Title 38 — Veterans' BenefitsRelease 119-73
§8109 Parking facilities
Title 38 › Part PART VI— - ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY › Chapter CHAPTER 81— - ACQUISITION AND OPERATION OF HOSPITAL AND DOMICILIARY FACILITIES; PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY; ENHANCED-USE LEASES OF REAL PROPERTY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - ACQUISITION AND OPERATION OF MEDICAL FACILITIES › § 8109
Summary
Lets the Secretary build, buy, change, run, and charge for parking at VA medical centers. Definitions: garage — a building (or part of one) for parking cars; parking facility — a surface lot or a garage; eligible person — someone the Secretary can give medical exams or treatment. The Secretary can get land or parking buildings by buying, leasing, condemning, accepting donations or exchanges, or other means. The Secretary can run and keep up parking areas and can use a passenger carrier to move employees between parking and the medical site. People who work at, visit, or do business at a medical facility must pay posted parking fees, except when the vehicle is bringing a veteran or eligible person for care or is carrying a volunteer doing service for patients. The Secretary must collect the fees. If a garage costs more than $500,000 to build (or a lease costs more than $100,000 a year) or a garage alteration costs more than $500,000, the fee schedule must be set to be reasonable. The Secretary can also set fees for other sites and can hire operators without following normal competitive bidding rules. Money from Congress and the parking fees go into a revolving fund held with the U.S. Treasurer and can be used across years. After September 30, 1986, garage construction must use that revolving fund (except for planning work). Spending from the revolving fund is only for parking projects and follows appropriation laws; any bill that funds over $4,000,000 for such a project is treated as a major medical facility project. Money already approved for a construction project can be used to build or move a surface parking lot if it is part of that project.
Full Legal Text
Title 38, §8109
Veterans' Benefits — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)For the purpose of this section—
(1)The term “garage” means a structure (or part of a structure) in which vehicles may be parked.
(2)The term “parking facility” includes—
(A)a surface parking lot; and
(B)a garage.
(3)The term “eligible person” means an individual to whom the Secretary is authorized to furnish medical examination or treatment.
(b)In order to accommodate the vehicles of employees of medical facilities, vehicles used to transport veterans and eligible persons to or from such facilities for the purpose of examination or treatment, and the vehicles of visitors and other individuals having business at such facilities, the Secretary—
(1)may construct or alter parking facilities, and may acquire, by purchase, lease, condemnation, donation, exchange, or otherwise, such land or interests in land as the Secretary considers necessary for use as the site for any such construction or alteration;
(2)may acquire, by purchase, lease, condemnation, donation, exchange, or otherwise, any facility that the Secretary considers necessary for use as a parking facility;
(3)may operate and maintain parking facilities; and
(4)notwithstanding subsection (a) of section 1344 of title 31, may use a passenger carrier (as such term is defined in subsection (h)(1) of such section) to transport such an employee between a parking facility and the medical facility of the Department at which the employee works.
(c)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, each employee, visitor, and other individual having business at a medical facility for which parking fees have been established under subsection (d) or (e) of this section shall be charged the applicable parking fee for the use of a parking facility at such medical facility.
(2)A parking fee shall not be charged under this subsection for the accommodation of any vehicle used to transport to or from a medical facility—
(A)a veteran or eligible person in connection with such veteran or eligible person seeking examination or treatment; or
(B)a volunteer worker (as determined in accordance with regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe) in connection with such worker performing services for the benefit of veterans receiving care at a medical facility.
(3)The Secretary shall collect (or provide for the collection of) parking fees charged under this subsection.
(d)(1)For each medical facility where funds from the revolving fund described in subsection (h) of this section are expended for—
(A)a garage constructed or acquired by the Department at a cost exceeding $500,000 (or, in the case of acquisition by lease, $100,000 per year); or
(B)a project for the alteration of a garage at a cost exceeding $500,000,
(2)The parking fee schedule prescribed for a medical facility referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be designed to establish fees which the Secretary determines are reasonable under the circumstances.
(e)The Secretary may prescribe a schedule of parking fees for the parking facilities at any medical facility not referred to in subsection (d) of this section. Any such schedule shall be designed to establish fees which the Secretary determines to be reasonable under the circumstances and shall cover all parking facilities used in connection with such medical facility.
(f)The Secretary may contract (by lease or otherwise) for the operation of parking facilities at medical facilities under such terms and conditions as the Secretary prescribes and may do so without regard to laws requiring full and open competition.
