shall file with the Commissioner of Public Roads, Department of 
Commerce, a sworn itemized statement showing the cost of construct-
ing or reconstructing or purchasing the bridge or bridges and their 
approaches, the cost of acquiring any interest in real or other property 
necessary therefor, and the amount of bonds, debentures, or other evi-
dence of indebtedness issued in connection with the construction or 
reconstruction or acquisition of said bridge or bridges. 
SEC. 6. Nothing herein contained shall require the commission or its 
successors to maintain or operate any presently existing bridge ac-
quired hereunder, if and when all bonds issued for account of such 
bridge shall have been retired or provision for the payment of inter-
est on and the retirement of such bonds from the revenues from any 
other bridge shall have been made at the time of issuance of such 
bonds. Any such presently existing bridge so acquired and any ap-
purtenances and property thereto connected and belonging, may be 
sold or otherwise disposed of or may be abandoned or dismantled 
whenever in the judgment of the commission or its successors, and 
subject to the approval of the Commissioner Public Roads, and the 
Secretary of the Army, it may be declared expedient so to do, and pro-
visions with respect to and regulating any such sale, disposal, aban-
donment, or dismantlement may be included in proceedings for the 
issuance and sale of bonds for account of any such bridge. 
The com-
mission and its successors may fix such rates of toll for the use of such 
bridge as it may deem proper, subject to the same conditions as are 
hereinabove required as to tolls for traffic over the bridge to be con-
structed, provided tolls shall be fixed and revised from time to time for 
traffic over all bridges so as not to adversely reflect upon tTie earnings 
of any bridge or bridges for account of which bonds may be outstand-
ing. An accurate record of the cost of acquiring or constructing each 
such bridge; the expenditures for maintaining, repairing, and operat-
ing the same; and of the daily tolls collected shall be kept and shall 
be available for the information of all persons interested. 
SEC. 7. (a) After payment of the bonds and interest, or after a 
sinking fund sufficient for such payment shall have been provided 
and shall be held solely for that purpose, the commission shall de-
liver deeds or other suitable instruments of conveyance of the interest 
of the commission in and to that part of said bridge or bridges within 
Iowa to the State of Iowa or any municipality or agency thereof 
authorized by or pursuant to law to accept the same (hereafter re-
ferred to as the "Iowa interests"), and that part of said bridge or 
bridges within Illinois to the State of Illinois or any municipality or 
agency thereof authorized by or pursuant to law to accept the same 
(hereafter referred to as the "Illinois interests"), under the condition 
that the bridge or bridges shall thereafter be free of tolls and be 
properly maintained, operated, and repaired by the Iowa interests and 
the Illinois interests, as may be agreed upon; but if the Iowa or Illinois 
interests, as the case may be, fail to accept, or are not authorized to 
accept, their respective portions of said bridge or bridges, then the 
commission may deliver deeds, or other suitable instruments of con-
veyance of said portions, to any other interest which may accept and 
may be authorized to accept the same, under the condition that the 
bridge or bridges shall thereafter be free of toll and be properly main-
tained, operated, and repaired by the interests to whom said convey-
ances are delivered; but if either the Iowa interests, or the Illinois 
interests, or any other interest hereinabove mentioned shall not be 
authorized to accept or shall not accept the same under such condi-
tions, then the bridge or bridges shall continue to be owned, main-
tained, operated, and repaired by the commission as a toll bridge, tolls 
to be charged being reduced so as to provide only such money as may 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 811-JULY 26, 1956 
678 
be necessary to pay maintenance, operators expense, and repairs, 
until such time as the Iowa interests, the Illinois interests, or any 
other interest hereinabove mentioned shall be authorized to accept 
and shall accept such conveyance under such conditions. The rate or 
rates of toll for crossing any bridge now existing or hereafter con-
structed or reconstructed which abuts upon or enters into the corporate 
limits of the city of Muscatine, Iowa, shall not be reduced below the 
rate or rates now in effect on existing bridges so long as AHJ indebted-
ness of said commission for the account of any bridge or bridges shall 
be outstanding and unpaid. 
