Article 1 Department Organization
Article 3 General Powers and Duties
Article 5 Powers and Duties With Respect to Property Taxes
Article 7 Application, Determination, and Revocation of Exemptions From Property Taxes
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Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 12 > Chapter 4 - The South Carolina Department of Revenue

  • Abuse: means :

    (1) physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the threat of physical harm;

    (2) sexual criminal offenses, as otherwise defined by statute, committed against a family or household member by a family or household member. See South Carolina Code 20-4-20
  • Abutter: means an owner whose property abuts or adjoins the property of another person with no intervening land in between owned by a third party. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • Acquittal:
    1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
    2. A verdict of "not guilty."
     
  • Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
  • Administrative law judge: means a judge of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court created pursuant to § 1-23-500. See South Carolina Code 1-23-505
  • Administrator: means the Administrator of the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
  • Affected counties: means any South Carolina county that abuts or adjoins the boundary with an affected jurisdiction. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • Affected jurisdiction: means a sovereign state whose common boundary with South Carolina has been clarified resulting in a change in the perceived location of the boundary to be that of the actual boundary. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • Affected lands: means real property of an owner whose perceived location has been clarified pursuant to the boundary clarification legislation. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
  • affordability: means , with respect to dwelling units for sale, the mortgage amortization, taxes, insurance and condominium or association fees, if any, or, with respect to dwelling units for rent, the rent and utilities that constitute no more than thirty percent of the annual household income for low or moderate income households, adjusted by household size, for the metropolitan statistical area in which the rental dwelling unit is located, as published from time to time by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Agency: means a state agency, department, board, or commission whose action is the subject of a contested case hearing or an appellate proceeding heard by an administrative law judge, or a public hearing on a proposed regulation presided over by an administrative law judge. See South Carolina Code 1-23-505
  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Ambulatory surgical facility: means a licensed, distinct, freestanding, self-contained entity that is organized, administered, equipped, and operated exclusively for the purpose of performing surgical procedures or related care, treatment, procedures, and/or services, by licensed health care providers, for which patients are scheduled to arrive, receive surgery or related care, treatment, procedures, and/or services, and be discharged on the same day. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Area of operation: means the area within the territorial boundaries of the municipality or municipalities for which a particular commission is created. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Area of operation: means the area within the territorial boundaries of the counties entitled to representation on an authority which consists of both the real property to be disposed of by an authority as well as any other properties disposed of directly by the federal government to public or private persons or entities, other than disposal to the federal government for other defense uses, in connection with military installation closure and realignment or other federal defense site closure, realignment, or drastic downsizing, together with such areas of the surrounding community as may need planning for infrastructure improvements to support the redevelopment project area. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • At need: means after the beneficiary is deceased, and "at preneed" means before the beneficiary is deceased. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Authority: means a redevelopment authority created pursuant to § 31-12-40. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Beneficiary: means the person who is to be the subject of the disposition, services, facilities, or merchandise described in a preneed funeral contract. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Blighted area: means any improved or vacant area where if improved, industrial, commercial, and residential buildings or improvements, because of a combination of five or more of the following factors: age; dilapidation; obsolescence; deterioration; illegal use of individual structures; presence of structures below minimum code standards; excessive vacancies; overcrowding of structures and community facilities; lack of ventilation, light, or sanitary facilities; inadequate utilities; excessive land coverage; deleterious land use or layout; depreciation of physical maintenance; lack of community planning, are detrimental to the public safety, health, morals, or welfare or, if vacant, the sound growth is impaired by (a) a combination of two or more of the following factors: obsolete platting of the vacant land; diversity of ownership of such land; tax and special assessment delinquencies on such land; deterioration of structures or site improvements in neighboring areas adjacent to the vacant land; or (b) the area immediately prior to becoming vacant qualified as a blighted area. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Board of directors: means the governing body of a community land trust duly elected and constituted in accordance with the bylaws of such organization. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Bonds: shall include notes, bonds, refunding notes or bonds and other obligations authorized to be issued by this chapter. See South Carolina Code 31-9-10
  • Bonds: means any bonds, interim certificates, notes, debentures or other obligations of a commission issued pursuant to this chapter. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Boundary: as used in this chapter , has the meaning as established in § 1-1-10 and in accordance with the constitution of this State. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • Boundary clarification legislation: means the amendments to § 1-1-10, effective January 1, 2017. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
  • City: shall mean any incorporated municipality of the State. See South Carolina Code 31-9-10
  • Clarification: means the official recognition of the original boundary as confirmed and agreed between an affected jurisdiction and the State of South Carolina pursuant to the boundary clarification legislation. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • clerk: as used in this title , signifies unless the context otherwise indicates, the clerk of the court where the action is pending. See South Carolina Code 19-1-20
  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Commission: means a public body and a body corporate and politic created and organized in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Common trust fund: means a trust in which the proceeds of more than one funeral contract may be held by the trustee. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conservation area: means any improved area that is not yet a blighted area but, because of a combination of three or more of the following factors: dilapidation; obsolescence; deterioration; illegal use of structures; presence of structures below minimum code standards; abandonment; excessive vacancies; overcrowding of structures and community facilities; lack of ventilation, light, or sanitary facilities; inadequate utilities; excessive land coverage; depreciation of physical maintenance; or lack of community planning, is detrimental to the public safety, health, morals, or welfare and may become a blighted area. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Contested case: means a proceeding including, but not restricted to, ratemaking, price fixing, and licensing, in which the legal rights, duties, or privileges of a party are required by law or by Article I, Section 22, Constitution of the State of South Carolina, 1895, to be determined by an agency or the Administrative Law Court after an opportunity for hearing. See South Carolina Code 1-23-505
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Convicted: includes any conviction by entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, conviction after trial, a finding of guilty but mentally ill, or a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity. See South Carolina Code 17-25-510
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • Court: means the Family Court. See South Carolina Code 20-4-20
  • Criminal risk factors: means characteristics and behaviors that, when addressed or changed, affect a person's risk for committing crimes. See South Carolina Code 17-22-1110
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Department: means the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • Developer: shall mean any person, firm or partnership who enters into a loan agreement with the city whereby the developer agrees to construct, operate and maintain or procure the construction, operation and maintenance of buildings or other facilities or improvements upon land purchased with the proceeds of bonds. See South Carolina Code 31-9-10
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Dower: A widow
  • Eligible person: means :

