Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 4 > Article 1 - Officers, Members and Employees; Appropriations; Investigations; Display of Flags; Records; Use of Capitol Building; Prefiling of Bills and Resolutions; Standing Committees; Interim Meetings; Next Meeting of the Senate

• Account owner: means the person who opens and invests money into a Jumpstart Savings Account, as provided in this article. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• Adjournment sine die: The end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of legislature.
• 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.
• 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.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Alternative education: means an authorized departure from the regular school program designed to provide educational and social development for students whose disruptive behavior places them at risk of not succeeding in the traditional school structures and in adult life without positive interventions. See West Virginia Code 18A-1-1
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• 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
• Approved institution of higher education in this state: means nonprofit, degree-granting two-year and four-year colleges and universities located in West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 18-22D-2
• 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.
• Beneficiary: means the person designated as a beneficiary at the time an account is established, or the individual designated as the beneficiary when the beneficiary is changed. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• 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 Trustees of the West Virginia College and Jumpstart Savings Programs created in §. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• board: means a county board of education. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• 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.
• Center for Professional Development: means the center created pursuant to section one, article three-a of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 18A-1-1
• Classroom teacher: means a professional educator who has a direct instructional or counseling relationship with students and who spends the majority of his or her time in this capacity. See West Virginia Code 18A-1-1
• 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.
• Contribution: means any amount of money deposited into a Jumpstart Savings Account according to the procedures established and required by the board or the Treasurer. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• County court: includes any existing tribunal created in lieu of a county commission. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Deduction: as used in this article has the same meaning as when used in a comparable context in the laws of the United States relating to income taxes, unless a different meaning is clearly required. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Distribution: means any disbursement from an account. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Eligible student: means any individual who:

  (1) Is a citizen or eligible noncitizen of the United States. See West Virginia Code 18-22D-2

• enlisted member: means a person in an enlisted grade. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• Enrolled bill: The final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed both chambers in identical form. It is printed on parchment paper, signed by appropriate officials, and submitted to the President/Governor for signature.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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.
• 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}
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• 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.
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• institution: means a financial institution that is eligible to make commercial loans, is a public depository of state funds and agrees to participate in the West Virginia higher education student assistance loan program. See West Virginia Code 18-22D-2
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• 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
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Labor organization: means any organization, agency, association, union, or employee representation committee of any kind that exists, in whole or in part, to assist employees in negotiating with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, or other terms or conditions of employment. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• Linked deposit: means a certificate of deposit placed by the state Board of Investments with an eligible lending institution at three percent below current market rates, as determined and calculated by the state Board of Investments, provided the institution agrees to lend the value of such deposit, according to the deposit agreement provided for by this article, to eligible students at three percent below the present borrowing rate applicable to each such student at the time of the deposit of state funds in the institution. See West Virginia Code 18-22D-2
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• 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.
• 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.
• Petit jury: A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute. Federal criminal juries consist of 12 persons. Federal civil juries consist of six persons.
• 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.
• Principal: means a professional educator who functions as an agent of the county board and has responsibility for the supervision, management and control of a school or schools within the guidelines established by the county board. See West Virginia Code 18A-1-1
• professional personnel: means those persons or employees who meet the certification requirements of the state, licensing requirements of the state, or both, and includes a professional educator and other professional employee. See West Virginia Code 18A-1-1
• program: refers to the Jumpstart Savings Program established by this article. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• Qualifying profession: means an occupation, profession, or trade for which the designated beneficiary is required to:

  (A) Complete an apprenticeship program registered and certified with the United States Department of Labor, as provided in 29 U. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3

• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• School: means the students and teachers assembled in one or more buildings, organized as a unit. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• School personnel: means all personnel employed by a county board whether employed on a regular full-time basis, an hourly basis or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 18A-1-1
• State board: means the West Virginia Board of Education. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• State superintendent: means the state superintendent of free Schools. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• superintendent: means a county superintendent of schools. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• superior commissioned officer: means a commissioned officer superior in rank or command. See West Virginia Code 15-1E-1
• Supervisor: means a professional educator who is responsible for working primarily in the field with professional and other personnel in instructional and other school improvement. See West Virginia Code 18A-1-1
• Supplemental appropriation: Budget authority provided in an appropriations act in addition to regular or continuing appropriations already provided. Supplemental appropriations generally are made to cover emergencies, such as disaster relief, or other needs deemed too urgent to be postponed until the enactment of next year's regular appropriations act.
• Teacher: means a teacher, supervisor, principal, superintendent, public school librarian or any other person regularly employed for instructional purposes in a public school in this state. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
• 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: refers to the West Virginia State Treasurer or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 18-30A-3
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}