Before deeds or other suitable instru-
ments of conveyance are offered to the Iowa interests and the Illinois 
interests for acceptance, the commission shall place the bridge or 
bridges in a state of repair which will meet the approval of the high-
way departments of the States of Iowa and Illinois, and if in the 
opinion of said highw^ay departments said bridge or bridges will need 
repainting within two years after the date of conveyance of title, the 
commission shall turn over to the Iowa interests and the Illinois in-
terests sufficient funds to pay the cost of repainting. 
(b) Notwithstanding any restrictions or limitation imposed by the 
Act entitled "An Act to provide that the United States shall aid the 
States in the construction of rural post roads, and for other purposes", 
approved July 11, 1916, as amended and supplemented, the Commis-
sioner of Public Roads, Department of Commerce, or any other Fed- use 48. 
eral department or agency of the United States Government may 
extend Federal aid under such Act for the acquisition, reconstruction, 
or construction of said bridge or bridges out of any moneys allocated 
to the State of Iowa with the consent of the State highway commission 
of said State, and out of moneys allocated to the State of Illinois with 
the consent of the department of highways of said State. 
SEC. 8. For the purpose of carrying into effect the objects stated 
in this Act, there is hereby created the Muscatine Bridge Commission, 
and by that name, style, and title said body shall have perpetual suc-
cession ; may contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, implead 
and be impleaded, complain and defend in all courts of law and equity; 
may make and have a common seal; may purchase or otherwise acquire 
and hold or dispose of real estate and other property; may accept and 
receive donations or gifts of money or property and apply same to 
the purposes of this Act; and shall have and possess all powers neces-
sary, convenient, or proper for carrying into effect the objects stated 
in this Act. 
The commission shall consist of L. R. McKee, E. W. Boynton, 
H. W. Ogilvie, G. J. Volger, and C. A. Rehwaldt, and a representative 
from the highway department of each of the States of Iowa and Illi-
nois, such representative from Iowa to be designated by the State 
Highway Commission of Iowa and such representative from Illinois 
to be designated by its division of highways, department of public 
works and buildings; such commission shall be a public body corporate 
and politic, but is hereby declared not to be an agency of the Federal 
Government. Of the members of the commission hereinabove named, 
L. R. McKee and E. W. Boynton shall serve for a term of three years 
each, H. W. Ogilvie and C. A. Rehwaldt for a term of four years each, 
and G. J. Volger for a term of five years, from the date of approval 
of this Act, and thereafter each member appointed on the commission 
shall be for a term of five years, except when such appointment is to 
fill an unexpired term. Each member of the commission shall qualify 
within thirty days after the approval of this Act by filing with the 
secretary of the commission an oath that he will faithfully perform 
the duties imposed upon him by this Act, and each person appointed 
to fill a vacancy shall qualify in like manner within thirty days after 
R e p a i r and re-
painting. 
39 Stat. 355. 
16 u s e 503; 23 
Muscatine Bridge 
eotnmiaaion. 
Members. 
Oath. 
69225 O - 57 - 47 (Vol. 70) 
674 
PUBLIC LAW 811-JULY 26, 1956 
[70 S T A T . 
Bond. 
Compensation, 
expenses, etc. 
Vacancy. 
^ig appointment. 
Any vacancy in said commission, other than of 
members to be designated by the highway departments of Iowa and 
Illinois, occurring by reason of failure to qualify as above provided, 
or by reason of death, expiration of term, or resignation, shall be 
filled by two-thirds majority vote of the remaining members of the 
commission or by the Iowa State Highway Commission in the event 
the remaining members of the bridge commission are unable to agree 
upon such appointment within a period of ninety days from the date 
the vacancy occurred. Before the issuance of bonds as hereinabove 
provided, each member of the commission shall give bond in the sum 
of $10,000: Promded, That the chairman, and the secretary and the 
treasurer if they are members of the commission, shall give bond of 
$25,000 each conditioned upon the faithful performance of all duties 
required by this Act; the cost of such surety prior to and during the 
acquisition of the existing bridge or the reconstruction or the con-
struction of a bridge shall be paid or reimbursed from the bond pro-
ceeds and thereafter such costs shall be deemed an operating expense. 
Bonds of the commission members shall be filed with the secretary of 
the commission. The commission shall annually elect from its mem-
bers a chairman and a vice chairman, who shall each serve until his 
successor is elected, and may establish rules and regulations for the 
government of its own business. 