    (a) a victim of the particular crime in question who has suffered direct or threatened physical, psychological, or financial harm as a result of the commission of the particular crime;

    (b) a victim's spouse;

    (c) a victim's parent;

    (d) a victim's child;

    (e) a spouse, parent, child, or lawful representative of a victim who is:

    (i) deceased;

    (ii) a minor;

    (iii) incompetent; or

    (iv) physically or psychologically incapacitated; or

    (f) a person dependent for principal support on the deceased victim of the crime. See South Carolina Code 17-25-510
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Evidence-based practices: means supervision policies, procedures, and practices that scientific research demonstrates reduce recidivism among individuals on probation, parole, or post-correctional supervision. See South Carolina Code 17-22-1110
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
  • Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Financial institution: means a bank, trust company, or savings and loan association authorized by law to do business in this State. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • First option to purchase: means the right of a CLT to purchase, at a formula-determined price, any improvements, leasehold interests or any other interests of a lessee of property the underlying title of which is vested in the CLT, or which is the subject of restrictive covenants as to continued affordability, which covenants are enforceable by the CLT. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Formula-determined price: means a price determined by means of a predetermined calculation which is contained in a ground lease between a CLT and a lessee which is related to the resale price of any building or other improvements situated on land owned by a CLT or encumbered with a covenant enforceable by a CLT and is intended to maintain the affordability of the building or other improvements. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Governing board: shall mean the governing body of any city. See South Carolina Code 31-9-10
  • Governing body: means in the legislative body of a municipality. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Government: means the state and federal governments or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of either of them. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Health care institution: means an ambulatory surgical facility, a hospital, an institutional general infirmary, a nursing home, and a renal dialysis facility. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Health care provider: means a physician, surgeon, osteopath, nurse, oral surgeon, dentist, pharmacist, chiropractor, optometrist, podiatrist, or any similar category of licensed health care provider, including a health care practice, association, partnership, or other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Hospital: means a licensed facility with an organized medical staff to maintain and operate organized facilities and services to accommodate two or more nonrelated persons for the diagnosis, treatment, and care of such persons over a period exceeding twenty-four hours and provides medical and surgical care of acute illness, injury, or infirmity and may provide obstetrical care, and in which all diagnoses, treatment, or care are administered by or performed under the direction of persons currently licensed to practice medicine and surgery in the State of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Household member: means :

