Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-73

§8103 Application of District of Columbia laws to public buildings and grounds

Title 40 › Subtitle SUBTITLE II— - PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND WORKS › Part PART D— - PUBLIC BUILDINGS, GROUNDS, AND PARKS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA › Chapter CHAPTER 81— - ADMINISTRATIVE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - GENERAL › § 8103

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

District of Columbia rules that protect property and keep order also apply to every public building and public ground owned by the Federal Government in Washington, D.C. If a person is disorderly there, willfully damages buildings, shrubs, fences, or other enclosures, harms fixtures (like pipes, hydrants, lamps, or bridges), or removes stone, gravel, sand, or other government property, they can be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §8103

Public Buildings, Property, and Works — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Laws and regulations of the District of Columbia for the protection of public or private property and the preservation of peace and order are extended to all public buildings and public grounds belonging to the Federal Government in the District of Columbia.

(b)A person shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both if the person—

(1)is guilty of disorderly and unlawful conduct in or about those public buildings or public grounds;

(2)willfully injures the buildings or shrubs;

(3)pull downs, impairs, or otherwise injures any fence, wall, or other enclosure;

(4)injures any sink, culvert, pipe, hydrant, cistern, lamp, or bridge; or

(5)removes any stone, gravel, sand, or other property of the Government, or any other part of the public grounds or lots belonging to the Government in the District of Columbia.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 810340:101.July 29, 1892, ch. 320, § 15, 27 Stat. 325; Pub. L. 90–108, § 2, Oct. 20, 1967, 81 Stat. 277. In subsection (b), the word “enclosure” is substituted for “inclosure” to use the more understood term.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 8103

Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73