A majority of the members shall 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 
SEC. 9, The commission shall have no capital stock or shares of 
interest or participation, and all revenues and receipts thereof shall 
be applied to the purposes specified in this Act. 
The members of the 
commission shall be entitled to a per diem compensation for their 
services of $20 for each day actually spent in the business of the com-
mission, but the maximum per diem compensation of the chairman in 
any one year shall not exceed $3,000, and the maximum annual per 
diem compensation of each other member shall not exceed $2,000. 
The members of the commission shall also be entitled to receive trav-
eling expense allowance of 10 cents a mile for each mile actually 
Personnel. 
traveled on the business of the commission. 
The commission shall 
employ a secretary and may employ a treasurer, engineers, attorneys, 
and other such experts, assistants, and employees as they may deem 
necessary, who shall be entitled to receive such reasonable compensa-
tion as the commission may determine. 
All salaries and expenses shall 
be paid solely from the funds provided under the authority of this 
Dissolution. 
Act. 
After all bonds and interest thereon shall have been paid and 
all other obligations of the commission paid or discharged, or provi-
sion for all such payment shall have been made as hereinbefore pro-
vided, and after the bridge or bridges shall have been conveyed to the 
Iowa interests, and the Illinois interests, as herein provided, or other-
wise disposed of as provided herein the commission shall be dissolved 
and shall cease to have further existence by an order of the United 
States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa made upon 
application of the commission or upon application of any other party 
in interest, but only after a public hearing in the city of Muscatine, 
Iowa, notice of the time and place of which hearing and the purpose 
thereof shall have been published once, at least thirty days before the 
(late thereof, in a newspaper published in the city of Muscatine, Iowa. 
At the time of dissolution all money in the hands of or to the credit 
of the commission shall be divided into equal parts, one of which shall 
be paid to said Iowa interests and the other to said Illinois interests, 
or to any other interest to which the bridge or bridges is conveyed. 
Contracts. 
SEC. 10. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Act, the 
commission shall have full power and authority to negotiate and enter 
into a contract or contracts with the State Highway Commission of 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 811-JULY 26, 1956 
676 
Iowa and the Department of Highways of Illinois, or any govern-
mental entity in the State of Illinois or the State of Iowa, or any non-
governmental group in the State of Iowa or any nongovernmental 
group in the State of Illinois or the United States Government or any 
agency or department thereof, whereby the commission may receive 
financial aid, or any other aid, in the acquisition and maintenance of 
an existing bridge and approaches and appurtenances thereto; or the 
reconstruction or construction of a bridge and approaches and appur-
tenances thereto. 
The said commission may avail itself of all the facilities of the 
State Highway Commission of the State of Iowa and the Depart-
ment of Highways of the State of Illinois, pr any subdivision of 
either State, or any department or agency of the United States Gov-
ernment, with regard to the acquisition of the existing bridge or the 
reconstruction or construction of a bridge. 
The commission may 
make and enter into any contract or contracts which it deems expedient 
and proper with the State Highway Commission of Iowa, or the 
Department of Highways of Illinois, or any governmental agency, 
department, or subdivision of either or both States, or the United 
States Government or any department or agency thereof, whereby 
they or any of them may, by contract, participate with the commis-
sion in the financing, acquisition, operation, and maintenance of an 
existing bridge and the approaches and appurtenances thereto, or 
may participate with the commission in the financing, reconstruction 
or construction, operation, and maintenance of a bridge and 
approaches and appurtenances thereto. It is hereby declared to be 
the ultimate desire and purpose of Congress to facilitate the con-
struction of a bridge and proper approaches and appurtenances 
thereto across the Mississippi River at or near Muscatine, Iowa, and 
the town of Drury, Rock Island County, Illinois, and to empower the 
Muscatine Bridge Commission to promote said object and purpose. 
The powers given to the commission shall be broadly construed so 
that the ultimate desire and purpose of Congress may be fulfilled, 
which will facilitate interstate commerce, facilitate the postal service, 
and provide modern adequate bridge facilities for the military and 
promote national defense and security. 
