Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 2.2 > Subtitle I > Part E > Chapter 30.1 - The Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act

• Abuse: means an employer's or employee's conduct or omissions that result in substantial misuse, destruction, waste, or loss of funds or resources belonging to or derived from federal, state, or local government sources. See Virginia Code 2.2-3010
• Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Agricultural produce: means fruits and vegetables. See Virginia Code 3.2-4738
• Animal: means any animate being, which is not human, endowed with the power of voluntary action. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• 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.
• Appropriate authority: means a federal, state, or local agency or organization having jurisdiction over criminal law enforcement, regulatory violations, professional conduct or ethics, or abuse; or a member, officer, agent, representative, or supervisory employee of the agency or organization. See Virginia Code 2.2-3010
• 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
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Assisted conception: means a pregnancy resulting from any intervening medical technology, whether in vivo or in vitro, which completely or partially replaces sexual intercourse as the means of conception. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Athletic events: means events conducted by a sports team. See Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Authority: means the authority created pursuant to § Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• Authority: means the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority, a body politic and corporate, created, organized, and operated pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or, if such Authority is abolished, the board, body, authority, department, or officer succeeding to the principal functions thereof or to whom the powers given by this chapter are given by law. See Virginia Code 15.2-6017
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• 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}
• Board: means the board of the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority established pursuant to § Virginia Code 15.2-6017
• Board: means the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
• Board of supervisors: means the governing body of a county. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
• Bond: means a note of any kind, an interim certificate, a refunding bond, and any other evidence of obligation, including private bonds and other forms of private financing. See Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• Bond: means a bond executed by a surety company licensed to do business in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 3.2-4738
• Bond issuer: means the Authority and any participating locality. See Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• Cash buyer: means any person who obtains from the producer, or his representative, title, possession or control of any agricultural produce or contracts for the title, possession or control of any agricultural produce, and who buys any agricultural produce by paying to the producer at the time of obtaining possession or control, or at the time of contracting for the title, possession or control of any agricultural produce, the agreed price of such agricultural produce in coin or currency, certified checks, cashier's checks or drafts issued by a bank. See Virginia Code 3.2-4738
• Cash buyer: means any person who pays the producer, or his representative, at the time of obtaining title, possession or control of grain, the agreed price of such grain in coin or currency, certified checks, cashier's checks, or drafts issued by a bank. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Center: means the business registration and permitting center established by this section and located in and under the administrative control of the Department. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
• Collaborative law communication: means a statement, whether oral or in a record, or verbal or nonverbal, that (i) is made to conduct, participate in, continue, or reconvene a collaborative law process and (ii) occurs after the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement and before the collaborative law process is concluded. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Collaborative law participation agreement: means an agreement by persons to participate in a collaborative law process. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Collaborative law process: means a procedure intended to resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal in which persons sign a collaborative law participation agreement and are represented by collaborative lawyers. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Collaborative lawyer: means a lawyer who represents a party in a collaborative law process. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Collaborative matter: means a dispute, transaction, claim, problem, or issue for resolution that is described in a collaborative law participation agreement and that is between family or household members or arises under the family or domestic relations laws of the Commonwealth, including (i) marriage, divorce, dissolution, annulment, and property distribution; (ii) child custody, visitation, and parenting time; (iii) alimony, spousal support, maintenance, and child support; (iv) adoption; (v) parentage; and (vi) negotiation or enforcement of premarital, marital, and separation agreements. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Commercial feed: means any materials or combination of materials that are distributed or intended for distribution for use as feed for animals, or for mixing in feed. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
• Compensation: means payment of any valuable consideration for services in excess of reasonable medical and ancillary costs. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Comprehensive application: means a document incorporating pertinent data from existing applications for permits covered under this section. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• Comprehensive permit: means the single document designed for public display issued by the Business Permitting Center that certifies state agency permit approval and that incorporates the endorsements for individual permits included in the comprehensive permitting program. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• Consignment: means any transfer of agricultural produce by the seller to the custody of another person who acts as the agent for the seller for the purpose of selling such agricultural produce. See Virginia Code 3.2-4738
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contract: means a binding agreement between the grain dealer and the producer that describes the terms and conditions of the delivery of grain and the purchase price. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Contract feeder: means a person who is an independent contractor and who: (i) feeds commercial feed to animals pursuant to a contract; (ii) is provided such commercial feed by a licensed distributor; and (iii) receives remuneration as determined all or in part by the amount of feed consumption, mortality, profits, or amount or quality of production. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• 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.
