CHAPTER VI JURISDICTIONAL PREFERENCES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES Basic grouping of jurisdictional preferences.--Federal agencies can be divided into three groups as to their views of their legislative jurisdictional needs. Those in the first group feel that their functions are carried on most effectively when the United States acquires exclusive legislative jurisdiction--or some shade of partial jurisdiction approaching exclusive--over the sites of some of the installations under their management; the second group consists of agencies which consider that only a proprietorial interest in the Federal Government, with legislative jurisdiction left in the States, best suits the requirement of their operations. Agencies preferring exclusive or partial jurisdiction.--The group preferring exclusive or partial legislative jurisdiction includes the Veterans' Administration (which states that it desires exclusive jurisdiction, or at least concurrent jurisdiction, over all its installations except office buildings in urban areas, as to which a proprietorial interest only is deemed satisfactory), the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior (which desires to have partial jurisdiction over national parks and over national monuments of large land area), and the three military departments, the Department of the Army (which desires to procure or retain exclusive as well as other forms of legislative jurisdiction over various individual installation on an individually determined basis, except as to land dedicated to civil projects of the Corps of Engineers, for which only a proprietorial interest in the United States as may be necessary is deemed best suited), the Department of the Navy (which desires an exclusive or certain partial legislative jurisdiction for its major installations, on an individually determined basis), and the Department of the Air Force (which desires a partial legislative jurisdiction but which would find concurrent legislative jurisdiction acceptable under certain conditions). Also, the Bureau of the Census and the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Department of Commerce each consider that no less than an existing exclusive or partial legislative jurisdiction is best suited to one certain Federal property which each occupies. (33) 34 Agencies preferring concurrent jurisdiction.--The group preferring, in special situations, concurrent jurisdiction for certain of its properties consists of the General Services Administration (which finds a proprietorial interest sufficient for general purposes but, in the event of a failure to secure certain statutory changes hereinafter recommended, would desire concurrent jurisdiction for limited areas requiring special police services), the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (which desires such jurisdiction for a small number of properties in special situations, but which considers a proprietorial interest generally satisfactory), the Department of the Navy (which desires such jurisdiction, but alternatively would not find only a proprietorial interest grossly objectionable, as to all properties other than the major properties for which it determined exclusive or partial legislative jurisdiction most desirable), the Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice (which desires concurrent legislative jurisdiction for its installations in which prisoners are maintained), the Bureau of Public Roads of the Department of Commerce (which desires concurrent jurisdiction for five installations), and the Department of the Interior (which consider that this status may be desirable for certain wildlife areas). Agencies preferring a proprietorial interest only.--The last and largest group, which desires for its properties only a proprietorial interest in the United States, with legislative jurisdiction left in the States, includes all Federal agencies not mentioned in the two paragraphs above which occupy or supervise real property of the United States and, as to certain of their properties, several of the mentioned agencies. Among the major landholding agencies in this third group are the Department of Agriculture, the General Services Administration for all of its properties (except those as to which concurrent jurisdiction is required unless certain amendments to its authority to furnish special police services are enacted), the Tennessee Valley Authority (which reserved judgment as to whether one certain installation should be under an exclusive jurisdiction status for security reasons), the Atomic Energy Commission, the Department of the Treasury, the Housing and Home Finance Agency, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as to most of its properties, and the International Boundary and Water Commission. The Central Intelligence Agency and the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice hold relatively minor amounts of real property but it is interesting to note, in view of the security aspects of their operations, that they are also included in the group which desires only a proprietorial interest for their properties. 35 Lands held in other than the preferred status.