(a) There is hereby established as a separate and distinct fund within the Treasury of the Virgin Islands a special fund to be designated and known as the “Indirect Cost Fund”. This Fund shall be comprised of amounts deposited therein as described hereinbelow, as well as of funds appropriated thereto by the Legislature as may from time to time be necessary.
(b) All eligible grants-in-aid, as described in section 3024 of this chapter and Federal regulations, shall pay the allowable indirect costs of such grants-in-aid to the Indirect Cost Fund.
(1) The inclusion of such indirect costs shall be a condition of prior approval of such grants-in-aid, as required by Title 3, section 67 of this Code.
(2) The Commissioner of Finance shall provide a detailed quarterly report of payments made to the Indirect Cost Fund to the Governor, Director of the Office of Manager and Budget, Federal Programs Coordinator and Legislature.
(3) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Commissioner of Finance, shall certify those Federal grant-in-aid funds presently in the treasury accounts from which indirect costs may be deducted pursuant to prior agreement with local and Federal administering agencies, provided that no such deduction shall be made for any Federal Grant awarded prior to October 1, 1980. The Commissioner of Finance shall transfer such deductible amounts to the Indirect Cost Fund to be expended as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(4) The Indirect Cost Fund shall be utilized for the purpose of improving Federal grants administration and management in the Territory and increasing Virgin Islands' participation in Federal grant-in-aid programs, including but not limited to, grant, budget and accounting assistance, grant proposal development, grant management training, special studies and acquisition of equipment intended for the improvement of central administration, accounting or reporting of Federal grant programs, and for other purposes.
(5) Funds deposited into the Indirect Cost Fund may be appropriated annually by the Legislature to support all operating expenses including salaries, for the office of the Federal Programs Coordinator, to support Federal programs activities established within the various departments or agencies of the Government receiving Federal grants assistance; and for grant-in-aid matching purposes when other matching fund sources are not available pursuant to an office budget prepared by the Federal Programs Coordinator.
(6) Subject to the appropriation allocation process established by law and in accordance with the office budget approved by the Legislature, the Indirect Cost Fund shall be administered by the Commissioner of Finance upon certification for expenditure by the Federal Programs Coordinator.
(c) Nothing contained in sections 3023 through 3025 of this chapter shall limit the authority of any department, agency or instrumentality of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands to receive and expend grants-in-aid from the United States, for the purposes authorized in the granting Federal agency.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as permitting the expenditure or obligation of any monies in the Indirect Cost Fund which monies have not previously been appropriated by the Legislature for such expenditure or obligation. No transfers of monies shall be made from or within the Indirect Cost Fund without the prior approval of the Legislature's Committee on Finance.