• Cotton gin: means a facility where cotton seed and cotton lint are produced from raw cotton. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
• Cotton handler: means any person doing business as a cotton gin, cotton merchant, or cotton warehouse. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
• Cotton merchant: means any person who buys cotton from a producer for the purpose of resale, or acts as a broker or agent for a producer in arranging the sale of cotton. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
• Cotton warehouse: means any enclosure in which producer-owned cotton is stored or held for longer than 48 hours. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
• 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
• Cryopreservation: means freezing and storing of gametes and embryos for possible future use in assisted conception. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Customer-formula feed: means commercial feed that consists of a mixture of commercial feeds, or feed ingredients, or a combination of both commercial feeds and feed ingredients, each batch being manufactured according to the specific instructions of the final purchaser. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dealer: means any person who buys, sells, solicits for sale, processes for sale or resale, resells, exchanges, negotiates, purchases or contracts for processing or transfers any agricultural produce of a producer. See Virginia Code 3.2-4738
• Deferred payment: means that the purchase price for grain delivered by the producer is fixed and specified in the contract, but payment is not received by the producer until a mutually agreed upon subsequent date. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
• Department: means the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity or any division of the Department to which the Director has delegated or assigned duties and responsibilities. See Virginia Code 2.2-1604
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Distribute: means to: (i) offer or expose for sale, sell, warehouse, exchange, or barter commercial feed; or (ii) supply, furnish, or otherwise provide commercial feed to a contract feeder. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Distributor: means any person who distributes commercial feed. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Division: means the Division of Marketing of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-4700
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Donor: means an individual, other than a surrogate, who contributes the sperm or egg used in assisted conception. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Drug: means any article intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in animals and articles other than commercial feed intended to affect the structure or any function of the animal body. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Embryo: means the organism resulting from the union of a sperm and an ovum from first cell division until approximately the end of the second month of gestation. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Embryo transfer: means the placing of a viable embryo into the uterus of a gestational mother. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Employee: means any person who is regularly employed full time on either a salaried or wage basis, whose tenure is not restricted as to temporary or provisional appointment, in the service of and whose compensation is payable, no more often than biweekly, in whole or in part, by a governmental agency. See Virginia Code 2.2-3010
• Employer: means a person supervising one or more employees, including the employee filing a good faith report, a superior of that supervisor, or an agent of the governmental agency. See Virginia Code 2.2-3010
• 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.
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Ex officio: means service by virtue of one's office and includes voting privileges for ex officio members unless otherwise provided. See Virginia Code 1-215
• Facility: includes any temporary construction related to the Facility. See Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• Facility Site: means real estate designated, donated, purchased, or otherwise acquired for the purpose of constructing a Facility. See Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• 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.
• farm: means any person that obtains at least 51 percent of its annual gross income from agricultural operations and produces the agricultural waste used as feedstock for the waste-to-energy technology, (ii) "agricultural waste" means biomass waste materials capable of decomposition that are produced from the raising of plants and animals during agricultural operations, including animal manures, bedding, plant stalks, hulls, and vegetable matter, and (iii) "waste-to-energy technology" means any technology, including but not limited to a methane digester, that converts agricultural waste into gas, steam, or heat that is used to generate electricity on-site. See Virginia Code 1-222.1
• 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.
