Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 15.2 > Subtitle II > Chapter 24 - Service Districts; Taxes and Assessments for Local Improvements

• Activities: means any programs or services provided for (i) the purposes of recruiting businesses to relocate in the business improvement and recruitment district and (ii) conferring specific benefits upon the businesses that are located in the business improvement and recruitment district and to which a fee is charged. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Activities: means any programs or services provided for the purpose of conferring specific benefits upon the businesses that are located in the tourism improvement district and to which a fee is charged. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Administering nonprofit: means a private nonprofit entity that is under contract with a locality to administer or implement activities specified in the tourism improvement district plan. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• 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.
• armory: shall include training or logistical support facilities, such as, but not limited to, maintenance facilities, training areas, facilities at the State Military Reservation, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the Fort Pickett Maneuver Training Center. See Virginia Code 44-123.1
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• 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.
• Benefit zone: means an apportioned area designated within a business improvement and recruitment district in which businesses pay a fee based upon the degree of benefit derived from activities to be provided. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Benefit zone: means an apportioned area designated within a tourism improvement district in which businesses pay a fee based upon the degree of benefit derived from activities to be provided. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Benefited business: includes one or more types of businesses, one or more segments of businesses, or businesses within one or more industries, as set forth in a business improvement and recruitment district plan. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Benefited business: includes one or more types of businesses, one or more segments of businesses, or businesses within one or more industries, as set forth in a tourism improvement district plan. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Business: means a business of any kind located in a business improvement and recruitment district. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Business: means a business of any kind located in a tourism improvement district. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Business fee: means any fee charged to a benefited business pursuant to this article. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Business fee: means any fee charged to a benefited business pursuant to this article. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Business improvement and recruitment district: means a district established by a locality under the provisions of this article within a Main Street District. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Business improvement and recruitment district plan: means a proposal for a business improvement and recruitment district under the provisions of this article. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Business owner: means any person recognized by a locality as the owner of a business subject to a business fee. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Business owner: means any person recognized by a locality as the owner of a business subject to a business fee. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Department, his designee or authorized representative. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Communicable disease of public health threat: means an illness of public health significance, as determined by the State Health Commissioner in accordance with regulations of the Board of Health, caused by a specific or suspected infectious agent that may be reasonably expected or is known to be readily transmitted directly or indirectly from one individual to another and has been found to create a risk of death or significant injury or impairment; this definition shall not, however, be construed to include human immunodeficiency viruses or tuberculosis, unless used as a bioterrorism weapon. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Council: means the governing body of a city or town. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• County: means any existing county or such unit hereafter created. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Court: means any court vested with appropriate jurisdiction under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 19.2-5
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the State Department of Social Services. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Department of Health and Human Services: means the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States government or any department or agency thereof that may hereafter be designated as the agency to administer the Social Security Act, as amended. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Disaster: means (i) any man-made disaster, including any condition following an attack by any enemy or foreign nation upon the United States resulting in substantial damage of property or injury to persons in the United States including by use of bombs, missiles, shell fire, or nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological means or other weapons or by overt paramilitary actions; terrorism, foreign and domestic; cyber incidents; and any industrial, nuclear, or transportation accident, explosion, conflagration, power failure, resources shortage, or other condition such as sabotage, oil spills, and other injurious environmental contaminations that threaten or cause damage to property, human suffering, hardship, or loss of life and (ii) any natural disaster, including any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, drought, fire, communicable disease of public health threat, or other natural catastrophe resulting in damage, hardship, suffering, or possible loss of life. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Emergency: means any occurrence, or threat thereof, whether natural or man-made, which results or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property or natural resources and may involve governmental action beyond that authorized or contemplated by existing law because governmental inaction for the period required to amend the law to meet the exigency would work immediate and irrevocable harm upon the citizens or the environment of the Commonwealth or some clearly defined portion or portions thereof. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Emergency services: means the preparation for and the carrying out of functions, other than functions for which military forces are primarily responsible, to prevent, minimize, and repair injury and damage resulting from disasters, together with all other activities necessary or incidental to the preparation for and carrying out of the foregoing functions. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Energy assistance: means benefits to assist low-income households with their home heating and cooling needs, including, but not limited to, purchase of materials or substances used for home heating, repair or replacement of heating equipment, emergency intervention in no-heat situations, purchase or repair of cooling equipment, and payment of electric bills to operate cooling equipment, in accordance with § Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fee: means a fee charged by a locality in accordance with a business improvement and recruitment district plan. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Fee: means a fee charged by a locality in accordance with a tourism improvement district plan. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Foster care placement: means placement of a child through (i) an agreement between the parents or guardians and the local board where legal custody remains with the parents or guardians or (ii) an entrustment or commitment of the child to the local board or licensed child-placing agency. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Governing body: means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• 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.
