Virginia Law

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.

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