Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 16 > Chapter 11 > Article 8 - Theft of Cable Television Service Act

• abatement: refers to actions taken to ameliorate or correct conditions requiring remediation as defined in this section. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• ABET: means the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Acceptable collateral: means :
  
  (a) cash, cash equivalents, letters of credit, or direct obligations of, or securities that are fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by the government of the United States, an agency of the United States, the Federal National Mortgage Association, or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation in respect to securities lending transactions, repurchase transactions, and reverse repurchase transactions and for the purpose of calculating counterparty exposure amount; and
  
  (b) sovereign debt rated 1 by the SVO or an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the SVO as to foreign securities lending transactions. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Accident and health insurance: means insurance of human beings against death or personal injury by accident, and each insurance of human beings against sickness, ailment, and any type of physical disability resulting from accident or disease, and prepaid dental service, but not including coverages required by the Workers' Compensation Law of this State. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Accident and health insurance: means protection that provides payment of benefits for covered sickness or accidental injury, excluding credit insurance, disability insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and long-term care insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Accident and health insurer: means a licensed life or health insurer or health service corporation whose insurance premiums and required statutory reserves for accident and health insurance are at least ninety-five percent of total premium consideration or total statutory required reserves, respectively. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Administrator: means the individual to whom the director has delegated authority to administer the programs of a specific board or of a professional or occupational group for which the department has regulatory authority or has delegated authority to administer the programs of a specific board;
  
  (2) "Authorization to practice" or "Practice authorization" means the approval to practice the specified profession, engage in the specified occupation, or use a title protected under this article, which has been granted by the applicable board. See South Carolina Code 40-1-20
• Admitted asset: means an asset that is identified specifically as an admitted asset within the NAIC accounting manual or is not identified specifically as a nonadmitted asset within the NAIC accounting manual, excluding assets of separate accounts because the investments and investment practices of separate accounts are not subject to the provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Admitted assets: means assets of an insurer considered admitted on the most recent statutory financial statement of the insurer filed with the department pursuant to § 38-13-80. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• 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.
• Affiliate: means , in respect to a person, another person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the person. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Alien insurer: means an insurer incorporated or organized under the laws of a country other than the United States of America, its states, commonwealths, territories, or insular possessions. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annuity: means each contract or agreement to make periodic payments, whether in fixed or variable dollar amounts, or both, at specified intervals. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appointment: means an individual designated by an official or authorized representative of an authorized insurer to act on its behalf as a producer. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Asset-backed security: means a security or other instrument, excluding a mutual fund, evidencing an interest in or the right to receive payments from or payable from distributions on an asset, a pool of assets, or specifically divisible cash flows that are transferred legally to a trust or another special purpose bankruptcy-remote business entity, on the following conditions:
  
  (a) the trust or other business entity is established for the sole purpose of acquiring specific types of assets or rights to cash flows, issuing securities and other instruments representing an interest in or right to receive cash flows from those assets or rights, and engaging in activities required to service the assets or rights and any credit enhancement or support features held by the trust or other business entity; and
  