    (i) a spouse;

    (ii) a former spouse;

    (iii) persons who have a child in common;

    (iv) a male and female who are cohabiting or formerly have cohabited. See South Carolina Code 20-4-20
  • Housing development and support organization: means a nonprofit organization that has the ability under its articles of incorporation and bylaws to:

    (a) acquire parcels of land for use as affordable housing with the intention of entering into long-term ground leases;

    (b) convey ownership of any structural improvements located on such leased parcels to various lessees;

    (c) retain a preemptive option to purchase any such improvements at a formula-determined price; and

    (d) provide organizational support, technical assistance, education, training and community support to its members. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • In forma pauperis: In the manner of a pauper. Permission given to a person to sue without payment of court fees on claim of indigence or poverty.
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • individual: means a human being. See South Carolina Code 12-2-20
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Institutional general infirmary: means a licensed facility which is established within the jurisdiction of a larger nonmedical institution and which maintains and operates organized facilities and services to accommodate two or more nonrelated students, residents, or inmates with illness, injury, or infirmity for a period exceeding twenty-four hours for the diagnosis, treatment, and care of such persons and which provides medical, surgical, and professional nursing care, and in which all diagnoses, treatment, or care are administered by or performed under the direction of persons currently licensed to practice medicine and surgery in the State of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
  • Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
  • Joint session: When both chambers of a legislature adopt a concurrent resolution to meet together.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Juror: A person who is on the jury.
  • Land: shall mean any real estate, whether improved or unimproved, located within any city which the governing board of such city proposes to acquire from the proceeds derived from the issuance of bonds after making a determination that the acquisition of such land is necessary in connection with any slum clearance or redevelopment work. See South Carolina Code 31-9-10
  • Leasehold interest: means the interest of a lessee under a ground lease. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • License: includes the whole or part of any agency permit, franchise, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or similar form of permission required by law, but does not include a license required solely for revenue purposes. See South Carolina Code 1-23-505
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Loan agreement: shall mean any agreement, including without limitation, an agreement whereby the city shall lease land to a developer, made by and between a governing board and a developer by which the developer agrees to pay (and to secure if so required) the city or to any assignee thereof, the sums required to meet the payment of the principal, interest and redemption premium, if any, on any bonds. See South Carolina Code 31-9-10
  • Low-income: means aggregate household income at or below eighty percent of the area median income, as determined by HUD. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • marital property: as used in this article means all real and personal property which has been acquired by the parties during the marriage and which is owned as of the date of filing or commencement of marital litigation as provided in § 20-3-620 regardless of how legal title is held, except the following, which constitute nonmarital property:

    (1) property acquired by either party by inheritance, devise, bequest, or gift from a party other than the spouse;

    (2) property acquired by either party before the marriage and property acquired after the happening of the earliest of:

    (a) entry of a pendente lite order in a divorce or separate maintenance action;

    (b) formal signing of a written property or marital settlement agreement; or

    (c) entry of a permanent order of separate maintenance and support or of a permanent order approving a property or marital settlement agreement between the parties;

