Chap. 382.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 18 and 19 of the Code of
Virginia, relating to the acquisition of lands by the United States of America,
so as to prescribe the rights, powers and jurisdiction of the Commonwealth
of Virginia and the Unted States of America over and with respect to such
lands, and persons and property thereon, and transactions, matters and things
arising thereon, and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding thereto two
new sections numbered 19-a and 19-b, giving the conditional consent of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, to the acquisition by the United States of America
of certain lands in Virginia, and prescribing the limitations imposed upon
and the reservations incident to any transfer of such lands; and prescribing
the respective jurisdictions of the Commonwealth of Virginia and of the
United States of America over such lands, over persons and property thereon,
and over any transactions, matters and things arising thereon; and to repeal
certain acts pertaining to the same subject. [S B 275]

Approved March 28, 1936

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tions eighteen and nineteen of the Code of Virginia be amended and re-
enacted, and that the Code of Virginia be amended by adding thereto
two new sections numbered nineteen-a and nineteen-b, so that the said
amended and the said new sections shall read as follows:

Section 18. Whenever the United States desires to acquire title to,
or to lease land, whether under water or not, belonging to the State
for the site of a lighthouse, beacon, life-saving station, or other aid
to navigation, and application is made by a duly authorized agent of
the United States, describing the site required for any of the purposes
aforesaid, the Governor of the State shall have authority to convey or
to lease, as the case may be, the site to the United States, provided, that
no single parcel shall contain more than ten acres. And it is hereby
declared that the title to the land so conveyed or leased to the United
States, and the possession thereof, shall revert to the State, unless the
construction of a lighthouse, beacon, life-saving station, or other aid
to navigation be begun within two years after such conveyance or lease
is made, and be completed within ten years thereafter ; or, if completed,
the use of the site for the purpose for which it is granted or leased be
discontinued for five years consecutive after such construction is com-
pleted.

It is expressly provided, however, that, in case of any such lease
or conveyance of any such property, there is hereby reserved in the
Commonwealth of Virginia, over all lands therein embraced, the juris-
diction 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 said lands, except sales to the United
States for use in the exercise of essentially governmental functions;
there is further expressly reserved in the Commonwealth of Virginia
the jurisdiction and power to serve criminal and civil process on said
lands and to license and regulate, or to prohibit, the sale of intoxicating
liquors on any such land and 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 con-
ducted thereon. For all purposes of taxation and of the jurisdiction
of the courts of Virginia over persons, transactions, matters and prop-
erty on said lands, the said lands shall be deemed to be a part of the
county or city in which they are situated. Any such conveyance or
lease as herein provided for shall be deemed to have been made upon
the express condition that the reservations of power and limitations
hereinabove provided for are recognized as valid by the United States,
and, in the event the United States shall deny the validity of same 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 shall immediately
revert to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Over all lands leased or
conveyed to the United States by the Governor pursuant to the au-
thority herein conferred, the Commonwealth of Virginia hereby cedes
to the United States the power and jurisdiction to protect said lands
and all property of the United States thereon from damage, depreda-
tion or destruction, to regulate traffic on the highways thereon and
all necessary jurisdiction and power to operate and administer said land
and property thereon for the purposes for which same may be con-
veyed to the United States, but said jurisdiction and power hereby
ceded to the United States shall not be construed as being in any
respect inconsistent with or as in any way impairing the jurisdiction
and powers hereinabove specifically reserved to the Commonwealth of
Virginia.

Section 19. The conditional consent of the Commonwealth of Vir-
ginia is hereby given to the acquisition by the United States, or under
its authority, by purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise, of any
lands in Virginia, whether under water or not, from any individual,
firm, association or body corporate, for sites for customs houses, court-
houses, post offices, arsenals, forts, naval bases, military or naval air
ports or airplane landing fields or for any military or naval purpose
or other purpose embraced within the provisions of the seventeenth
clause of the eighth section of Article one of the Constitution of the
United States. The conditions upon which this consent is given are
as follows:

That there is hereby reserved in the Commonwealth of Virginia,
over all lands so acquired by the United States for the purposes afore-
said, 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 said lands, except sales
to the United States for use in the exercise of essentially governmental
functions; there is further expressly reserved in the Commonwealth
of Virginia the jurisdiction and power to serve criminal and civil
process on said lands and to license and regulate, or to prohibit, the
sale of intoxicating liquors on any such land and 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. For all purposes of taxation and of the
jurisdiction of the courts of Virginia over persons, transactions, matters
and property on said lands, the said lands shall be deemed to be a part
of the county or city in which they are situated. Any such acquisition
by or conveyance or lease to the United States, as is herein provided
for, shall be deemed to have been secured or made upon the express
condition that the reservations of power and limitations hereinabove
provided for are recognized as valid by the United States, and, in the
event the United States shall deny the validity of same, 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 shall immediately revert to the
Commonwealth of Virginia, or to the person, firm, association or body
corporate from whom acquired. Over all lands acquired by or leased
or conveyed to the United States pursuant to the conditional consent
herein conferred, the Commonwealth of Virginia hereby cedes to the
United States the power and jurisdiction to protect said lands and
all property of the United States thereon from damage, depredation or
destruction, to regulate traffic on the highways thereon and all necessary
jurisdiction and power to operate and administer said land and property
thereon for the purposes for which same may be conveyed to the
United States, but said jurisdiction and power hereby ceded to the
United States shall not be construed as being in any respect inconsistent
with or as in any way impairing the jurisdiction and powers herein-
above specifically reserved to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Section 19-a. The conditional consent of the Commonwealth of
Virginia is hereby given to the acquisition by the United States, or
under its authority, by purchase or lease, or in cases where it is ap-
propriate that the United States exercise the power of eminent domain,
then by condemnation, of any lands in Virginia from any individual,
firm, association or private corporation, for soldiers’ homes, for the
conservation of the forests or natural resources, for the retirement from
cultivation and utilization for other appropriate use of sub-marginal
agricultural lands, for the improvement of rivers and harbors in or
adjacent to the navigable waters of the United States, for public parks
and for any other proper purpose of the government of the United
States not embraced in section nineteen hereof.