  (b) the sole assets of the trust or other business entity are interest bearing obligations or other contractual obligations representing the right to receive payment from the cash flows from the assets or rights. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Audiologist: means an individual licensed by the State Board of Examiners in Speech Pathology and Audiology as an audiologist. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• 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 South Carolina State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors created pursuant to this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Board: means the South Carolina Environmental Certification Board. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Board: means the State Licensing Board for Contractors (excluding mechanical contractors), the State Board of Architectural Examiners, or the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers (excluding land surveyors), as is applicable to the person performing a commercial inspection. See South Carolina Code 40-26-10
• Board: means the Board of Landscape Architectural Examiners. See South Carolina Code 40-28-20
• Board: means the South Carolina Manufactured Housing Board. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Bored: means a large diameter well, commonly greater than or equal to twenty-four inches in diameter, which is typically installed at a very shallow depth and constructed of rock, concrete, or ceramic material. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Branch office: means a place of business separate from the principal place of business where engineering services or surveying services are provided. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Business entity: means a sole proprietorship, corporation, limited liability company, association, general or limited partnership, joint stock company, joint venture, mutual fund, bank, trust, real estate investment trust, joint tenancy, or other similar form of business organization, whether organized for-profit or not-for-profit. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• cable television service: includes (1) services provided by or through the facilities of any cable television system or closed circuit coaxial cable communication system, and (2) any transmission service used in connection with any cable television system or similar closed circuit coaxial cable communication system. See South Carolina Code 16-11-815
• Cap: means an agreement obligating the seller to make payments to the buyer, with each payment based on the amount by which a reference price or level or the performance or value of one or more underlying interests exceeds a predetermined number, sometimes called the "strike rate" or "strike price". See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Capital and surplus: means the sum of the capital and surplus of the insurer required to be shown on the statutory financial statement of the insurer filed most recently with the director. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Cash equivalents: means highly rated, highly liquid, and readily marketable obligations that are convertible readily into known amounts of cash without penalty and have a remaining term to maturity of one year or less. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Casualty insurance: means each insurance against legal liability of the insured for bodily injury to or death of another person, including workers' compensation insurance, and for damages to or loss or destruction of the property of another person; medical payments insurance when written in conjunction with insurance covering liability for the deaths or bodily injuries of another person; guaranteeing the fidelity of a person holding a position of public or private trust; loss of or damage to property caused by burglary, theft, larceny, robbery, fraud, or unlawful taking or secretion of property owned by or entrusted to the insured; loss of or damage to property of the insured resulting from the explosion of or damage to a fired or unfired boiler or other pressure vessel, engine, turbine, compressor, pump, wheel, or an apparatus generating, transmitting, or using electric power, and machinery or equipment connected with any of them; loss resulting from nonpayment of debts owed to merchants or another person extending credit. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Class one bond mutual fund: means a mutual fund that is qualified for investment using the bond class one reserve factor of the SVO procedures manual. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Class one money market mutual fund: means a money market mutual fund that is qualified for investment using the bond class one reserve factor of the SVO procedures manual. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Coastal well: means an opening into the ground, which qualifies as a "well" of Type II, III, IV, or V construction as defined in this section, that is made by boring, drilling, jetting, driving, direct push technology, or any other method into unconsolidated materials, and that does not qualify as an environmental well. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Commercial inspection: means the rendering of a written or oral report, for compensation of any sort, as to the condition of the construction or improvements to a commercial structure, including, but not limited to, structural problems and conditions, visible damage, safety problems or deterioration, and equipment and systems that are visible and readily accessible. See South Carolina Code 40-26-10
• Commercial inspector: means a natural person licensed, registered, or certified pursuant to Chapter 3 of this title or a natural person licensed as a general contractor pursuant to Chapter 11 of this title or a natural person licensed or registered as a professional engineer pursuant to Chapter 22 of this title, and who, for compensation of any sort, performs a commercial inspection. See South Carolina Code 40-26-10
• Commercial structure: means a building, highway, sewer, improvement, reimprovement, or structure, or part thereof, which is not a residence as defined in Article 3 of Chapter 59 of Title 40. See South Carolina Code 40-26-10
• Commission: means the part of the premium paid to the producer as compensation for his services. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Commission: means the State Commission for Hearing Aid Specialists. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• 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.
• 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.
• Construction and Safety Standards Act: means the Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, as amended. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Consumer: means a person who in good faith purchases a manufactured home or mobile home for purposes other than resale. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Control: means the possession, directly or indirectly, by a person of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of another person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• 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.
• Counterparty: means the business entity that is the other party to an investment practices transaction with the insurer or, as to a securities lending transaction, the custodian bank or agent, if any, acting on behalf of the insurer. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• counterparty exposure amount: means for an over-the-counter derivative instrument:
  
  (i) not entered into pursuant to a written master agreement that provides for netting of payments owed by the respective parties:
  
  (A) the market value of the over-the-counter derivative instrument if the liquidation of the derivative instrument would result in a final cash payment to the insurer; or
  
  (B) zero if the liquidation of the derivative instrument would not result in a final cash payment to the insurer; and
  