    (3) property acquired by either party in exchange for property described in items (1) and (2) of this section;

    (4) property excluded by written contract of the parties. See South Carolina Code 20-3-630
  • Medical malpractice: means doing that which the reasonably prudent health care provider or health care institution would not do or not doing that which the reasonably prudent health care provider or health care institution would do in the same or similar circumstances. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Member-based: means an organization the membership of which is open to all adult residents of the geographic area served by the organization, and that the members of the organization's board of directors are directly elected by the membership as provided in the bylaws of the organization. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Moderate-income: means aggregate household income between eighty percent and one hundred and twenty percent of area median income, as determined by HUD. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • Municipality: means any incorporated city or town or any county. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Municipality: means an incorporated municipality of this State. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. Source: OCC
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • noncriminal disposition: shall mean the dismissal of a criminal charge without prejudice to the State to reinstate criminal proceedings on motion of the solicitor. See South Carolina Code 17-22-20
  • Nursing home: means a licensed facility with an organized nursing staff to maintain and operate organized facilities and services to accommodate two or more unrelated persons over a period exceeding twenty-four hours which is operated either in connection with a hospital or as a freestanding facility for the express or implied purpose of providing skilled nursing services for persons who are not in need of hospital care. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Obligations: means bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness issued by the municipality to carry out a redevelopment project or to refund outstanding obligations. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • obligee: means any bondholder, trustee or trustees for any bondholders, any lessor demising property to a commission used in connection with a redevelopment project, or any assignees of such lessor's interest, or any part thereof, and the federal government, when it is a party to any contract with a commission. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Offender: means the person convicted of the particular crime in question. See South Carolina Code 17-25-510
  • Office: means Office of the Attorney General, South Carolina Crime Victim Services Division. See South Carolina Code 17-25-510
  • Order of protection: means an order of protection issued to protect the petitioner or minor household members from the abuse of another household member where the respondent has received notice of the proceedings and has had an opportunity to be heard. See South Carolina Code 20-4-20
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Owner: as used in this chapter means any person or entity owning of record a legal or equitable real property interest or incorporeal hereditament in affected lands as an abutter. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • Parent municipality: means the municipality or municipalities creating a commission. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Party: means each person or agency named or admitted as a party, or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party. See South Carolina Code 1-23-505
  • person: includes any individual, trust, estate, partnership, receiver, association, company, limited liability company, corporation, or other entity or group; and

    (2) "individual" means a human being. See South Carolina Code 12-2-20
  • person: means an individual, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, club, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 31-18-20
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental subdivision, or public or private organization of any character other than an agency. See South Carolina Code 1-23-505
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes all goods, classified as equipment, used or bought for use primarily in the operation of the federal defense facility, not to include inventory, consumer goods, or farm products, as defined in §§ 36-2-105 and 36-9-109. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Persons engaged in national defense activities: shall include , without limiting the generality thereof, enlisted men in the military and naval services of the United States and employees of the Department of Defense assigned to duty at military or naval reservations, posts or bases, workers engaged or to be engaged in industries connected with and essential to the national defense program and the families of the aforesaid persons who are living with them;

    (2) "Persons of low income" shall mean persons or families who lack the amount of income which is necessary (as determined by the housing authority undertaking the housing project) to enable them, without financial assistance, to live in decent, safe and sanitary dwellings, without overcrowding;

    (3) "Development" shall mean any and all undertakings necessary for the planning, land acquisition, demolition, financing, construction or equipment in connection with a project, including the negotiation or award of contracts therefor, and shall include the acquisition of any project, in whole or in part, from the Federal Government;

    (4) "Administration" shall mean any and all undertakings necessary for management, operation or maintenance in connection with any project and shall include the leasing of any project, in whole or in part, from the Federal Government;

    (5) "Federal Government" shall mean the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America;

