CODE OF VIRGINIA

CEDING ADDITIONAL JURISDICTION TO UNITED STATES (§ 1-401)

A. Whenever the head or other authorized officer of any department or
independent establishment or agency of the United States shall deem it desirable
that additional jurisdiction or powers be ceded over any lands in the
Commonwealth acquired or proposed to be acquired by the United States under his
immediate jurisdiction, custody or control, and whenever the Governor and
Attorney General of the Commonwealth shall agree to the same, the Governor and
Attorney General shall execute and acknowledge a deed in the name of and under
the lesser seal of the Commonwealth ceding such additional jurisdiction. The
deed shall accurately and specifically describe the area and location of the
land over which the additional jurisdiction and powers are ceded and shall set
out specifically what additional jurisdiction and powers are ceded, and may set
out any reservations in the Commonwealth of jurisdiction which may be deemed
proper in addition to those referred to in subsection D.

B. No such deed shall become effective or operative until the jurisdiction
therein provided for is accepted on behalf of the United States as required by
40 U.S.C. § 255. The head or other authorized officer of a department or
independent establishment or agency of the United States shall indicate such
acceptance by executing and acknowledging such deed and admitting it to record
in the office of the clerk of the court in which deeds conveying the lands
affected would properly be recorded.

C. When such deed has been executed and acknowledged on behalf of the
Commonwealth and the United States, and admitted to record as provided in
subsection B, it shall have the effect of ceding to and vesting in the United
States the jurisdiction and powers therein provided for and none other.

D. Every such deed as is provided for in this section shall reserve in the
Commonwealth over all lands therein referred to the jurisdiction and power to
serve civil and criminal process on such lands and in the event that the lands
or any part thereof shall be sold or leased to any person, under the terms of
which sale or lease the vendee or lessee shall have the right to conduct thereon
any private industry or business, then the jurisdiction ceded to the United
States over any such lands so sold or leased shall cease and determine, and
thereafter the Commonwealth shall have all jurisdiction and power she would have
had if no jurisdiction or power had been ceded to the United States. This
provision, however, shall not apply to post exchanges, officers’ clubs and
similar activities on lands acquired by the United States for purposes of
national defense. It is further provided that the reservations provided for in
this subsection shall remain effective even though they should be omitted from
any deed executed pursuant to this section.

E. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as repealing any special
acts ceding jurisdiction to the United States to acquire any specific tract of
land.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 7-24; 1966, c. 102, § 7.1-21; 1972, c. 597; 1976, c.
211; 2005, c. 839.