(g)Subject to subsections (h) and (i) of this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such amounts as are necessary to finance (in whole or in part) the construction, alteration, and acquisition (including site acquisition) of parking facilities at medical facilities.
(h)(1)Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (g) of this section and parking fees collected under subsection (c) of this section shall be administered as a revolving fund and shall be available without fiscal year limitation.
(2)The revolving fund shall be deposited in a checking account with the Treasurer of the United States.
(3)(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, no funds other than funds from the revolving fund may be expended for the construction, alteration, or acquisition (including site acquisition) of a garage at a medical facility after September 30, 1986.
(B)Subparagraph (A) of this paragraph does not apply to the use of funds for investigations and studies, surveys, designs, plans, construction documents, specifications, and similar actions not directly involved in the physical construction of a structure.
(i)(1)The expenditure of funds from the revolving fund may be made only for the construction, alteration, and acquisition (including site acquisition) of parking facilities at medical facilities and may be made only as provided for in appropriation Acts.
(2)For the purpose of section 8104(a)(2) of this title, a bill, resolution, or amendment which provides that funds in the revolving fund (including any funds proposed in such bill, resolution, or amendment to be appropriated to the revolving fund) may be expended for a project involving a total expenditure of more than $4,000,000 for the construction, alteration, or acquisition (including site acquisition) of a parking facility or facilities at a medical facility shall be considered to be a bill, resolution, or amendment making an appropriation which may be expended for a major medical facility project.
(j)Funds in a construction account or capital account that are available for a construction project or a nonrecurring maintenance project may be used for the construction or relocation of a surface parking lot incidental to that project.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
Provisions similar to those comprising this section were contained in former section 5004 of this title prior to the general revision of this subchapter by Pub. L. 96–22.
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 115–141 added par. (4). 2004—Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 108–422 added subsec. (j). 1998—Subsec. (i)(2). Pub. L. 105–368 substituted “$4,000,000” for “$3,000,000”. 1996—Subsec. (h)(3)(B). Pub. L. 104–262 substituted “
Construction
documents” for “working drawings”. 1993—Subsec. (i)(2). Pub. L. 103–79 substituted “$3,000,000” for “$2,000,000”. 1991—Pub. L. 102–40, § 402(b)(1), renumbered section 5009 of this title as this section. Subsecs. (a) to (c). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator” wherever appearing. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator” in concluding provisions. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(3), (4), substituted “Department” for “Veterans’ Administration” in subpar. (A). Subsecs. (d)(2), (e), (f). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator” wherever appearing. Subsec. (i)(2). Pub. L. 102–40, § 402(d)(1), substituted “8104(a)(2)” for “5004(a)(2)”. 1986—Pub. L. 99–576 amended section generally, substituting “Parking facilities” for “Garages and parking facilities” in section catchline and substituting present provisions consisting of subsecs. (a) to (i) for former provisions consisting of subsecs. (a) to (c), and generally revising and expanding section to require VA to establish and collect reasonable parking fees at all facilities where a garage is constructed or acquired or altered at a cost of more than $500,000 (or leased for more than $100,000 per year), and allowing discretionary paid parking at all other facilities.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1986 Amendment Pub. L. 99–576, title II, § 223(b), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3261, provided that: “(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the
Amendments
made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 28, 1986]. “(2)(A) The
Amendments
made by this section shall not abrogate the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement which, on the date of the enactment of this Act, is in effect and includes a provision which specifies a termination date for such agreement. “(B) After the date of the enactment of this Act, if a collective bargaining agreement described in subparagraph (A) is modified, extended, or renewed, such subparagraph shall no longer, as of the date of the modification, extension, or renewal, apply to such agreement. “(C) In the case of a collective bargaining agreement which on such date of enactment is in effect but has no provision which specifies a termination date, the authorities and requirements in section 5009 [now 8109] of title 38, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a)(1) of this section, to establish and collect parking fees shall take effect on January 1, 1988. “(3) section 5009 [now 8109] of title 38, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a)(1) of this section, shall not apply to the expenditure of funds appropriated for a fiscal year prior to fiscal year 1987 for the
Construction
, alteration, or acquisition (including site acquisition) of a parking facility at a Veterans’ Administration [now Department of Veterans Affairs] medical facility.”
Effective Date
Section effective Oct. 1, 1979, but not applicable with respect to the acquisition,
Construction
, or alteration of any medical facilities if the acquisition,
Construction
, or alteration (not including exchange) was approved by the President before Oct. 1, 1979, see section 302 of Pub. L. 96–22, set out as a note under section 8101 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
38 U.S.C. § 8109
Title 38 — Veterans' Benefits
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73