Title 1, Title 1. General Provisions

When an act of the General Assembly that has repealed another act shall itself be repealed, the previous act shall not be revived without express words to that effect, unless the act repealing it be passed during the same session.

A parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent's child.

"Seal," when required to be affixed by any court or public office to any paper, includes an impression or print of such official seal made upon the paper. When the seal of any natural person is required, it shall be sufficient for the person to place a mark intended as a seal.

"Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections," whenever the Committee is referred to as an appointing authority, means the Senate Committee designated under the Rules of the Senate to make Senate appointments to study committees and commissions.

The provisions of acts of the General Assembly or the application thereof to any person or circumstances that are held invalid shall not affect the validity of other acts, provisions, or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications. The pro…

Whenever a subtitle, chapter, or article does not have a section or provision establishing or authorizing a short title citation for such subtitle, chapter or article, such subtitle, chapter or article may be cited by its caption. The caption is that word or group of words appear…

"State," when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.

Stricken language for deletions and italics for additions or changes may be used in legislative drafts, printed bills, enrolled bills, and printed Acts of Assembly, in an attempt to call attention to amendments to existing acts of the General Assembly. The stricken language and i…

Any legislative summary associated with a bill, joint resolution or resolution, including any summary appearing on the face of such legislation, shall not constitute a part of the legislation considered, agreed to, or enacted, and shall not be used to indicate or infer legislativ…

The Constitution and laws of the United States and of the Commonwealth shall be supreme. Any ordinance, resolution, bylaw, rule, regulation, or order of any governing body or any corporation, board, or number of persons shall not be inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of …

"Supreme Court" means the Supreme Court of Virginia.

"Swear" or "sworn" means "affirm" or "affirmed."

"Systems of state highways" means all systems of highways within the Commonwealth over which the Commonwealth Transportation Board exercises jurisdiction and control. In context, such words shall apply to the extent, but only to the extent, that the Commonwealth Transportation Bo…

"Tier-city" means an incorporated community within a consolidated county that (i) has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more, (ii) has been designated as a tier-city by the General Assembly, and (iii) has both the powers of a town and such additional powers as ma…

The United States Eastern Standard Time shall be in effect in all parts of the Commonwealth except during the period when the United States Eastern Daylight Time shall be in effect as provided by federal law. This section shall not be construed to be in contravention of federal l…

"Town" means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law.

"United States" includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands.

Words or terms relating to the customary system of weights and measurements include their International System (SI) metric equivalents, but shall not require the posting or publishing of the equivalents along with the customary system of weights and measurements.

"Written," "writing," and "in writing" include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic…

A. On and after July 1, 1981, the conditional consent of the Commonwealth is hereby given in accordance with clause 17, § 8, Article 1 of the United States Constitution to the acquisition by the United States, or under its authority, by purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise…

A. Whenever the head or other authorized officer of any department or independent establishment or agency of the United States shall deem it desirable that additional jurisdiction or powers be ceded over any lands in the Commonwealth acquired or proposed to be acquired by the Uni…

The respective jurisdiction and powers of the Commonwealth and the United States over all lands within the Shenandoah National Park, as it is now constituted or may hereafter be extended, shall be as follows: 1. Criminal and police jurisdiction. -- The United States shall have ex…

A. The Governor is authorized to execute in the name of the Commonwealth deeds conveying, subject to the jurisdictional and other limitations and reservations contained in §§ 1-400 and 1-405, to the United States such title as the Commonwealth may have in waste and unappropriated…

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority may license the sale of mixed alcoholic beverages as defined in Chapter 1 (§ 4.1-100 et seq.) of Title 4.1 at places primarily engaged in the sale of meals on lands ceded by the Commonwealth to the United States or owned by the go…

A. As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise: "Corrective action" means the response and remediation to environmental contamination to the extent required by any applicable environmental law or regulation applicable to the property. "Environmental contaminati…

Whenever any land in the Commonwealth has been or is conveyed to the United States with a provision in the deed that upon abandonment or use for any purpose other than that stated in the deed such land shall revert to the Commonwealth, and if any such land is abandoned or is no l…