Over all lands heretofore or hereafter acquired by the United States
for the purposes mentioned in this section, the Commonwealth of Vir-
ginia hereby cedes to the United States the power and jurisdiction to
regulate traffic over all highways maintained by the United States
thereon, to protect the said lands and all property thereon belonging
to the United States from damage, depredation or destruction and to
operate and administer the said lands and said property thereon for
the purposes for which same shall be acquired by the United States.
The Commonwealth of Virginia hereby reserves to herself all other
powers and expressly and specifically reserves the jurisdiction and
power to levy a tax on oil, gasoline and all other motor fuels and
lubricants, on said lands, not belonging to the United States, and a tax
on the sale thereof on any part of any lands acquired by the United
States for the purposes embraced in this section. The Commonwealth
of Virginia hereby further reserves expressly and specifically the
jurisdiction and power to tax, license and regulate, or to prohibit, the
sale of intoxicating liquors on any such land so acquired; to tax all
property, including buildings erected thereon, not belonging to the
United States; to require licenses and impose license taxes upon any
business or businesses conducted thereon. For all purposes of taxa-
tion and of the jurisdiction of the courts of Virginia over persons,
transactions, matters and property on said lands, the said lands shall
be deemed to be a part of the county or city in which they are situated.
The above powers enumerated as expressly and specifically reserved
to the Commonwealth shall not be construed as being in any respect
inconsistent with or impaired by the powers herein ceded to the
United States.

The Commonwealth of Virginia hereby further reserves unto her-
self over all such lands exclusive governmental, judicial, executive and
legislative powers, and jurisdiction in all civil and criminal matters,
except in so far as same may be in conflict with the jurisdiction and
powers herein ceded to the United States.

Section 19-b, If the United States shall cease to be the owner of
any lands, or any part thereof, granted or conveyed to it by the Com-
monwealth of Virginia, or if the purposes of any such grant or con-
veyance, to the United States shall cease, or if the United States shall
for five consecutive years fail to use any such land for the purposes
of the grant or conveyance, then, and in that event, the right and title
to such land, or such part thereof, shall immediately revert to the
Commonwealth of Virginia.

All deeds, conveyances or title papers for the transfer of title of
lands to the United States shall be recorded in the county or corporation
wherein the land or the greater part thereof lies, but no tax shall be
required on any such instrument made to the United States by which
they acquire lands for public purposes.

The jurisdiction ceded by sections eighteen, nineteen and nineteen-a,
shall not vest until the United States shall have acquired the title of
record to the said lands, or rights, or interest therein, by purchase,
condemnation, lease, or otherwise. So long as the said lands, or any
rights, or interest therein are held in fee simple by the United States,
and no longer, such lands, rights, or interest, as the case may be, shall
continue exempt and exonerated, from all State, county and municipal
taxation which may be levied or imposed under the authority of this

tate.

2. Be it further enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, that
an act entitled ‘“‘an act ceding to the United States exclusive jurisdiction
over certain lands acquired for public purposes within the State, and
authorizing the acquisition thereof, and any interest therein, and repeal-
ing all prior acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act,’ approved
March sixteenth, nineteen hundred and eighteen, as amended, and an
act entitled “an act to prescribe the jurisdiction of the State of Vir-
ginia over lands in Virginia, acquired by, and/or under the control
of the United States, over matters and things arising on, and over
persons and property of persons residing on, such lands,” approved
March twenty-third, nineteen hundred and thirty-two, be, and the same
are hereby, repealed.

3. Nothing in this act contained shall be construed as in anywise
altering, amending or repealing, in whole or in part, the provisions of an
act passed at the nineteen hundred and thirty-six session of the General
Assembly with respect to the jurisdiction of the United States and the
Commonwealth of Virginia in and over any lands, heretofore or here-
after conveyed to the said United States, embraced within the Shenan-
doah-Great Smoky Mountains National Parkway as set out and pro-
vided in said act.

4. An emergency existing, in that lands in Virginia are constantly
being acquired by the United States, this act shall be in force from
its passage.