Maine Revised Statutes > Title 35-A > Part 1 > Chapter 1 – Organization, General Powers and Duties
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Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes > Title 35-A > Part 1 > Chapter 1 - Organization, General Powers and Duties
- Abutting property: means , with respect to a parcel of land, another parcel of land that shares a common property boundary, except that "abutting property" does not include a parcel of land separated from another parcel by a public road or highway. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Commission: means the Public Utilities Commission. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102
- Commissioner: means one of the members of the Public Utilities Commission. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102
- 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.
- Customer: includes any person, government or governmental division which has applied for, been accepted and is currently receiving service from a public utility. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102
- Dark fiber provider: means a person, its lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court, owning, controlling, operating or managing federally supported dark fiber that:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial. Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source: Door-to-door sales: means the practice by which a representative of a competitive electricity provider, including a 3rd-party sales agent, solicits or sells electric services to residential or small commercial consumers by means of personal visits to consumers at locations other than the representative's place of business. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 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 Federal interconnection rights and obligations: means the rights and obligations of a telecommunications entity under 47 United States Code §§ 251 and 252 or any other provision of federal law or regulation governing telecommunications network facility interconnection or wholesale access rights and obligations to the extent the rights and obligations under the federal law or regulation may be regulated or overseen by the commission. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Federally supported dark fiber: means one or more strands within a bundle of fiber-optic cable through which an associated light signal or light communication transmission must be provided to provide communications service, but excluding the electronic equipment required in order to render the fiber capable of transmitting communications, the construction of which is financed in whole or in part with funds provided by a grant awarded before January 1, 2010 by the United States Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration pursuant to the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5, 123 Stat. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Ferry: includes every person, its lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court owning, controlling, operating or managing any vessel and which is subject to commission's jurisdiction under chapter 51. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 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. Gas marketer: means an entity that sells natural gas to retail consumers in the State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Gas plant: includes all real estate, fixtures and personal property owned, controlled, operated or managed in connection with or to facilitate the production, generation, transmission, delivery or furnishing of gas for light, heat or power. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Gas utility: includes every person, that person's lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court owning, controlling, operating or managing any gas plant for compensation within this State, except when gas is made or produced on and distributed by the maker or producer through private property alone solely for its own tenants and not for sale to others, or when the gas is sold solely for use in vehicles fueled by natural gas or to a liquid gas system that serves fewer than 10 customers as long as no portion of the liquid gas system is located in a public place or that serves a single customer if the liquid gas system is located entirely on the customer's premises. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate. Incumbent local exchange carrier: means , with respect to an area, the local exchange carrier that on February 8, 1996 provided telephone exchange service in the area and:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102Interconnected voice over Internet protocol service: means a service that enables real-time, 2-way voice communications; requires a broadband connection from the user's location; and permits users generally to receive calls that originate on the public switched telephone network and to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Interexchange carrier: means any person, association, corporation or other entity that provides intrastate interexchange telecommunications services, including a local exchange carrier that provides interexchange service. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 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. Local exchange carrier: means any person that is engaged in the provision of telephone exchange service or exchange access. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Majority: when used in reference to age shall mean the age of 18 and over. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72 Mobile telecommunications services: means telecommunications services licensed by the Federal Communications Commission for mobile use. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Natural gas pipeline utility: includes every person, its lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court owning or operating for compensation within this State any pipeline, including pumping stations, storage depots and other facilities, for the transportation, distribution or sale of natural gas, or any person or corporation which has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity or to the Public Utilities Commission for a certificate of authorization to operate a natural gas pipeline within the State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 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 a corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, association, trust, estate, any other legal entity or natural person. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Personal property: All property that is not real property. 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. Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide. Public switched telephone network: means the network of equipment, lines and controls assembled to establish communication paths between calling and called parties in North America. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Public utility: includes every gas utility, natural gas pipeline utility, transmission and distribution utility, telephone utility, water utility and ferry, as those terms are defined in this section, and each of those utilities is declared to be a public utility. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business. Radio common carrier: means an entity that provides communications services primarily by use of radio or other wireless means. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Radio paging service: is a service provided by a communication common carrier engaged in rendering signaling communication. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Rate design stability: means the implementation of interclass cost allocation or intraclass rate design changes to any existing customer class, of the magnitude or on such a schedule as to not be seriously adverse to the existing class of customers. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Real estate: includes lands and all tenements and hereditaments connected therewith, and all rights thereto and interests therein. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72 Self generation: means the generation of electricity for the use of an entity that owns, leases, operates, controls or manages, in whole or in part, generation assets, as defined in section 3201, subsection 10, provided that the electricity is not transmitted over transmission and distribution plant, as defined in subsection 20?A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony. Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system. Telephone exchange service: means service within a telephone exchange, or within a connected system of telephone exchanges within the same exchange area operated to furnish to subscribers intercommunicating service of the character ordinarily furnished by a single exchange, and that is covered by an exchange service charge, or comparable service provided through a system of switches, transmission equipment or other facilities, or combination thereof, by which a subscriber can originate and terminate a telecommunications service. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Telephone utility: includes every person, its lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court, that provides telephone service for compensation inside this State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Third-party sales agent: means a person or entity that has a business relationship with a competitive electricity provider in which the person or entity conducts or arranges to conduct residential or small commercial consumer sales of electricity to the public at retail on behalf of the competitive electricity provider through door-to-door sales. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Transmission and distribution plant: means all real estate, fixtures and personal property owned, controlled, operated or managed in connection with or to facilitate the transmission, distribution or delivery of electricity for light, heat or power for public use and includes all conduits, ducts and other devices, materials, apparatus and property for containing, holding or carrying conductors used, or to be used, for the transmission or distribution of electricity for light, heat or power for public use. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Transmission and distribution utility: means a person, its lessees, trustees or receivers or trustees appointed by a court, owning, controlling, operating or managing a transmission and distribution plant for compensation within the State, except where the electricity is distributed by the entity that generates the electricity through private property alone solely for the use of:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102Trial: 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 territories and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72 Vessel: includes every boat which is owned, controlled, operated or managed for public use in the transportation of persons or property for compensation within this State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Voice service provider: means any person providing, directly or indirectly, 2-way voice communications service for compensation in this State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Water utility: includes every person, its lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court, owning, controlling, operating or managing any water works for compensation within this State, including any aqueduct organized under former Title 35, chapter 261 and any of its predecessors. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Water works: includes all reservoirs, tunnels, shafts, dams, dikes, head gates, pipes, flumes, canals, structures and appliances, and all real estate, fixtures and personal property, owned, controlled, operated or managed in connection with or to facilitate the diversion, development, storage, supply, distribution, sale, furnishing, carriage, apportionment or measurement of water for municipal and domestic use. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Wholesale competitive local exchange carrier: means a local exchange carrier, other than an incumbent local exchange carrier, that provides a wholesale telecommunications service but does not provide telephone exchange service to a retail subscriber. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102 Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72 Zero-based budgeting: means a method of budgeting in which programs and activities are justified for a budgetary period using cost-benefit analysis without regard to the amount that was budgeted for those programs and activities in a prior budgetary period. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A Sec. 102