SEC. 11. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize or 
permit the commission or any member thereof to create any obligation 
or incur any liability other than such obligations and liabilities as are 
dischargeable solely from funds contemplated to be provided by this 
Act. 
No obligation created or liability incurred pursuant to this 
Act shall be a personal obligation or liability of any member or mem-
bers of the commission, but shall be chargeable solely to the funds 
herein provided, nor shall any indebtedness created pursuant to this 
Act be an indebtedness of the United States. 
SEC. 12. The design and construction of any bridge which may be 
built pursuant to this Act shall be in accordance with the standard 
specifications for highway bridges adopted by the American Associa-
tion of State Highway Officials, and the location and design of any 
such bridge shall be subject to approval by the highway departments 
of the States of Iowa and Illinois. 
SEC. 13. Any bridge or bridges constructed, acquired, or recon-
structed under authority of this Act shall be constructed, maintained, 
and operated in accordance with the provisions of the Act entitled 
"An Act to regulate the construction of bridges over navigable waters", 
approved March 23,1906, as amended or supplemented. 
By reason of 
the commission hereinbefore created being a public body the provisions 
of the Securities Act of 1933 and of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, 
Purpose of Con-
greM. 
Obligations. 
Design and coii-
struction. 
Operation. 
34 Stat. 84. 
33 u s e 49i-49». 
No n applicabil-
ity. 
48 S t a t . 74; .'i3 
Stat. 1149. 
15 u s e 
77 a, 
77aaa. 
676 
PUBLIC LAW 812-JULY 26, 1956 
[70 
S T A T . 
Federal instru-
mentality. 
Tax exemption. 
Jurisdiction. 
Reservation. 
and any amendments to either or both of said Acts, shall not apply to 
bonds authorized to be issued by this Act. 
SEC. 14. The bridge or bridges purchased or constructed under the 
authority of this Act shall be deemed to be Federal instrumentalities 
for interstate commerce, the postal service, and military and other 
purposes authorized by the Government of the United States, and said 
bridge or bridges and the income derived therefrom shall be exempt 
from all Federal, State, municipal, and local property and income 
taxation. 
SEC. 15. Upon complaint of the attorney general of the State of 
Iowa or the attorney^ general of the State of Illinois or upon complaint 
of any other party m interest the United States District Court for the 
Southern District of Iowa shall have jurisdiction over the commission 
with respect to the enforcement and prevention of violation of the 
provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 16. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby 
expressly reserved. 
Approved July 26, 1956. 
July 26, 1956 
[H. R. 8149] 
Public Law 812 
CHAPTER 744 
AN ACT 
To amend the Act of April 1, 1942, so as to permit the transfer of an action from 
the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to the municipal 
court for the District of Columbia at any time prior to trial thereof, if it 
appears that such action will not justify a judgment in excess of $3,000. 
D. C. Municipal 
Court. 
Transfer o f ac-
tions from District 
Court. 
56 Stat. 193. 
Be it encicted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States 
of America 
in Congress assembled, That the first 
sentence of section 5 (a) of the Act entitled "An Act to consolidate 
the police court of the District of Columbia and the municipal court 
of the District of Columbia, to be known as 'The Municipal Court 
for the District of Columbia', to create 'The Municipal Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia', and for other purposes", 
approved April Ij 1942 (D. C. Code, sec. 11-756), is amended to read 
as follows: "If, in any action, other than an action for equitable 
relief, pending on the effective date of this Act or thereafter com-
menced in the United States District Court for the District of 
Columbia, it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court at any time 
prior to trial thereof that the action will not justify a judgment in 
excess of $3,000, the court may certify such action to the municipal 
court for the District of Columbia for trial." 
Approved July 26, 1956. 
u 
uly 26, 1956 
R.12237] 
Public Law 813 
CHAPTER 745 
AN ACT 
To encourage and assist the States in the establishment of State committees 
on education beyond the high school, and for other purposes. 
H i g h e r educa-
tion. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and Hoiise of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress 
hereby finds and declares that the impending great increases in enroll-
ment in higher education institutions, the great national need for 
increased numbers of scientists, engineers, teachers, technicians, 
nurses, and other trained personnel, the rapid changes in conditions 
which necessitate additional education for many adults, the depend-
ence of the national security on the research and advanced prepara-