Conditional consent given to acquisition of lands by United States; concurrent jurisdiction ceded
Va. Code Ann. § 1-400
in effectA. On and after July 1, 1981, the conditional consent of the Commonwealth is hereby given in accordance with clause 17, § 8, Article 1 of the United States Constitution to the acquisition by the United States, or under its authority, by purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise, of any lands in the Commonwealth, whether under water or not, required for customhouses, post offices, arsenals, forts, magazines, dockyards, military reserves, or for needful public buildings.
B. The acquisition by condemnation of any property within the Commonwealth, not expressly consented to in subsection A of this section, shall require the prior approval of the General Assembly.
C. Over all lands hereafter acquired by the United States, the Commonwealth hereby cedes to the United States concurrent governmental, judicial, executive and legislative power and jurisdiction.
D. There is hereby expressly reserved in the Commonwealth, over all lands so acquired by the United States the following:
1. Tax on motor vehicle fuels and lubricants. -- The Commonwealth shall have the jurisdiction and power to levy a tax on oil, gasoline and all other motor fuels and lubricants thereon owned by others than the United States and a tax on the sale thereof, on such lands, except sales to the United States for use in the exercise of essentially governmental functions.
2. Service of civil and criminal process. -- The Commonwealth shall have the jurisdiction and power to serve criminal and civil process on such lands.
3. Sale of intoxicating liquors. -- The Commonwealth shall have the jurisdiction and power to license and regulate, or to prohibit, the sale of intoxicating liquors on any such lands.
4. Tax on property and businesses. -- The Commonwealth shall have the jurisdiction and power to tax all property, including buildings erected thereon, not belonging to the United States, and to require licenses and impose license taxes upon any business or businesses conducted thereon.
E. For all purposes of taxation and of the jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth over persons, transactions, matters and property on such lands, the lands shall be deemed to be a part of the county or city in which they are situated.
F. Any such acquisition by or conveyance or lease to the United States, as provided in this section, shall be deemed to have been secured or made upon the express condition that the reservations of power and limitations provided in this section are recognized as valid by the United States and, in the event the United States shall deny the validity of the reservations, as to all or any part of such lands, then and in that event, the title and possession of all or any such part of such lands, conveyed to the United States by the Commonwealth, shall immediately revert to the Commonwealth.
G. Nothing contained in this section shall affect any special act adopted ceding jurisdiction to the United States, nor any deeds executed pursuant to § 1-401 .
1976, c. 211, § 7.1-18.1; 1981, c. 533; 2005, c. 839 .
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/1-400/Fetched: 10/16/2026