• 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}
• Gamete: means either a sperm or an ovum. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Genetic parent: means an individual who contributes a gamete resulting in a conception. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Gestational mother: means the woman who gives birth to a child, regardless of her genetic relationship to the child. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Good faith report: means a report of conduct defined in this chapter as wrongdoing or abuse that is made without malice and that the person making the report has reasonable cause to believe is true. See Virginia Code 2.2-3010
• 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
• Governmental agency: means (i) any agency, institution, board, bureau, commission, council, or instrumentality of state government in the executive branch listed in the appropriation act and any independent agency; (ii) any county, city, or town or local or regional governmental authority; and (iii) any local school division as defined in § Virginia Code 2.2-3010
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Grain: means grains including corn (maize), wheat, rye, oats, barley, flaxseed, soybeans, and sunflower. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Grain bank: means grain owned by a producer and held temporarily by the dealer for use in the formulation of feed and returned to the producer on demand as feed or whole grain. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Grain dealer: means any person who buys, solicits for sale or resale, processes for sale or resale, contracts for storage or exchange, or transfers grain of a Virginia producer. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Grain exchange: means grain owned by a producer and held temporarily by the dealer for use in the formulation of processed flour to be returned to the producer on demand as flour or whole grain. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guarantor: means any person whose name appears on the label of a commercial feed. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• 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.
• Hampton Roads locality: means the City of Chesapeake, Norfolk, or Virginia Beach. See Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• In vitro: means any process that can be observed in an artificial environment such as a test tube or tissue culture plate. See Virginia Code 20-156
• In vitro fertilization: means the fertilization of ova by sperm in an artificial environment. See Virginia Code 20-156
• In vivo: means any process occurring within the living body. See Virginia Code 20-156
• 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 signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• Infertile: means the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. See Virginia Code 20-156
• inhabitants: means with reference to any county, city, town, political subdivision of the Commonwealth or any combination thereof, the natural persons in such county, city, town, political subdivision or combination as shown by the unadjusted United States decennial census last preceding the time at which any provision dependent upon population is being applied or the time as of which it is being construed. See Virginia Code 1-235
• Intended parent: means a married couple or unmarried individual who enters into an agreement with a surrogate under the terms of which such parent will be the parent of any child born to the surrogate through assisted conception regardless of the genetic relationships between the intended parent, the surrogate, and the child. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Joint account transactions: means a transaction between a dealer and grower in which the dealer pays the grower based on the price for which the agricultural produce sells in relation to the price agreed upon between the dealer and grower. See Virginia Code 3.2-4738
• 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.
• Label: means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon, or affixed to, the container in which a commercial feed is distributed, or on the invoice or delivery slip with which a bulk commercial feed, or customer-formula feed, is distributed. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Land: includes roads, water, watercourses, private ways and buildings, structures, and machinery or equipment thereon when attached to the realty. See Virginia Code 15.2-6017
• Law firm: means (i) lawyers who practice law together in a partnership, professional corporation, sole proprietorship, limited liability company, or association or (ii) lawyers employed together in (a) a legal services organization or (b) the legal department of another organization. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legal or contractual custody: means having authority granted by law, contract, or court order to make decisions concerning the use of an embryo. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Licensee: means the person who receives a license to distribute commercial feed under the provisions of this chapter. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Loss: means any monetary loss to a producer as a result of doing business with a dealer that shall include bankruptcy, embezzlement, theft or fraud. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Misconduct: means conduct or behavior by an employee that is inconsistent with state, local, or agency standards for which specific corrective or disciplinary action is warranted. See Virginia Code 2.2-3010
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nonparty participant: means a person, other than a party and the party's collaborative lawyer, that participates in a collaborative law process. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Notary: means notary public. See Virginia Code 1-226
• 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.
