Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 8 > Article 12 > Part IV - Certain Specific Powers of Municipalities

• Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensations of a member and credited to his or her individual account in the members' deposit fund, together with regular interest on the contributions. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all amounts credited to a member's individual account in the member's deposit fund and includes both contributions deducted from the compensation of a member and contributions of a member picked up and paid by the member's participating public employer, plus applicable interest thereon. See West Virginia Code 5-10C-3
• Actuarial equivalent: means a benefit of equal value computed upon the basis of a mortality table and regular interest adopted by the board of trustees from time to time: . See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• age: means the age of forty or above. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• Aggrieved person: includes any person who:

  (1) Claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3

• 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.
• 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.
• Annuity: means an annual amount payable by the retirement system throughout the life of a person. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Assistance animal: means any service, therapy or support animal, weighing less than one hundred fifty pounds, with or without specific training or certification, that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviate one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person'. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Attorney General: means the West Virginia Attorney General. See West Virginia Code 5-11B-5
• 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.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• basic universal design: means the design of products and environments to be useable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialization. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-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}
• Beneficiary: means any person which shall include an irrevocable special needs trust, as that term is defined in this section, for the benefit of one individual beneficiary and which trust terminates upon the death of such individual with no further annuity benefits being payable, except a retirant, who is entitled to, or will be entitled to, an annuity or other benefit payable by the retirement system. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• board: means the Board of Trustees of the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Board: means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board provided for in §. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• Board of trustees: means , as appropriate: The Consolidated Public Retirement Board created in article ten-d of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 5-10C-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
• 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 West Virginia Human Rights Commission. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• Commission: means the West Virginia Human Rights Commission. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Commission: means the West Virginia Human Rights Commission. See West Virginia Code 5-11B-5
• Committee substitute: Short for committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.
• Compensation: means the remuneration paid a member by a participating public employer for personal services rendered by the member to the participating public employer. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Complainant: means the person, including the commission, who files a complaint under section eleven of this article. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conciliation: means the attempted resolution of issues raised by a complaint or by the investigation of the complaint through informal negotiations involving the aggrieved person, the respondent and the commission. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Conciliation agreement: means a written agreement setting forth the resolution of the issues in conciliation. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contributing service: means service rendered by a member within this state and for which the member made contributions to a public retirement system account of this state, to the extent credited him or her as provided by this article. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• 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.
• County commission: shall mean the governmental body created by section 22, article eight of the Constitution of this state, or any existing tribunal created in lieu of a county commission. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Covered entity: has the meaning given the word employer in section three, article eleven of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 5-11B-5
• Credited service: means the sum of a member's prior service credit, military service credit, workers' compensation service credit, and contributing service credit standing to his or her credit as provided in this article. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deferred compensation: means the income and earnings on that income an employee may legally defer for personal income tax purposes pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code until distribution. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• director: means the executive director of the commission. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• disability: means :

  (1) A mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person'. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3

• Disability: means , with respect to a person:

  (1) A physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of the person'. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3

• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• discrimination: means to exclude from, or fail or refuse to extend to, a person equal opportunities because of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness, disability or familial status and includes to separate or segregate. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• Discriminatory housing practice: means an act that is unlawful under section five, six, seven or nineteen of this article. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Dwelling: means any building, structure or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence or sleeping place by one or more persons or families and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such building, structure or portion thereof. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Employee: means any person who serves regularly as an officer or employee, full-time, on a salary basis, whose tenure is not restricted as to temporary or provisional appointment, in the service of, and whose compensation is payable, in whole or in part, by any political subdivision, or an officer or employee whose compensation is calculated on a daily basis and paid monthly or on completion of assignment, including technicians and other personnel employed by the West Virginia National Guard whose compensation, in whole or in part, is paid by the federal government: . See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Employee: means any person, whether appointed, elected or under contract, providing services for the state employer or public employer for which compensation is paid. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• Employee: means any person, whether appointed, elected or under contract, providing services for a public employer for which compensation is paid and who is a member of the applicable retirement system. See West Virginia Code 5-10C-3
• employer: means the state, or any political subdivision thereof, and any person employing twelve or more persons within the state for twenty or more calendar weeks in the calendar year in which the act of discrimination allegedly took place or the preceding calendar year: Provided, That such terms shall not be taken, understood or construed to include a private club. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• Employer error: means an omission, misrepresentation, or deliberate act in violation of relevant provisions of the West Virginia Code or of the West Virginia Code of State Regulations or the relevant provisions of both the West Virginia Code and of the West Virginia Code of State Regulations by the participating public employer that has resulted in an underpayment or overpayment of contributions required. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• employment agency: includes any person undertaking, with or without compensation, to procure, recruit, refer or place employees. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• 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.
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• 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.
• Familial status: means :

  (1) One or more individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen years being domiciled with:

  (A) A parent or another person having legal custody of the individual or individuals. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3

• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Final average salary: means either of the following: . See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• 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.
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• 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.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Internal Revenue Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, codified at Title 26 of the United States Code. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Internal Revenue Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as it has been amended. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-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.
• Investment product: means any fixed or variable rate annuity, life insurance contract, savings account, certificate of deposit, money market account, bond, mutual fund or any other form of investment not prohibited under the Internal Revenue Code and authorized by the state employer or the public employer for the purpose of receiving funds under a plan. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• 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
• 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.
• labor organization: includes any organization which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment or for other mutual aid or protection in relation to employment. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Limited credited service: means service by employees of the West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority, in the employment of West Virginia University, during a period when the employee made contributions to another retirement system, as required by West Virginia University, and did not make contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System: . See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• major life activities: includes functions such as caring for one'. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• Mayor: shall mean the individual called mayor unless as to a particular municipality a commissioner (in a commission form of government) or the city manager (in a manager form of government) is designated or constituted by charter provision as the principal or chief executive officer or chief administrator thereof, in which event the term "mayor" shall mean as to such municipality such commissioner or city manager unless as to any particular power, authority, duty or function specified in this chapter to be exercised, discharged or fulfilled by the mayor it is provided by charter provision or ordinance that such particular power, authority, duty, or function shall be exercised, discharged, or fulfilled by the individual called mayor and not by a commissioner or city manager, in which event such particular power, authority, duty, or function shall in fact be exercised, discharged, or fulfilled in and for such municipality by the individual called mayor: Provided, That in the exercise and discharge of the ex officio justice of the peace, conservator of the peace, and mayor's court functions specified in this chapter, the term "mayor" shall always mean the individual called mayor. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Member: means any person who has accumulated contributions standing to his or her credit in the members' deposit fund. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Member: means any person who has accumulated contributions standing to his or her credit in a retirement system. See West Virginia Code 5-10C-3
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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
• 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.
• Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• 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
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Participating public employer: means the State of West Virginia, any board, commission, department, institution, or spending unit, and includes any agency created by rule of the Supreme Court of Appeals having full-time employees, which for the purposes of this article is considered a department of state government. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Participating public employer: means the State of West Virginia, any board, commission, department, institution or spending unit and includes any agency with full-time employees, created by rule of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which for the purpose of this article shall be considered a department of state government and county boards of education with respect to teachers and nonteachers employed by them. See West Virginia Code 5-10C-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 one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, organizations, corporations, labor organizations, cooperatives, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers and other organized groups of persons. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• Person: includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in cases under Title 11 of the United States Code, receivers and fiduciaries. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Person: has the meaning given the word in section three, article eleven of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 5-11B-5
• 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
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• personal property: includes goods, chattels, real and personal, money, credits, investments, and the evidences thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• place of public accommodations: means any establishment or person, as defined herein, including the state, or any political or civil subdivision thereof, which offers its services, goods, facilities or accommodations to the general public, but shall not include any accommodations which are in their nature private. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• plan: means a trust whereby the state employer or a public employer agrees with an employee for the voluntary reduction in employee compensation for the payment of benefits by the state employer or the public employer to the employee at a later date pursuant to this article and the federal laws and regulations relating to eligible state deferred compensation plans as described in Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• Plan year: means the same as referenced in §. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Political subdivision: means the State of West Virginia, a county, city or town in the state. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Political subdivision: means the State of West Virginia, a county, city or town in the state. See West Virginia Code 5-10C-3
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Prior service: means service rendered prior to July 1, 1961, to the extent credited a member as provided in this article. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• 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.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments, all rights thereto and interests therein, except chattel interests. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Regular interest: means the rate or rates of interest per annum, compounded annually, as the board of trustees adopts from time to time. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• 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.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Respondent: means :

  (1) The person or other entity accused in a complaint of an unfair housing practice. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3

• Retirant: means any member who commences an annuity payable by the retirement system. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Retirement: means a member's withdrawal from the employ of a participating public employer and the commencement of an annuity by the retirement system. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Retirement system: means , as appropriate: The West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System created in §. See West Virginia Code 5-10C-3
• Retroactive service: means : (1) Service between July 1, 1961, and the date an employer decides to become a participating member of the Public Employees Retirement System. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• rooming house: means a house or building where there are one or more bedrooms which the proprietor can spare for the purpose of giving lodgings to persons he or she chooses to receive. See West Virginia Code 5-11A-3
• Service: means personal service rendered to a participating public employer by an employee of a participating public employer. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• State: means the State of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• 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
• State employer: means the State of West Virginia, which includes every state board, commission, agency and instrumentality. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• system: means the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System created and established by this article. See West Virginia Code 5-10-2
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Town: includes a city, village or town, and the word "council" any body or board, whether composed of one or more branches, which is authorized to make ordinances for the government of a city, town, or village. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Treasurer: means the state Treasurer. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• trust: means the fund in which deferred amounts and investment income of participating employees are held. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• unlawful discriminatory practices: includes only those practices specified in section nine of this article. See West Virginia Code 5-11-3
• Vendor: means a private entity that sells investment products or provides goods and services. See West Virginia Code 5-10B-2
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• video lottery license: means authorization granted by the commission pursuant to this article to a person permitting that person to engage in the activity for which the license was issued. See West Virginia Code 29-22B-314