Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 23.1 > Subtitle III > Chapter 12 > Article 1 - General Provisions; Powers and Duties.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Authority: means the Virginia College Building Authority. See Virginia Code 23.1-1200
• 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
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 56-1
• company: includes all corporations created by acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, or under the general incorporation laws of this Commonwealth, or doing business therein, and shall exclude all municipal corporations, other political subdivisions, and public institutions owned or controlled by the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 56-1
• Competitive local exchange telephone company: means (i) a competing telephone company, excluding a city, town, or county, that was granted a certificate on or after January 1, 1996, pursuant to § Virginia Code 56-54.2
• Competitive telephone company: means (i) an incumbent local exchange telephone company whose residential dial tone lines (a) were deemed competitive by the Commission throughout the company's incumbent service territory prior to January 1, 2014, or (b) are declared competitive by the Commission throughout its incumbent service territory on or after January 1, 2014, in a proceeding pursuant to § Virginia Code 56-54.2
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Council: means the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Eligible institution: means public institutions of higher education, as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 23.1-1200
• 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: means service by virtue of one's office and includes voting privileges for ex officio members unless otherwise provided. See Virginia Code 1-215
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• 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: includes the State Board and the board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher education. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Incumbent local exchange telephone company: means a public service corporation that was providing local exchange telephone service prior to January 1, 1996, or a successor entity to such a public service corporation. See Virginia Code 56-54.2
• Incumbent territory: means the area in which an incumbent local exchange telephone company was providing local exchange telephone service prior to July 1, 2002, except as its incumbent certificate may have been amended by the Commission after that date pursuant to subdivision B 1 of § Virginia Code 56-54.2
• 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
• 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.
• 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}
• Local exchange telephone service: means telephone service provided in a geographical area established for the administration of communication services and consists of one or more central offices together with associated facilities which are used in providing local exchange service. See Virginia Code 56-1
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Mail: includes electronic mail and other forms of electronic communication when the customer has requested or authorized electronic bill delivery or other electronic communications. See Virginia Code 56-1
• municipal corporation: shall include an authority created by a governmental unit exempt from the referendum requirement of § Virginia Code 56-1
• 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.
• 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.
• Person: includes individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. See Virginia Code 56-1
• 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.
• 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.
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• public service company: when used in this chapter shall mean every person, firm, corporation or association, or their lessees, trustees or receivers, other than a municipal corporation, now or hereafter engaged in business in this Commonwealth as a public utility and subject to regulation as to rates and service by the State Corporation Commission under the provisions of Chapter 10 (§ 56-232 et seq. See Virginia Code 56-55
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Railroad: includes all railroad or railway lines, whether operated by steam, electricity, or other motive power, except when otherwise specifically designated. See Virginia Code 56-1
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• regulation: include joint rates, joint charges and joint regulations, respectively. See Virginia Code 56-1
• 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.
• 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
• System: means the Virginia Community College System. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
• 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
• 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