Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 21 > Article 2 - Employment Agencies

• 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.
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Audit: means a systematic examination and collection of sufficient, competent evidential matter needed for an Auditor to attest to the fairness of management&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• 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
• Chief risk officer: means the person appointed to the position created in section three of this article and who is vested with authority to assist state spending units in planning and coordinating fiscal risk analysis and management activities that serve the effectiveness and efficiency of the individual state spending units, state executive agencies and further the overall management goals and purposes of government. See West Virginia Code 5-1D-2
• City: is a word of art and shall mean, include, and be limited to any Class I, Class II, and Class III city, as classified in section three of this article (except in those instances where the context in which used clearly indicates that a particular class of city is intended), heretofore or hereafter incorporated as a municipal corporation under the laws of this state, however created and whether operating under: (i) A special legislative charter. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Code: shall mean the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as heretofore and hereafter amended. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Commission: means the occupational safety and health review commission established under this article. See West Virginia Code 21-3A-2
• Commissioner: means the labor commissioner or his designated agent. See West Virginia Code 21-3A-2
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Convict: means a person confined in a penitentiary or correctional facility of this or any other state, or of the United States. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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.
• Decision: means any determination, action, vote or final disposition of a motion, proposal, resolution, order, ordinance or measure on which a vote of the governing body is required at any meeting at which a quorum is present. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• 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}
• Emergency meeting: means any meeting called by a governing body for the purpose of addressing an unexpected event which requires immediate attention because it poses:

  (A) An imminent threat to public health or safety. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2

• Employee: means any public employee of the state, or any state agency. See West Virginia Code 21-3A-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.
• Examination: includes an audit, review, or small government monitoring as defined in this section. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Executive session: means any meeting or part of a meeting of a governing body which is closed to the public. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Federal awards: means federal financial assistance and federal cost-reimbursement contracts that nonfederal entities receive directly from federal awarding agencies or indirectly from pass-through entities. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Federal financial assistance: means assistance that nonfederal entities receive or administer in the form of grants, loans, loan guarantees, property, cooperative agreements, interest subsidies, insurance, food commodities, direct appropriations, or other assistance, but does not include amounts received as reimbursement for services rendered to individuals in accordance with guidance issued by the director of the federal office of management and budget. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Financial audit: includes financial statement audits and financial related audits, as defined by government auditing standards. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Fiscal impact: means any anticipated budgetary or other financial impact that may result from the proposed expenditure, decision, or undertaking. See West Virginia Code 5-1D-2
• Fiscal risk analysis and management: means issues that arise out of the day-to-day operations of state government that put at fiscal risk the people, property or other assets of the state, the overall operation of state government and its ability to carry and acceptance of fiscal risks on decisions with potential fiscal impact of an amount of at least $1 million: Provided, That the authority shall advise and make recommendations to the Public Employees Insurance Agency, the Consolidated Public Retirement Board, workers'. See West Virginia Code 5-1D-2
• 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}
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the members of any public agency having the authority to make decisions for or recommendations to a public agency on policy or administration, the membership of a governing body consists of two or more members. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• Governing body: shall mean the mayor and council together, the council, the board of directors, the commission, or other board or body of any municipality, by whatever name called, as the case may be, charged with the responsibility of enacting ordinances and determining the public policy of such municipality. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Government auditing standards: means the government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, which are applicable to financial audits of government organizations, programs, and activities. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Inconsistent or in conflict with: shall mean that a charter or ordinance provision is repugnant to the constitution of this state or to general law because such provision: (i) Permits or authorizes that which the constitution or general law forbids or prohibits. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Investigation: means an examination, inspection, or review of a local government&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Local government: means any unit of local government within the state, including a county, county board of education, municipality, and any other authority, board, commission, district, office, public authority, public corporation, or other instrumentality of a county, county board of education, or municipality or any combination of two or more local governments. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Meeting: means the convening of a governing body of a public agency for which a quorum is required in order to make a decision or to deliberate toward a decision on any matter which results in an official action. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• 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.
• Nonfederal entity: means a state, local government, or nonprofit organization. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Office of Management and Budget: means the executive Office of the President of the United States, Office of Management and Budget. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Official action: means action which is taken by virtue of power granted by law, ordinance, policy, rule, or by virtue of the office held. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• 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
• 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 one or more individuals. See West Virginia Code 21-3A-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
• 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.
• Proper legal authority: means the prosecuting attorney of the county wherein the audited, examined, or investigated entity is located, the Attorney General, law enforcement, or other legal authority the chief inspector deems appropriate. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public agency: means any administrative or legislative unit of state, county or municipal government, including any department, division, bureau, office, commission, authority, board, public corporation, section, committee, subcommittee or any other agency or subunit of the foregoing, authorized by law to exercise some portion of executive or legislative power. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• Public debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The public debt does not include agency debt (amounts borrowed by other agencies of the Federal Government). The total public debt is subject to a statutory limit.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Quorum: means the gathering of a simple majority of the constituent membership of a governing body, unless applicable law provides for varying the required ratio. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• Regular meeting: means a meeting of a governing body at which the regular business of the public is conducted. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Review: means an inquiry or analytical procedures that provide the Auditor with a reasonable basis for expressing limited assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the financial statements in order for them to be in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles or, if applicable, with another comprehensive basis of accounting. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Select or special committee: A committee established by the legislature for a limited time period to perform a particular study or investigation. These committees might be given or denied authority to report legislation to the legislature.
• 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.
• Single audit: means a financial and compliance audit as defined in the federal Single Audit Act of 1996, as amended, in section 7502(d), chapter 75, title 31 of the United States Code, of a nonfederal entity that includes the entity&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Small government monitoring: means specialized procedures, performed on certain qualifying local governments as a lower cost alternative to an audit or review. See West Virginia Code 6-9-1a
• Special meeting: means a meeting of a governing body other than a regular meeting or an emergency meeting. See West Virginia Code 6-9A-2
• State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.