    (6) The development of such projects shall be deemed to be "initiated" if a housing authority has issued bonds, notes or other obligations with respect to the financing of such project of the housing authority or has contracted with the Federal Government with respect to the exercise of powers hereunder in the development of such project of the Federal Government for which an allocation of funds has been made or approved during a period of war or national emergency declared by the President or Congress of the United States; and

    (7) "Housing authority" shall mean any housing authority established or hereafter established pursuant to this chapter and Chapter 3. See South Carolina Code 31-11-10
  • Persons of low income: shall mean persons or families who lack the amount of income which is necessary (as determined by the housing authority undertaking the housing project) to enable them, without financial assistance, to live in decent, safe and sanitary dwellings, without overcrowding;

    (3) "Development" shall mean any and all undertakings necessary for the planning, land acquisition, demolition, financing, construction or equipment in connection with a project, including the negotiation or award of contracts therefor, and shall include the acquisition of any project, in whole or in part, from the Federal Government;

    (4) "Administration" shall mean any and all undertakings necessary for management, operation or maintenance in connection with any project and shall include the leasing of any project, in whole or in part, from the Federal Government;

    (5) "Federal Government" shall mean the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America;

    (6) The development of such projects shall be deemed to be "initiated" if a housing authority has issued bonds, notes or other obligations with respect to the financing of such project of the housing authority or has contracted with the Federal Government with respect to the exercise of powers hereunder in the development of such project of the Federal Government for which an allocation of funds has been made or approved during a period of war or national emergency declared by the President or Congress of the United States; and

    (7) "Housing authority" shall mean any housing authority established or hereafter established pursuant to this chapter and Chapter 3. See South Carolina Code 31-11-10
  • Petitioner: means the person alleging abuse in a petition for an order of protection. See South Carolina Code 20-4-20
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. Source:
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Preclarification title: means muniments of title of record in an affected jurisdiction or the affected counties, or both, of an owner prior to the effective date of the boundary clarification legislation. See South Carolina Code 30-5-270
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Preneed funeral contract: means a contract which has for its purpose the furnishing or performance of funeral services or the furnishing or delivery of personal property, merchandise, or services of any nature in connection with the final disposition of a dead human body to be furnished or delivered at a time determinable by the death of the person whose body is to be disposed of, but does not mean the furnishing of a cemetery lot, crypt, niche, mausoleum, grave marker, or monument. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Profit from a crime: includes any of the following:

    (a) property obtained through or income generated from the commission of a crime for which the offender was convicted;

    (b) property obtained or income generated from the sale, conversion, or exchange of proceeds of a crime for which the offender was convicted, including gain realized by the sale, conversion, or exchange; or

    (c) property which the offender obtained or income generated as a result of having committed the crime for which the offender was convicted, including assets obtained through the unique knowledge obtained during the commission of or in preparation for the commission of the crime, as well as any property obtained by or income generated from the sale, conversion, or exchange of that property and any gain realized by that sale, conversion, or exchange. See South Carolina Code 17-25-510
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • prosecutorial discretion: shall mean the power of the circuit solicitor to consider all circumstances of criminal proceedings and to determine whether any legal action is to be taken and, if so taken, of what kind and degree and to what conclusion. See South Carolina Code 17-22-20
  • Provider: means a funeral home licensed in this State which is the entity providing services and merchandise pursuant to a preneed funeral contract and is designated trustee of all funds. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Public funding: means financial resources provided by a federal, state, regional, or local governmental organization or by a local or regional housing trust fund or housing authority. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Public support: means nonfinancial resources that may include donated land or the conveyance of publicly owned property or the assignment of the first right to purchase reduced price housing units obtained from a private developer as a result of local government regulatory mandates or incentives. See South Carolina Code 31-23-20
  • Purchaser: means the person who is obligated to make payments under a preneed funeral contract. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • range: means an area that is:

    (a) designated, utilized, and operated by a person for the firing of firearms; where

    (b) the firing of firearms is the usual, regular, and primary activity occurring in the area; and where