  (ii) entered into pursuant to a written master agreement that provides for netting of payments owed by the respective parties, if the domiciliary jurisdiction of the counterparty is either within the United States or within a foreign jurisdiction listed as eligible for netting in the SVO procedures manual, the greater of:
  
  (A) zero; and
  
  (B) the net sum payable to the insurer in connection with all derivative instruments subject to the written master agreement upon their liquidation if the counterparty defaults pursuant to the master agreement, assuming there are no conditions precedent to the obligations of the counterparty to make the payment and no setoff of amounts payable pursuant to any other instrument or agreement. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• 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.
• Defect: includes a defect in the performance, construction, components, or material of a manufactured home that renders the home or any part of it not fit for the ordinary use for which it was intended. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Department: means the Department of Insurance of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation;
  
  (5) "Director" means the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation or the director's official designee;
  
  (6) "Licensee" means a person granted an authorization to practice pursuant to this article and refers to a person holding a license, permit, certification, or registration granted pursuant to this article;
  
  (7) "Licensing act" means the individual statute or regulations, or both, of each regulated profession or occupation which include, but are not limited to, board governance, the qualifications and requirements for authorization to practice, prohibitions, and disciplinary procedures;
  
  (8) "Person" means an individual, partnership, or corporation;
  
  (9) "Profession" or "occupation" means a profession or occupation regulated or administered, or both, by the department pursuant to this article. See South Carolina Code 40-1-20
• Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Department: means the Department of Health and Environmental Control. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. See South Carolina Code 40-28-20
• derivative instrument: includes options, warrants not attached to another financial instrument purchased by the insurer, caps, floors, collars, swaps, forwards, futures, and other substantially similar agreements, options, or instruments, or a series or combination of any of them. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Derivative transaction: means a transaction involving the use of one or more derivative instruments. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Direct push technology: means the creation of a man-made opening in the earth through the use of mechanical means wherein a tool is forced or hammered into the earth. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Direct supervision: means supervision provided by a licensee who must:
  
  (a) be on-site or immediately available to supervise persons by means of telephone, radio, or other electronic means; and
  
  (b) maintain continued involvement in appropriate aspects of each professional activity of the supervisee. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• directly: when used in connection with an obligation, means that the designated obligor is primarily liable on the instrument representing the obligation. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Director: means the person who is appointed by the Governor upon the advice and consent of the Senate and who is responsible for the operation and management of the department. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Director: means the Director of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dollar roll transaction: means two simultaneous transactions with different settlement dates no more than ninety-six days apart, so that in the transaction with the earlier settlement date an insurer sells to a counterparty, and in the other transaction the insurer is obligated to purchase from the same counterparty, substantially similar securities of the following types:
  
  (a) asset-backed securities issued, assumed, or guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association, the Federal National Mortgage Association, or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or their respective successors; and
  
  (b) other asset-backed securities referred to in Section 106 of Title I of the Secondary Mortgage Market Enhancement Act of 1984 (15 U. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Domestic insurer: means an insurer incorporated or organized under the laws of this State. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Domestic jurisdiction: means the United States, Canada, or a state, province, or political subdivision of them. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Emeritus landscape architect: means a landscape architect who has been licensed for ten consecutive years or longer and who is sixty-five years of age or older and who is not engaging or offering to engage in the practice of landscape architecture as defined in this section. See South Carolina Code 40-28-20
• Engaged in practice: means holding one's self out to the public as being qualified and available to perform engineering or surveying services. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Engineer: means a professional engineer as defined in this section. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Engineer-in-training: means a person who has qualified for and passed the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering examination as provided in this chapter and is entitled to receive a certificate as an engineer-in-training. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Environmental systems operator: is a generic term for any occupation licensed by the board. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Environmental well: means an opening into the ground which qualifies as a "well" of Type I, II, III, IV, or V construction as defined in this section, that is made by boring, drilling, jetting, driving, direct push technology, or any other method for obtaining a sample of underground waters or soils for environmental or geological investigation or research or for environmental remediation, where the depth of the opening is reasonably likely to penetrate the water table. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• 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}
• Equity interest: means any of the following that are not rated credit instruments:
  