--One of the facts which early came to the attention of the Committee is that while many Federal agencies have more or less definite views as to what legislative jurisdictional status is best suited for their lands in the light of the purposes to which the lands are put, they often hold large proportions of such lands indifferent status. The Central Intelligence Agency and the United States Information Agency are the only Federal agencies which hold all their properties solely in the status (proprietorial interest only) which they consider best for their purposes. Where, as is usually the case, the lands are held with more jurisdiction in the United States than is considered best by the Federal agency concerned, the explanation often, and with most agencies, lies in the fact that jurisdiction was acquired prior to February 1, 1940, during the 100-year period when it was generally mandatory under Federal law (Rev. Stat. 355,see appendix B) that agencies procure the consent of the State to purchase of land (whereby the United State acquired exclusive legislative jurisdiction over such land by operation of art. I, sec. 8, clause 17, of the Constitution). In other instances the land was acquired by transfer from other agencies which preferred a status involving more jurisdiction in the United States than is desired by the agency presently utilizing the property. The latter is particularly true of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and other agencies desiring little or no legislative jurisdiction, which now hold certain lands originally acquired by one of the military departments. In still other instances an agency has been required by old Federal statutes, or by newer legislation patterned on old statutes, to acquire a particular type of jurisdiction over land to be utilized for certain purposes. The last reason applies to national park areas under the supervision of the Department of the Interior, the jurisdictional status of which is fixed with few exceptions by statutes pertaining to individual such areas, which statutes for many years apparently have been patterned on similar preexisting laws. Another basic cause of an excess of jurisdiction in the United States, and of some link of desired jurisdiction, is that with only three exceptions (Alabama, florida, and Virginia) the States in their general consent or cession statutes rigidly fix the quantum of jurisdiction available to the federal Government, which measure of jurisdiction is accepted by Federal agencies actually desiring a lesser measure in 36 order to avoid requirement for requesting special State legislation. In this connection in may that while Federal law (Rev. Stat. 355, as amended) currently grants authority to Federal administrators to acquire only such jurisdiction as they deem necessary, state laws with the three exceptions noted are not designed to permit any accommodation to differing Federal needs. A further basic cause of an excess of jurisdiction in the United States is the fact, already mentioned, that while Federal law gives authority (with minor exceptions) to Federal administrators to acquire jurisdiction, it does not (with similarly minor exceptions) give them like authority to dispose of jurisdiction once it is acquired. Where, on the other hand, the lands of an agency are held with less jurisdiction in the United States than is considered best by the Federal agency concerned, the most frequent explanation would appear to be that the State law does not permit the acquisition of the type of legislative jurisdiction (or at least concurrent jurisdiction) in nearly all cases, has accepted no jurisdiction over its more recent acquisitions in California because of what it considers the onerous procedural provisions of the California cession statute and the indefinite nature of the jurisdiction acquired once the procedures have been completed. Lack of firm agency policy with respect to the quantum of jurisdiction which should be acquired for various types of agency installation is also responsible for many instances in which less jurisdiction than deemed desirable is had by an agency over various of its properties. The Navy, for example, has indicated that its practice has been to acquire legislative jurisdiction over its installations only after the local commander has submitted a justified request for such acquisition. The Committee has received information from several agencies, and the replies of several other agencies suggest the same fact, that until the present study had focused their attention to matters relating to jurisdiction, many Federal agencies had developed no policy in this field. This has been responsible for the acquisition of an excess of jurisdiction more often than of too little jurisdiction, but has been an apparently significant factor in each case. The Committee feels that if its work served no other purpose than has already been accomplished in simulating the agencies to a study of their own policies, practices and procedures with respect to acquisition of legislative jurisdiction it will have been worthwhile. Difficulty of obtaining information concerning jurisdiction status. -- Another factor of considerable significance which has been brought to light by the work of the Committee has been the incompliance and inaccuracy of agency land records as to the jurisdictional 37 status of the lands held. In many cases the opinion expressed by an agency as to the type of jurisdiction that existed over a particular installation differed from that expressed by the local commander or manager of the installation. In still other cases no information or opinion whatever appeared to be readily available on the subject. Unfortunately, these situations are confined to no few agencies, but exist rather generally. Six States (Alabama, California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Virginia) have requirements set out in their general consent or cession laws for the filing of information concerning jurisdictional status with the governor or secretary of state, or the city or county or court clerk or registrar with whom title records are required to be filed. To the extent that such State laws apply, information on the jurisdictional status of an area is available to all interested parties. Otherwise such information apparently may be unavailable except perhaps after considerable research by a person skilled in the law relating to this intricate subject, since jurisdictional status may in a given case depend on a special rather than a general State consent or cession statute, upon acceptance by a Federal administrator, and upon other factors.