§ 710. — Accountability for property issued to the National Guard.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 32USC710]
TITLE 32--NATIONAL GUARD
CHAPTER 7--SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROCUREMENT
Sec. 710. Accountability for property issued to the National
Guard
(a) All military property issued by the United States to the
National Guard remains the property of the United States.
(b) The Secretary of the Army shall prescribe regulations for
accounting for property issued by the United States to the Army National
Guard and for the fixing of responsibility for that property. The
Secretary of the Air Force shall prescribe regulations for accounting
for property issued by the United States to the Air National Guard and
for the fixing of responsibility for that property. So far as
practicable, regulations prescribed under this section shall be uniform
among the components of each service.
(c) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned under
subsection (b), liability for the value of property issued by the United
States to the National Guard that is lost, damaged, or destroyed may be
charged (1) to a member of the Army National Guard or the Air National
Guard when in similar circumstances a member of the Army or Air Force
serving on active duty would be so charged, or (2) to a State or
Territory, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia when the property is
lost, damaged, or destroyed incident to duty directed pursuant to the
laws of, and in support of the authorities of, such jurisdiction.
Liability charged to a member of the Army National Guard or the Air
National Guard shall be paid out of pay due to the member for duties
performed as a member of the National Guard, unless the Secretary
concerned shall for good cause remit or cancel that liability. Liability
charged to a State or Territory, Puerto Rico, or the District of
Columbia shall be paid from its funds or from any other non-Federal
funds.
(d) If property surveyed under this section is found to be
unserviceable or unsuitable, the Secretary concerned or his designated
representative shall direct its disposition by sale or otherwise. The
proceeds of the following under this subsection shall be deposited in
the Treasury under section 4(b)(22) of the Permanent Appropriation
Repeal Act, 1934:
(1) A sale.
(2) A stoppage against a member of the National Guard.
(3) A collection from a person, or from a State or Territory,
Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia, to reimburse the United
States for the loss or destruction of, or damage to, the property.
(e) If a State or Territory, Puerto Rico, or the District of
Columbia, whichever is concerned, neglects or refuses to pay for the
loss or destruction of, or damage to, property charged against it under
subsection (c), the Secretary concerned may bar it from receiving any
part of appropriations for the Army National Guard or the Air National
Guard, as the case may be, until the payment is made.
(f)(1) Instead of the procedure prescribed by subsections (b), (c),
and (d), property issued to the National Guard that becomes
unserviceable through fair wear and tear in service may, under
regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary concerned, be sold or
otherwise disposed of after an inspection, and a finding of
unserviceability because of that wear and tear, by a commissioned
officer designated by the Secretary. The State or Territory, Puerto
Rico, or the District of Columbia, whichever is concerned, is relieved
of accountability for that property.
(2) In designating an officer to conduct inspections and make
findings for purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall
designate--
(A) in the case of the Army National Guard, a commissioned
officer of the Regular Army or a commissioned officer of the Army
National Guard who is also a commissioned officer of the Army
National Guard of the United States; and
(B) in the case of the Air National Guard, a commissioned
officer of the Regular Air Force or a commissioned officer of the
Air National Guard who is also a commissioned officer of the Air
National Guard of the United States.
(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 615; Pub. L. 85-861, Sec. 33(c)(3),
Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1567; Pub. L. 96-328, Sec. 1(a), (b)(1), Aug. 8,
1980, 94 Stat. 1027; Pub. L. 96-513, title V, Sec. 515(8), Dec. 12,
1980, 94 Stat. 2937; Pub. L. 97-258, Sec. 3(h)(2), Sept. 13, 1982, 96
Stat. 1065; Pub. L. 100-456, div. A, title XII, Sec. 1234(b)(1), Sept.
29, 1988, 102 Stat. 2059; Pub. L. 103-160, div. A, title V, Sec. 524(e),
Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1657.)
Historical and Revision Notes
1956 Act
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Revised section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large)
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710(a)................................ 32:47 (1st sentence). June 3, 1916, ch. 134, Sec. 87;
710(b)................................ 32:47 (2d sentence). June 3, 1924, ch. 244, Sec. 1;
710(c)................................ 32:47 (3d sentence). restated Feb. 28, 1925, ch. 371,
32:154 (last proviso of 2d par.). Sec. 4; restated Aug. 27, 1954,
32:47 (last sentence, less ch. 1014, 68 Stat. 880.
710(d)................................ proviso). June 3, 1916, ch. 134, Sec. 110
32:47 (1st proviso of last (last proviso of 2d par.);
710(e)................................ sentence). restated Sept. 22, 1922, ch. 423,
32:47 (last proviso of last Sec. 6 (last proviso of 2d par.);
710(f)................................ sentence). restated Apr. 6, 1928, ch. 322
(last proviso), 45 Stat. 408.
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In subsection (a), the words ``as herein provided'' are omitted as
surplusage.
In subsections (b) and (f), the word ``commissioned'' is inserted,
since 32:47 historically applied only to commissioned officers (see
opinion of the Judge Advocate General of the Army (JAGA 1953/4078, 6 May
1953)).