  (a) common stock;
  
  (b) preferred stock;
  
  (c) trust certificate;
  
  (d) equity investment in an investment company other than a money market mutual fund or a class one bond mutual fund;
  
  (e) investment in a common trust fund of a bank regulated by a federal or state agency;
  
  (f) an ownership interest in minerals, oil, or gas, the rights to which have been separated from the underlying fee interest in the real estate where the minerals, oil, or gas are located;
  
  (g) instruments which are mandatorily, or at the option of the issuer, convertible to equity;
  
  (h) limited partnership interests and those general partnership interests authorized by § 38-12-60(A)(4);
  
  (i) member interests in limited liability companies;
  
  (j) warrants or other rights to acquire equity interests that are created by the owner or issuer of the equity to be acquired; or
  
  (k) instruments that would be rated credit instruments except for the provisions of item (73)(b). See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Equivalent securities: means securities that are identical to the:
  
  (a) loaned securities in all features including the amount of the loaned securities, except as to certificate number if held in physical form, but if a different security is exchanged for a loaned security by recapitalization, merger, consolidation, or other corporate action, the different security is considered to be the loaned security, in a securities lending transaction;
  
  (b) purchased securities in all features including the amount of the purchased securities, except as to the certificate number if held in physical form, in a repurchase transaction; or
  
  (c) sold securities in all features including the amount of the sold securities, except as to the certificate number if held in physical form, in a reverse repurchase transaction. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• 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.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Firm: means a business entity functioning as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, professional association, professional corporation, business corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, or other legally constituted organization which practices or offers to practice engineering or surveying, or both. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Firm: means a business entity functioning as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, professional association, professional corporation, business corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, or other legally constituted organization that practices or offers to practice landscape architecture. See South Carolina Code 40-28-20
• 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.
• Floor: means an agreement obligating the seller to make payments to the buyer in which each payment is based on the amount by which a predetermined number, sometimes called the floor rate or price, exceeds a reference price, level, performance, or value of one or more underlying interests. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Foreign currency: means a currency other than that of a domestic jurisdiction. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Foreign insurer: means an insurer incorporated or organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States other than this State. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Foreign jurisdiction: means a jurisdiction other than a domestic jurisdiction. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Forward: means an agreement, other than a future, to make or take delivery in the future of, or effect a cash settlement based on the actual or expected price, level, performance, or value of, one or more underlying interests. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• 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}
• Future: includes an insurance future. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Futures exchange: means a qualified foreign exchange or an exchange, contract market, or board of trade on which trading in futures is conducted that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission or its successor has authorized for futures trading in the United States. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• GIS: means geographic information systems. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Good character: refers to a person of good moral character and one who has not been convicted of a violent crime, as defined in § 16-1-60, or a crime of moral turpitude. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Government money market mutual fund: means a money market mutual fund that at all times:
  
  (a) invests only in obligations issued, guaranteed, or insured by the federal government of the United States or collateralized repurchase agreements composed of these obligations; and
  
  (b) qualifies for investment without a reserve pursuant to the SVO procedures manual. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Government sponsored enterprise: means a:
  
  (a) governmental agency; or
  
  (b) corporation, limited liability company, association, partnership, joint stock company, joint venture, trust, or other entity or instrumentality organized pursuant to the laws of a domestic jurisdiction to accomplish a public policy or other governmental purpose. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Gross negligence: means an act or course of action, or inaction, which denotes a lack of reasonable care and a conscious disregard or indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others and which does or could result in financial loss, injury, or damage to life or property. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Guaranteed or insured: when used in connection with an obligation acquired pursuant to this chapter, means that the guarantor or insurer has agreed to:
  
  (a) perform or insure the obligation of the obligor or purchase the obligation; or
  
  (b) be obligated unconditionally until the obligation is repaid to maintain in the obligor a minimum net worth, fixed charge coverage, stockholders' equity, or sufficient liquidity to enable the obligor to pay the obligation in full. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Hearing aid: means an acceptable wearable instrument or device designated or offered to aid or compensate for impaired human hearing and parts, attachments, or accessories, including earmold, but excluding batteries and cords. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• Hearing aid specialist: means an individual licensed under this chapter to engage in the practice of specializing in hearing aids. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• Hedging transaction: means a derivative transaction that is entered into and maintained to reduce the:
  
