Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 58 > Chapter 31 - Public Service Authority

• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• 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
• best interests: means a balancing of the following:
  
  (a) preservation of the financial integrity of the Public Service Authority and its ongoing operations;
  
  (b) the interest of the Public Service Authority's residential, commercial and industrial retail customers, and those wholesale customers served pursuant to contractual arrangements, but excluding joint action agencies and those entities located outside the State, in reliable, adequate, efficient, and safe service, at just and reasonable rates, regardless of customer class;
  
  (c) maintenance, preservation, and keeping of the Public Service Authority's properties and all additions and betterments thereto and extension thereof and every part and parcel in thereof, in good repair, working order and condition;
  
  (d) the support of, economic development and job attraction and retention within the Public Service Authority's present service area or areas within the State authorized to be served by an electric cooperative or municipally owned electric utility that is a direct or indirect wholesale customer of the Authority, provided the remaining items of this subsection have been met; and
  
  (e) subject to the limitations of § 58-31-30(B) and item (A)(3)(a) of this section, exercise of the powers of the Authority set forth in § 58-31-30 in accordance with good business practices and the requirements of applicable licenses, laws, and regulations. See South Carolina Code 58-31-55
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• 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.
• 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.
• Crop operation: includes a vehicle, building, structure, or premises where a crop is raised, maintained, tested, handled, housed, exhibited, or offered for sale and includes a research facility where research on or testing of crops is conducted. See South Carolina Code 47-21-20
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Effective consent: includes consent by a person legally authorized to act for the owner. See South Carolina Code 47-21-20
• electrical utility: includes persons and corporations, their lessees, assignees, trustees, receivers or other successors in interest owning or operating in this State equipment or facilities for generating, transmitting, delivering or furnishing electricity for street, railway or other public uses or for production of light, heat or power to or for the public for compensation; but it shall not include an electric cooperative or municipality and shall not include a person, corporation furnishing electricity only to himself or itself, their residents, employees or tenants when such electricity is not resold or used by others. See South Carolina Code 58-31-310
• 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}
• 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.
• 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.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• 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.
• lands: as used in this chapter shall be held to cover and include railroads and all property assessed for benefits. See South Carolina Code 49-19-40
• 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}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• line: includes any electric conductor operating at a nominal voltage level in excess of 25 KV when it is agreed between the Public Service Authority and an affected electric cooperative serving in the county where the conductor is located that the primary purpose and use of the conductor on January 1, 1984, was for the distribution of electric power and not for the transmission of bulk power from one area to another. See South Carolina Code 58-31-310
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• 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.
• Owner: means a person who has title to the property, possession of the property, whether lawful or not, or a greater right to possession of the property than the actor. See South Carolina Code 47-21-20
• Person: means an individual, corporation, association, nonprofit corporation, joint-stock company, firm, trust, partnership, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 47-21-20
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• premises: means the building, structure or facility including any expansions or additions thereto, to which electricity is being or is to be furnished; provided, that two or more buildings, structures or facilities which are located on one tract or contiguous tracts of land and are utilized by one electric consumer for farming, business, commercial, industrial, institutional or governmental purposes, shall together constitute one "premises" regardless of whether they are separately metered and the charges for such service are calculated independently of charges for service to any other building, structure or facility. See South Carolina Code 58-31-310
• present service area: means the area or areas hereinafter described, within which the Public Service Authority shall have the right to furnish electrical service to the exclusion of other electrical utilities. See South Carolina Code 58-31-310
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• 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.
• 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.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.