• 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: shall include any companion animal. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Lead locality: means the locality in which the business improvement and recruitment district plan is filed for the establishment of a business improvement and recruitment district where such district includes more than one locality. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Lead locality: means the locality in which the tourism improvement district plan is filed for the establishment of a tourism improvement district where such district includes more than one locality. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Local board: means the local board of social services representing one or more counties or cities. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Local department: means the local department of social services of any county or city in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Local director: means the director or his designated representative of the local department of the city or county. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Local emergency: means the condition declared by the local governing body when in its judgment the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency or disaster is or threatens to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby, provided, however, that a local emergency arising wholly or substantially out of a resource shortage may be declared only by the Governor, upon petition of the local governing body, when he deems the threat or actual occurrence of such an emergency or disaster to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby, and provided, however, nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting a local governing body from the prudent management of its water supply to prevent or manage a water shortage. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• local government: shall be construed to mean a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Locality: means any county, city, or town in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Locality: means any county, city, or town in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Main Street District: means a physical setting that includes a commercial area focusing on economic development through locally owned businesses and structures that would benefit from rehabilitation. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Major disaster: means any natural catastrophe, including any: hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought, or regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the United States, which, in the determination of the President of the United States is, or thereafter determined to be, of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under the Stafford Act (P. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Majority share of benefited businesses: means one or more benefited businesses within a business improvement and recruitment district or proposed business improvement and recruitment district that cumulatively comprise a simple majority. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.12
• Majority share of benefited businesses: means one or more benefited businesses within a tourism improvement district or proposed tourism improvement district that cumulatively comprise a majority, based on the weighting methodology set forth in the tourism improvement district plan. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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.
• Political subdivision: means any city or county in the Commonwealth and, for the purposes of this chapter, the Town of Chincoteague and any town of more than 5,000 population that chooses to have an emergency management program separate from that of the county in which such town is located. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Public assistance: means Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); auxiliary grants to the aged, blind, and disabled; medical assistance; energy assistance; food stamps; employment services; child care; and general relief. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Resource shortage: means the absence, unavailability, or reduced supply of any raw or processed natural resource or any commodities, goods, or services of any kind that bear a substantial relationship to the health, safety, welfare, and economic well-being of the citizens of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Social services: means foster care, adoption, adoption assistance, child-protective services, domestic violence services, or any other services program implemented in accordance with regulations adopted by the Board. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• State of emergency: means the condition declared by the Governor when in his judgment the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency or a disaster in any part of the Commonwealth is of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant disaster assistance by the Commonwealth to supplement the efforts and available resources of the several localities and relief organizations in preventing or alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatened or caused thereby and is so declared by him. See Virginia Code 44-146.16
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• TANF: means the program administered by the Department through which a relative can receive monthly cash assistance for the support of his eligible children. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
• TANF-UP: means the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program for families in which both natural or adoptive parents of a child reside in the home and neither parent is exempt from Virginia Initiative for Education and Work (VIEW) participation under § Virginia Code 63.2-100
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tourism improvement district: means a district established by a locality under the provisions of this article. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Tourism improvement district plan: means a proposal for a tourism improvement district under the provisions of this article. See Virginia Code 15.2-2413.1
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July one, nineteen hundred seventy-one, 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. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.