In subsection (b), the words ``by use in service or from any other
cause'' and ``surveying'' are omitted as surplusage. The words ``a
survey of the circumstances thereof'' are substituted for the word
``it''.
In subsection (c), the first 12 words of the second sentence are
substituted for 32:47 (38th through 77th words of 2d sentence). Clause
(2) is substituted for 32:154 (last proviso of 2d par.).
In subsection (d), the last sentence is substituted for 32:47 (words
between semicolon and 1st colon of last sentence).
In subsection (e), the words ``charged against it under subsection
(c)'' are substituted for the words ``changed against such State,
Territory, or the District of Columbia by the Secretary of the Army
after survey by a disinterested officer appointed as hereinbefore
provided''. The words ``may bar it from receiving'' are substituted for
the words ``is authorized to debar such State, Territory, or the
District of Columbia from further participation in any and all''.
In subsection (f), the words ``Instead of the procedure prescribed
by subsections (b)-(d)'' are substituted for the words ``and to
constitute as to such property a discretional substitute for the
examination, report, and disposition provided for elsewhere in this
section''. The words ``a finding of unserviceability because of that
wear and tear'' are substituted for the words ``finding to that
effect''.
1958 Act
This change corrects a typographical error.
References in Text
Section 4(b)(22) of the Permanent Appropriation Repeal Act, 1934,
referred to in subsec. (d), is section 4(b)(22) of act June 26, 1934,
ch. 756, 48 Stat. 1228, which was classified to section 725c(b)(22) of
former Title 31, and was omitted from the Code in the general revision
and reenactment of Title 31, Money and Finance, by Pub. L. 97-258, Sept.
13, 1982, 96 Stat. 877.
Amendments
1993--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103-160 designated existing provisions as
par. (1), substituted ``subsections (b), (c), and (d)'' for
``subsections (b)-(d)'', struck out ``of the Regular Army or the Regular
Air Force, as the case may be,'' after ``commissioned officer'', and
added par. (2).
1988--Subsecs. (c), (d)(3), (e), (f). Pub. L. 100-456 struck out
``the Canal Zone,'' after ``Puerto Rico,''.
1982--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 97-258 struck out ``(31 U.S.C.
725c(b)(22))'' after ``1934''.
1980--Pub. L. 96-328, Sec. 1(b)(1), substituted ``Accountability for
property issued to the National Guard'' for ``Reports of survey'' in
section catchline.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96-328, Sec. 1(a), substituted provisions
authorizing the Secretary of the Army, regarding the Army National
Guard, and the Secretary of the Air Force, regarding the Air National
Guard, to prescribe regulations for accounting for property issued by
the United States to each service and for fixing responsibility for that
property and requiring, as far as practicable, that the regulations
prescribed be uniform among the components of each service for
provisions authorizing, that if property issued to the National Guard is
lost, damaged, or destroyed, or becomes unserviceable or unsuitable, a
survey of the circumstances involved be conducted by a disinterested
commissioned officer of the Regular Army, Army National Guard, Regular
Air Force, or Air National Guard, as the case may be, and a report of
the survey sent to the Secretary concerned or an officer designated by
that Secretary to receive those reports.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96-328, Sec. 1(a), substituted provisions
authorizing the Secretary concerned to charge liability for property
lost, damaged, or destroyed to a member of the Army National Guard or
Air National Guard when in similar circumstances a member of the Army or
Air Force serving on active duty would be charged, to remit or cancel
the liability of a member for good cause, and to charge a State or
Territory, Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, or the District of Columbia when
such loss is incident to duty directed pursuant to the laws of, and in
support of the authorities of, such jurisdiction for provisions
authorizing the Secretary concerned to relieve a State or Territory,
Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, or the District of Columbia of liability
for loss, damage, or destruction of property unless such loss occurred
through negligence.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96-513 substituted ``4(b)(22) of the Permanent
Appropriation Repeal Act, 1934 (31 U.S.C. 725c(b)(22))'' for
``725c(b)(22) of title 31''.
1958--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 85-861 substituted ``of further'' for
``or further''.
Effective Date of 1980 Amendments
Amendment by Pub. L. 96-513 effective Dec. 12, 1980, see section
701(b)(3) of Pub. L. 96-513, set out as a note under section 101 of
Title 10, Armed Forces.
Section 2 of Pub. L. 96-328 provided that: ``The amendment made by
subsection (a) of the first section of this Act [amending subsecs. (b)
and (c) of this section] shall apply to liability for property issued by
the United States to the National Guard that is lost, damaged, or
destroyed on or after October 1, 1980. Liability for such property that
is lost, damaged, or destroyed before such date shall be governed by the
provisions of section 710 of title 32, United States Code, as in effect
on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 8,
1980].''
Effective Date of 1958 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 85-861 effective Aug. 10, 1956, see section
33(g) of Pub. L. 85-861, set out as a note under section 101 of Title
10, Armed Forces.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 509 of this title.
