Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 33.2 > Subtitle III > Chapter 18 - Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995

• Affected locality or public entity: means any county, city, or town in which all or a portion of a qualifying transportation facility is located and any other responsible public entity directly affected by the qualifying transportation facility. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• 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.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• 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
• Asset management: means a systematic process of operating and maintaining the systems of state highways by combining engineering practices and analysis with sound business practices and economic theory to achieve cost-effective outcomes. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• 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.
• Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Board: means the Virginia Lottery Board established by this chapter. See Virginia Code 58.1-4002
• City: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-208. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Comprehensive agreement: means the comprehensive agreement between the private entity and the responsible public entity required by § 33. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Concession: means any lease, license, franchise, easement, or other binding agreement transferring rights for the use or control, in whole or in part, of a qualifying transportation facility by a responsible public entity to a private entity for a definite term during which the private entity will provide transportation-related services, including operations and maintenance, revenue collection, toll-collection enforcement, design, construction, and other activities that enhance throughput, reduce congestion, or otherwise manage the facility, in return for the right to receive all or a portion of the revenues of the qualifying transportation facility. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• 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.
• 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.
• Department: means the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Department: means the independent agency responsible for the administration of the Virginia Lottery pursuant to this article and sports betting pursuant to Article 2 (§ 58. See Virginia Code 58.1-4002
• 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.
• development: means to plan, design, develop, finance, lease, acquire, install, construct, or expand. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Director: means the Director of the Virginia Lottery. See Virginia Code 58.1-4002
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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}
• game: includes on-premises mobile casino gaming. See Virginia Code 58.1-4002
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• Interim agreement: means an agreement, including a memorandum of understanding or binding preliminary agreement, between the private entity and the responsible public entity that provides for completion of studies and any other activities to advance the development and/or operation of a qualifying transportation facility. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Interstate System: means the same as that term is defined in 23 U. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• 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.
• 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}
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Locality: has the meaning assigned to it in § 1-221. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Maintenance: means (i) ordinary maintenance; (ii) maintenance replacement; (iii) operations that include traffic signal synchronization, incident management, and other intelligent transportation system functions; and (iv) any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the Commissioner of Highways. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• mass transit: means passenger transportation by rubber-tired, rail, or other surface conveyance that provides shared ride services open to the general public on a regular and continuing basis. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Material default: means any default by the private entity in the performance of its duties under subsection E of § 33. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Multimodal transportation facility: means a transportation facility consisting of multiple modes of transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• 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.
• On-premises mobile casino gaming: means casino gaming offered by a casino gaming operator at a casino gaming establishment using a computer network of both federal and nonfederal interoperable packet-switched data networks through which the casino gaming operator may offer casino gaming to individuals who have established an on-premises mobile casino gaming account with the casino gaming operator and who are physically present on the premises of the casino gaming establishment, as authorized by regulations promulgated by the Board. See Virginia Code 58.1-4002
• operation: means to finance, maintain, improve, equip, modify, repair, or operate. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Private entity: means any natural person, corporation, general partnership, limited liability company, limited partnership, joint venture, business trust, public benefit corporation, nonprofit entity, or other business entity. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Public entity: means the Commonwealth and any agency or authority thereof; any county, city, or town; and any other political subdivision of any of the foregoing, but does not include any public service company. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Qualifying transportation facility: means one or more transportation facilities developed and/or operated by a private entity pursuant to this chapter. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Responsible public entity: means a public entity, including local governments and regional authorities, that has the power to develop and/or operate the qualifying transportation facility. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Revenues: means all revenues, including income; earnings; user fees; lease payments; allocations; federal, state, regional, and local appropriations or the appropriations or other funds available to any political subdivision, authority, or instrumentality thereof; bond proceeds; equity investments, service payments, or any combination thereof arising out of or in connection with supporting the development and/or operation of a qualifying transportation facility, including money received as grants or otherwise from the United States of America, from any public entity, or from any agency or instrumentality of the foregoing in aid of such facility. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
• Service contract: means a contract entered into between a public entity and the private entity pursuant to § 33. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Service payments: means payments to the private entity in connection with the development and/or operation of a qualifying transportation facility pursuant to a service contract. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• 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.
• Sports betting: means placing wagers on sporting events as such activity is regulated by the Board. See Virginia Code 58.1-4002
• State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
• State: means the Commonwealth of Virginia. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• state agency: means the same as that term is defined in § 2. See Virginia Code 1-206
• state lottery: means the lottery or lotteries established and operated pursuant to this chapter. See Virginia Code 58.1-4002
• sworn: means "affirm" or "affirmed. See Virginia Code 1-250
• Taxpayer: includes every person, corporation, partnership, organization, trust or estate subject to taxation under the laws of this Commonwealth, or under the ordinances, resolutions or orders of any county, city, town or other political subdivision of this Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 58.1-1
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
• Transportation facility: means any road, bridge, tunnel, overpass, ferry, airport, mass transit facility, vehicle parking facility, port facility, or similar commercial facility used for the transportation of persons or goods, together with any buildings, structures, parking areas, appurtenances, and other property needed to operate such facility; however, "transportation facility" does not include a commercial or retail use or enterprise not essential to the transportation of persons or goods. See Virginia Code 33.2-1800
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
• User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.