    (c) the improvements, size, geography, and vegetation of the area are such that a projectile discharged from a firearm at a target would not reasonably be expected to escape its boundaries by virtue of the trajectory of the projectile, or by virtue of a backstop, berm, bullet trap, impact barrier, or similar device designed to prevent the escape of such projectiles. See South Carolina Code 31-18-20
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Real property: includes all property assessed under authority of § 12-4-540 when the term is used in this chapter with regard to tax increment financing. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
  • Redeveloper: means any individual, partnership, or public or private corporation that shall enter or propose to enter into a contract with a commission for the redevelopment of all or any part of a redevelopment area under the provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Redevelopment: means the acquisition, replanning, clearance, rehabilitation or rebuilding of an area for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial or other purposes, including the provision of streets, utilities, parks, recreational areas and other open spaces; provided, without limiting the generality thereof, the term "redevelopment" may include a program of repair and rehabilitation of buildings and other improvements, and may include the exercise of any powers under this chapter with respect to the area for which such program is undertaken. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Redevelopment area: means any area that a commission may find to be a blighted area, a conservation area, or any combination thereof, so as to require redevelopment under the provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Redevelopment contract: means a contract between a commission and a redeveloper for redevelopment under the provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Redevelopment plan: means a plan for the redevelopment of a redevelopment area made by a commission in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Redevelopment plan: means the comprehensive program of the authority for redevelopment intended by the payment of redevelopment costs to redevelop properties scheduled for disposal which may tend to return properties to the tax rolls, replace lost jobs, and integrate the properties back into the community, enhancing the tax bases of the taxing districts which extend into the project redevelopment area and the economic health of the community in which it lies. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Redevelopment project: means any work or undertaking:

    (a) to acquire blighted or conservation areas, including lands, structures, or improvements, the acquisition of which is necessary or incidental to the proper clearance, development, or redevelopment of such areas or to the prevention of the spread or recurrence of conditions of blight;

    (b) to clear any such areas by demolition or removal of existing buildings, structures, streets, utilities, or other improvements thereon and to install, construct, or reconstruct streets, utilities, and site improvements essential to the preparation of sites for uses in accordance with the redevelopment plan;

    (c) to sell land in such areas for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, or other use or for the public use to the highest bidder set out by the provisions of this chapter or to retain such land for public use, in accordance with the redevelopment plan;

    (d) to carry out plans for a program of repair, rehabilitation, or reconditioning of buildings or other improvements in such areas, including the making of loans;

    (e) to engage in programs of assistance and financing, including the making of loans for rehabilitation, repair, construction, acquisition, or reconditioning of residential units in a redevelopment area. See South Carolina Code 31-10-20
  • Redevelopment project: means buildings, improvements, including street improvements, water, sewer and storm drainage facilities, parking facilities, and recreational facilities. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Redevelopment project area: means an area within the incorporated area of a municipality and designated pursuant to § 31-12-200, which is not less in the aggregate than one and one-half acres. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Redevelopment project costs: means and includes the total of all reasonable or necessary costs incurred or estimated to be incurred and any costs incidental to a redevelopment project. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • Renal dialysis facility: means an outpatient facility which offers staff assisted dialysis or training and supported services for self-dialysis to end-stage renal disease patients. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Seller: means a licensed funeral director in this State who is directly employed by the provider. See South Carolina Code 32-7-10
  • Sequester: To separate. Sometimes juries are sequestered from outside influences during their deliberations.
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Skilled nursing services: means services that:

    (a) are ordered by a physician;

    (b) require the skills of technical or professional personnel such as registered nurses, licensed practical (vocational) nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists or audiologists; and

    (c) are furnished directly by, or under the supervision of such personnel. See South Carolina Code 15-79-110
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
  • substantial change in the use: means that the current primary use of the range no longer represents the activity previously engaged in at the range. See South Carolina Code 31-18-20
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Taxing districts: means counties, incorporated municipalities, schools, special purpose districts, and any other municipal corporations or districts with the power to levy taxes. See South Carolina Code 31-12-30
  • Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.