Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 1 > Article 3 - Creation of New County; Change in County Line

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• at-risk veteran: means a person who is currently serving in the armed forces on active duty, reserve status, or in the National Guard, or a person who served in the active military, or who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable who is known, based on the information provided by the person making the report, to have a physical or mental health condition that is related to his or her service. See West Virginia Code 15-3E-3
• Attack: means any action or series of actions taken by an enemy of the United States resulting in substantial damage or injury to persons or property in this state whether through sabotage, bombs, missiles, shellfire, or atomic, radiological, chemical, bacteriological, or biological means or other weapons or methods. See West Virginia Code 15-7-3
• Authority: means any urban mass transportation authority created pursuant to the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Best management practices: means any practices made applicable to a facility pursuant to section 304(e) of the Clean Water Act and the federal regulations promulgated thereunder. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• Blue Alert: means an alert issued by the West Virginia State Police pursuant to the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 15-3C-3
• Board: means the board of any urban mass transportation authority. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Charter: shall mean , except where specific reference is made to a particular type of charter, either a special legislative charter (whether or not amended under the provisions of former §. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Clean Water Act: means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, P. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• Code: means the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• Code: means the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Cognitively impaired: means a person having a deficiency in his or her short-term or long-term memory, orientation as to person, place, and time, deductive or abstract reasoning, or judgment as it relates to safety: Provided, That the cognitive impairment is not caused by the use of alcohol or drugs not legally prescribed by a physician. See West Virginia Code 15-3B-3
• Commission: means the state emergency response commission. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• Committee: means a local emergency planning committee. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• Community facilities: means a specific work, or improvement within this state, or a specific item of equipment or tangible personal property owned or operated by any political subdivision or nonprofit corporation and used within this state to provide any essential service to the general public. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
• Contiguous counties: means two or more counties which constitute a compact territorial unit within an unbroken boundary wherein one county touches at least one other county, but does not require that each county touch all of the other counties so combining. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• 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.
• Critical infrastructure: includes any systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the state that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, state economic security, state public health or safety, or any combination of those matters. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the Director of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. See West Virginia Code 15-5C-1
• Disaster: means the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural, or terrorist, or man-made cause, including weapons of mass destruction, fire, flood, earthquake, wind, snow, storm, chemical or oil spill or other water or soil contamination, epidemic, air contamination, blight, drought, infestation, or other public calamity requiring emergency action. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Emergency planning district: means a geographic area designated by the commission as requiring its own comprehensive emergency response plan. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• Emergency responder: as used in this article , shall mean anyone with special skills, qualifications, training, knowledge and experience in the public or private sectors that would be beneficial to a participating political subdivision in response to a locally declared emergency as defined in any applicable law or ordinance or authorized drill or exercises. See West Virginia Code 15-5-28
• Emergency services: means the preparation for and the carrying out of all emergency functions, other than functions for which military forces are primarily responsible, to protect, respond, and to prevent, detect, deter, and mitigate, to minimize and repair injury and damage resulting from disasters or other events caused by flooding, terrorism, enemy attack, sabotage, or other natural or other man-made causes. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Essential business activities: means a specific work or improvement within this state or a specific item of equipment or tangible personal property used within this state by any person to provide any essential goods or critical infrastructure services determined by the authority to be necessary for continued operations during a disaster, state of emergency, or state of preparedness, and for recovery from a disaster. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Essential workers: means employees or contractors that fall under the definition of essential business activities during a disaster, state of emergency, or state of preparedness. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• 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.
• Facilities and equipment: means all real and personal property of every kind and character owned or held by any urban mass transportation system for the purpose of providing transportation by bus or rail or other conveyance serving the public. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Facility: means a facility subject to the provisions of 42 U. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• 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.
• 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.
• Floor leaders: The Majority Leader and Minority Leader are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. By custom, the Presiding Officer gives the floor leaders priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate.
• 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.
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Incident: means :

  (A) An injury to an individual at a well, well pad or pipeline facility that results in death or serious bodily injury or that has a reasonable potential to cause death. See West Virginia Code 15-5C-1

• 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.
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Law-enforcement officer: means :

  (i) Those persons defined as a chief executive pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 15-3C-3

