1-400 - Conditional consent given to acquisition of lands by United States; concurrent jurisdiction ceded.
§ 1-400. Conditional consent given to acquisition of lands by United States;concurrent jurisdiction ceded.
A. On and after July 1, 1981, the conditional consent of the Commonwealth ishereby given in accordance with clause 17, § 8, Article 1 of the UnitedStates Constitution to the acquisition by the United States, or under itsauthority, by purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise, of any lands inthe Commonwealth, whether under water or not, required for customhouses, postoffices, arsenals, forts, magazines, dockyards, military reserves, or forneedful 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 theprior approval of the General Assembly.
C. Over all lands hereafter acquired by the United States, the Commonwealthhereby 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 soacquired by the United States the following:
1. Tax on motor vehicle fuels and lubricants. - The Commonwealth shall havethe jurisdiction and power to levy a tax on oil, gasoline and all other motorfuels and lubricants thereon owned by others than the United States and a taxon the sale thereof, on such lands, except sales to the United States for usein the exercise of essentially governmental functions.
2. Service of civil and criminal process. - The Commonwealth shall have thejurisdiction and power to serve criminal and civil process on such lands.
3. Sale of intoxicating liquors. - The Commonwealth shall have thejurisdiction and power to license and regulate, or to prohibit, the sale ofintoxicating liquors on any such lands.
4. Tax on property and businesses. - The Commonwealth shall have thejurisdiction and power to tax all property, including buildings erectedthereon, not belonging to the United States, and to require licenses andimpose license taxes upon any business or businesses conducted thereon.
E. For all purposes of taxation and of the jurisdiction of the courts of theCommonwealth 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 theyare situated.
F. Any such acquisition by or conveyance or lease to the United States, asprovided in this section, shall be deemed to have been secured or made uponthe express condition that the reservations of power and limitations providedin this section are recognized as valid by the United States and, in theevent the United States shall deny the validity of the reservations, as toall or any part of such lands, then and in that event, the title andpossession of all or any such part of such lands, conveyed to the UnitedStates by the Commonwealth, shall immediately revert to the Commonwealth.
G. Nothing contained in this section shall affect any special act adoptedceding 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.)