Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73not60
§57 Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant National Parks; Exclusive Jurisdiction of United States; Jurisdiction Remaining in and Taxation by California
Title 16 › Chapter 1— NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › Subchapter VI— SEQUOIA AND YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARKS › § 57
Summary
The United States takes sole legal authority over the land inside Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant National Parks. California can still serve legal papers inside the parks for cases that began elsewhere in the State. California can tax people, companies, and property in the parks, charge fishing license fees there, and people who live in the parks can vote in the county elections where the parks are located.
Full Legal Text
Title 16, §57
Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Sole and exclusive jurisdiction is assumed by the United States over the territory embraced and included within the Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, and General Grant National Park, respectively, saving, however, to the State of California the right to serve civil or criminal process within the limits of the aforesaid parks or either of them in suits or prosecutions for or on account of rights acquired, obligations incurred, or crimes committed in said State outside of said parks; and saving further to the said State the right to tax persons and corporations, their franchises and property on the lands included in said parks, and the right to fix and collect license fees for fishing in said parks; and saving also to the persons residing in any of said parks now or hereafter the right to vote at all elections held within the county or counties in which said parks are situated.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification A provision accepting the act of the California Legislature which ceded to the United States exclusive jurisdiction over the territory referred to in this section has been omitted as executed.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
General Grant National Park AbolishedAct Mar. 4, 1940, ch. 40, § 2, 54 Stat. 43, set out as section 80a of this title, abolished the General Grant National Park and added the lands to the Kings Canyon National Park as the General Grant grove section.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
16 U.S.C. § 57
Title 16 — Conservation
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60