• Laws of the state: includes the Constitution of the State of West Virginia and the Constitution of the United States, and treaties and laws made in pursuance thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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}
• 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.
• Local emergency planning committee: means that group of persons, for each emergency planning district, who are appointed by the state emergency response commission in accordance with the provisions of section seven of this article. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• Local organization for emergency services: means an organization created in accordance with the provisions of this article by state or local authority to perform local emergency services function. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Mobile support unit: means an organization for emergency services created in accordance with the provisions of this article by state or local authority to be dispatched by the Governor to supplement local organizations for emergency services in a stricken area. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• oath: shall be deemed to include an affirmation and the word "swear" or "sworn" to be complied with if the person referred to make solemn affirmation. See West Virginia Code 2-2-7
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Ordinance: shall mean the ordinances and laws enacted by the governing body of a municipality in the exercise of its legislative power, and in one or more articles of this chapter, ordinances enacted by a county commission. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
• Participating government: means any municipality or county establishing or participating in an urban mass transportation authority. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• 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: means any individual, corporation, voluntary organization or entity, partnership, firm, or other association, organization, or entity organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Person: shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, or any other entity or organization of whatever character or description. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Pipeline facility: means , without limitation, new and existing pipe, pipe rights-of-way and any equipment, facility, or building used in the transportation of oil or natural gas or the treatment of oil or natural gas during the course of transportation: Provided, That the term "pipeline facility" shall not include pipelines of four inches or less, measuring the inside diameter, that service a farm, commercial structure or residence. See West Virginia Code 15-5C-1
• Pipeline operator: means any person or persons, firm, partnership, independent contractor, company or corporation that constructs, maintains or operates a pipeline facility. See West Virginia Code 15-5C-1
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Political subdivision: means any county or municipal corporation in this state. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Resident: shall mean any individual who maintains a usual and bona fide place of abode within the corporate limits of a municipality or within the boundaries of a territory referred to in this chapter, as the case may be. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Residential housing: means a specific work or improvement within this state undertaken primarily to provide dwelling accommodations, including the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of land, buildings and improvements thereto, for residential housing, including, but not limited to, facilities for temporary housing and emergency housing, and any other nonhousing facilities that are incidental or appurtenant thereto. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act: means P. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• Revenues: means the gross receipts derived directly or indirectly from or in connection with the operation by an authority of any urban mass transportation system or systems and shall include, without limitation, all fees, rates, fares, rentals or other income actually received or receivable by or for the account of an authority from the operation of the system, and any other receipts from whatever source derived. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. See West Virginia Code 15-3C-3
• Senior citizen: means a person over sixty-five years of age. See West Virginia Code 15-3B-3
• Service area of the authority: means and includes an area commensurate with the area served by an existing system or systems acquired or to be acquired by an authority, or if there be no existing system, the area shall extend to and include an area to be defined by the authority. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Suspects: means an individual or individuals who have killed or inflicted a life-threatening injury upon a law-enforcement officer and who remain at large. See West Virginia Code 15-3C-3
• System: means any urban mass transportation system. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Temporary housing: means a specific work or improvement within this state undertaken primarily to provide dwelling accommodations, including the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of land, buildings and improvements thereto, for temporary residential shelters or housing for victims of a disaster, and such other nonhousing facilities that are incidental or appurtenant thereto. See West Virginia Code 15-5-2
• Title III: means the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, P. See West Virginia Code 15-5A-3
• 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.
• Treasurer: shall mean the treasurer or other municipal officer, by whatever name called, exercising the power and authority commonly exercised by a treasurer. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Trust indenture: means a security instrument entered into by an authority pursuant to which bonds or notes are issued. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unavailable: means absent from the place of session (other than on official business of the Legislature), or unable, for physical, mental or legal reasons, to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of a legislator, whether or not such absence or inability would give rise to a vacancy under existing Constitutional or statutory provisions. See West Virginia Code 15-7-3
• Urban area: means any area that includes a municipality or other built-up place which is appropriate for a system to serve commuters or others in the locality taking into consideration the local patterns and trends of growth. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Urban mass transportation system: means any common carrier of passengers for hire which operates equipment over regular routes within the service area of the authority. See West Virginia Code 8-27-3
• Well: means any shaft or hole sunk, drilled, bored or dug into the earth or into underground strata for the extraction or injection or placement of any liquid, oil or natural gas, or any shaft or hole sunk or used in conjunction with such extraction or injection or placement. See West Virginia Code 15-5C-1
• Well operator: means any person or persons, firm, partnership, independent contractor, company or corporation that drills or engages in hydraulic fracturing for any liquid, oil or natural gas, or that completes or operates wells to produce any liquid, oil or natural gas. See West Virginia Code 15-5C-1
• Well pad: means any area constructed and maintained for use to create a well. See West Virginia Code 15-5C-1
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.