Pub. L. 106-291, tit. VII, sec. 701

SEC. 701. (a) Reallocation of Interest.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, interest credited to the fund established by section 401 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1231) for fiscal years 1992 through 1995 not transferred to the Combined Fund identified in section 402(h)(2) of such Act prior to the date of enactment of this Act shall be transferred to such Combined Fund— (1) in such amounts as estimated by the trustees of such Fund to offset the amount of any deficit in net assets in the Combined Fund through August 31, 2001; (2) in the amount of $2,200,000 for the purpose of the Combined Fund providing a refund of any premium (as described in section 9704(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1988), on a proportional basis, to those signatory operators or any related persons to such operators (as defined in section 9701(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1988) who have been denied such refunds as the result of final judgments or settlements if prior to the date of enactment of this Act such signatory operator (or any related persons to such operator)— (A) had all of its beneficiary assignments made under section 9706 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 voided by the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration; (B) was subject to a final judgment or final settlement of litigation adverse to a claim by such operator that the assignment of beneficiaries under section 9706 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 was unconstitutional as applied to it; and (C) paid to the Combined Fund any premium amount that had not been refunded; and (3) in such amounts as necessary for the purpose of the Combined Fund providing a monthly refund of any premium (as described in section 9704(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) paid by an assigned operator (as defined by section 9701(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) commencing with the first monthly premium due date after the date of enactment of this Act and ending August 31, 2001, if according to the records of the Combined Fund such operator (or any related persons of such operator)—114 STAT. 1025 (A) was not a signatory to the 1981 or later National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement or any “me too” agreement related to such Coal Wage Agreement; (B) reported credit hours to the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan on fewer than ten classified mine workers in every month during its last year of operations under the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1978 or any “me too” agreement related to such Coal Wage Agreement; (C) has had not more than 60 beneficiaries, including eligible dependents of retired miners, assigned to it under section 9706 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 not including beneficiary assignments relieved by the Social Security Administration; (D) was assessed premiums by the Combined Fund in October 1999, made payments pursuant to that assessment and has no delinquency as of September 30, 2000; and (E) is not directly engaged in the production or sale of coal and has no related person engaged in the production of coal as of September 30, 2000. (b) Separability Clause.—If any provision of this title or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the title and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.