• Official sample: means a sample of feed taken by the Commissioner and designated as "official" by the Board. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Ovum: means the female gamete or reproductive cell prior to fertilization. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Participating locality: means a Hampton Roads locality that joins the Authority. See Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• 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 a person who signs a collaborative law participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Permit: means the whole or part of any state agency permit, license, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or any form or permission required by law, to engage in activity associated with or involving the establishment of a small business in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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}
• Price later: means that the actual purchase price is not fixed at the time of delivery, but allows the producer to choose a bid price on any business day during a stated time period as agreed between the parties. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Probate: Proving a will
• Proceeding: means a judicial, administrative, arbitral, or other adjudicative process before a tribunal, including related prehearing and post-hearing motions, conferences, and discovery. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Processor: means any person operating any plant in the Commonwealth that freezes, dehydrates, cans, or otherwise changes the physical form or characteristics of agricultural produce. See Virginia Code 3.2-4738
• Producer: means any person who produces agricultural produce in Virginia. See Virginia Code 3.2-4738
• Producer: means any person in Virginia who produces grain. See Virginia Code 3.2-4753
• Program: means the mechanism by which comprehensive permits are issued and renewed, permit and regulatory information is disseminated, and account data is exchanged by state agencies. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• Property: means an interest, present or future, legal or equitable, vested or contingent, in real or personal property, including income and earnings. See Virginia Code 20-148
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Prospective party: means a person who discusses with a prospective collaborative lawyer the possibility of signing a collaborative law participation agreement. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
• Reasonable medical and ancillary costs: means the costs of the performance of assisted conception, the costs of prenatal maternal health care, the costs of maternal and child health care for a reasonable postpartum period, the reasonable costs for medications and maternity clothes, and any additional and reasonable costs for housing and other living expenses attributable to the pregnancy. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Regulatory: means all permitting and other governmental or statutory requirements establishing a small business or professional activities associated with establishing a small business. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• Regulatory agency: means any state agency, board, commission, or division that regulates one or more professions, occupations, industries, businesses, or activities. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• Related to a collaborative matter: means involving the same parties, transaction or occurrence, nucleus of operative fact, dispute, claim, or issue as the collaborative matter. See Virginia Code 20-168
• 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.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Sales and use tax revenues: means tax collections under the Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax Act (§ Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Sign: means , with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to (i) execute or adopt a tangible symbol or (ii) attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Small business: means an independently owned and operated business that, together with affiliates, has 250 or fewer employees or average annual gross receipts of $10 million or less averaged over the previous three years. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• Southwest Regional Recreation Area: means a system of recreational trails and appurtenant facilities, including trail-head centers, parking areas, camping facilities, picnic areas, recreational areas, historic or cultural interpretive sites, and other facilities that are a part of the system. See Virginia Code 15.2-6017
• Specialty pet: means any domesticated animal usually maintained in a cage or tank, including gerbils, hamsters, canaries, psittacine birds, mynahs, finches, tropical fish, goldfish, snakes and turtles. See Virginia Code 3.2-4800
• Sperm: means the male gametes or reproductive cells which impregnate the ova. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Sports team: means a sports franchise holder that is a part of the National Basketball Association, the National Basketball Association Development League, the Women's National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the American Hockey League, the ECHL, the Federal Prospects Hockey League, the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey, or the Southern Professional Hockey League, and any other national sports league. See Virginia Code 15.2-5935
• 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. See Virginia Code 1-245
• State agency: means any authority, board, department, instrumentality, institution, agency, or other unit of state government. See Virginia Code 2.2-1604
• state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 1-206
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
• Surrogacy contract: means an agreement between the intended parent, a surrogate, and her spouse, if any, in which the surrogate agrees to be impregnated through the use of assisted conception, to carry any resulting fetus, and to relinquish to the intended parent the custody of and parental rights to any resulting child. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Surrogate: means any adult woman who agrees to bear a child carried for the intended parent. See Virginia Code 20-156
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• 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. See Virginia Code 1-254
• Tribunal: means a court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other body acting in an adjudicative capacity that, after presentation of evidence or legal argument, has jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party's interest in a matter. See Virginia Code 20-168
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• 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. See Virginia Code 1-255
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• Veteran: means an individual who has served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable. See Virginia Code 2.2-1617
• Whistle blower: includes a citizen of the Commonwealth who witnesses or has evidence of wrongdoing or abuse and who makes or demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that he is about to make a good faith report of, or testifies or is about to testify to, the wrongdoing or abuse to an appropriate authority. See Virginia Code 2.2-3010
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Wrongdoing: means a violation, which is not of a merely technical or minimal nature, of a federal or state law or regulation, local ordinance, or a formally adopted code of conduct or ethics of a professional organization designed to protect the interests of the public or employee. See Virginia Code 2.2-3010