Whenever the United States government has exclusive jurisdiction over property located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and leases the property, or part thereof, to any political subdivision to be used by it for a public purpose, the exclusive jurisdiction shall cease as to the p…

Whenever a duly authorized official or agent of the United States, acting pursuant to authority conferred by the United States Congress, notifies the Governor that the United States desires or is willing to relinquish to the Commonwealth the jurisdiction, or a portion thereof, he…

The great seal of the Commonwealth shall consist of two metallic discs, two and one-fourth inches in diameter, with an ornamental border one fourth of an inch wide, with such words and figures engraved as follows: On the obverse, Virtus, the genius of the Commonwealth, dressed as…

The lesser seal of the Commonwealth shall be one and nine sixteenths inches in diameter, and be engraved with the device and inscriptions contained in the obverse of the great seal.

The seals of the Commonwealth described in §§ 1-500 and 1-501 shall be kept by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and used as provided by law, and at least three clear impressions of the seals shall be kept and displayed by the Librarian of Virginia in some suitable place in The L…

The great seal shall be affixed to documents, signed by the Governor, which are to be used before tribunals, or for purposes outside of the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth; and in every such case, except where the Commonwealth is a party concerned in the use to be made of the do…

The lesser seal shall be affixed to all grants for lands and writs of election issued by the Governor; to all letters of pardon and reprieve; to all commissions, civil and military, signed by the Governor, and to all other papers, requiring a seal, authorized to be issued by the …

The seals of the Commonwealth shall be deemed the property of the Commonwealth; and no persons shall exhibit, display, or in any manner utilize the seals or any facsimile or representation of the seals of the Commonwealth for nongovernmental purposes unless such use is specifical…

The flag of the Commonwealth shall be a deep blue field, with a circular white centre of the same material. Upon this circle shall be painted or embroidered, to show on both sides alike, the coat of arms of the Commonwealth, as described in § 1-500 for the obverse of the great se…

The Governor shall regulate the size and dimensions of the flag proper for forts, arsenals and public buildings, for ships-of-war and merchant marine, for troops in the field, respectively, and for any other purpose, according to his discretion by proclamation.

The Director of the Department of General Services shall have available at all times flags of the Commonwealth, to be offered for sale to the public in such manner as the Director may determine. Such flags shall be of good quality, shall conform to the specifications prescribed i…

During the sessions of either house of the General Assembly the flag of the Commonwealth shall be kept raised over the respective chambers of the Capitol, or other place of session, if practicable, as directed by the Director of the Department of General Services and the Chief of…

The following are hereby designated official emblems and designations of the Commonwealth: Artisan Center — "Virginia Artisans Center," located in the City of Waynesboro. Bat — Virginia Big-eared bat (Corynorhinos townsendii virginianus). Beverage — Milk. Bird — Northern Cardinal…

English shall be designated as the official language of the Commonwealth. Except as provided by law, no state agency or local government shall be required to provide and no state agency or local government shall be prohibited from providing any documents, information, literature …

The honorary position of Poet Laureate of Virginia is hereby created. The Governor may appoint a poet laureate from a list of nominees submitted by the Poetry Society of Virginia. Each poet laureate shall serve a term of two years with no restrictions on reappointment.

The systems of plane coordinates that have been established by the National Ocean Service/National Geodetic Survey or its successors for defining and stating the positions or locations of points on the surface of the earth within the Commonwealth are to be known and designated as…

For the purpose of the use of the Virginia Coordinate System of 1927, the Virginia Coordinate System of 1983, and the Virginia Coordinate System of 2022, the Commonwealth is divided into a "North Zone" and a "South Zone." The area now included in the following counties and cities…

A. As established for use in the North Zone, the Virginia Coordinate System of 1927, the Virginia Coordinate System of 1983, or the Virginia Coordinate System of 2022 shall be named, and in any land description in which it is used, it shall be designated the "Virginia Coordinate …

The plane coordinates of a point on the earth's surface, to be used in expressing the position or location of such point in the appropriate zone of these systems, shall be expressed in international feet and decimals of a foot. One of these distances, to be known as the "x-coordi…

When any tract of land to be defined by a single description extends from one into the other of the two coordinate zones established in this chapter, the positions of all points on its boundaries may be referred to either of the two zones, with the zone that is used being specifi…