  (a) risk of a change in the value, yield, price, cash flow, or quantity of assets or liabilities, or a portfolio of assets or liabilities or both, that an insurer has acquired or incurred or anticipates acquiring or incurring; or
  
  (b) currency exchange rate risk related to assets or liabilities, or a portfolio of assets or liabilities, or both of them, that an insurer has acquired or incurred or anticipates acquiring or incurring. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• High grade investment: means a rated credit instrument rated 1, 2, P1, P2, PFS1, or PFS2 by the SVO or an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the SVO. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• highly rated: means an investment rated "P-1" by Moody's Investors Service, Incorporated, or "A-1" by the Standard and Poor's Division of The McGraw Hill Companies, Incorporated, or an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the SVO. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Human consumption: means water used for drinking, bathing, cooking, dishwashing, maintaining oral hygiene, or other similar uses. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Income generation transaction: means a derivative transaction that is intended to generate income or enhance return. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Initial margin: means the amount of cash, securities, or other consideration initially required to be deposited to establish a futures position. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• insurance: includes annuities. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Insurance company: means an "insurer". See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Insurance future: means a future relating to an index or pool that is based on insurance-related items. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Insurance futures option: means an option on an insurance future. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Insurer: includes a corporation, fraternal organization, burial association, other association, partnership, society, order, individual, or aggregation of individuals engaging or proposing or attempting to engage as principals in any kind of insurance or surety business, including the exchanging of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts between individuals, partnerships, and corporations. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• 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}
• Investment affiliate: means a subsidiary of an insurer or a direct or indirect subsidiary of the insurer's parent company (parent) that is engaged or organized to engage exclusively in the ownership and management of assets authorized as investments for the insurer, if the affiliate agrees to limit its investment in any asset so that its investments will not cause the amount of the total investment of the insurer to exceed the investment limitations or avoid other provisions of this chapter applicable to the insurer. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Investment company: means an investment company as defined in Section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Investment company series: means an investment portfolio of an investment company organized as a series company to which portfolio assets of the investment company have been allocated specifically. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Investment practices: means transactions of the types described in Sections 38-12-280, 38-12-300, 38-12-490, and 38-12-510. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Investment strategy: means the techniques and methods used by an insurer to meet its investment objectives, such as active bond portfolio management, passive bond portfolio management, interest rate anticipation, growth investing, and value investing. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• 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.
• Landscape architect: means a person licensed to practice landscape architecture in this State. See South Carolina Code 40-28-20
• Landscape architecture: means the performance of professional services, such as consultation, investigation, research, planning, design, preparation of drawings and specifications, and responsible inspection in connection with the development of land areas where, and to the extent that, the dominant purpose of the services is the preservation, enhancement, or determination of proper site design, natural land features, planting, naturalistic and aesthetic values, the settings and approaches to structures or other improvements, the setting of grades and determining drainage and providing for drainage structures, and the consideration and determining of environmental problems. See South Carolina Code 40-28-20
• 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}
• Letter of credit: means a clean, irrevocable, and unconditional letter of credit issued or confirmed by, and payable and presentable at, a financial institution on the list of financial institutions meeting the standards for issuing letters of credit pursuant to the SVO procedures manual. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• License: means a document issued by the state's director or his designee authorizing a person to act as an insurance producer for the lines of authority specified in the document. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• License: means a serially numbered document issued by the board, containing the name of the person registered, certified, or licensed and the date of registration, certification, or licensing and certifying that the person named is authorized to practice a profession regulated by the board as specified on said document. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• License: means a license issued by the department under this chapter to hearing aid specialists. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• Licensed: means authorized by this board, pursuant to the statutory powers delegated by the State to this board, to engage in the practice of engineering, or surveying, or engineering and surveying, as evidenced by the board's certificate issued to the registered license holder. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Licensed activity: means any operation, function, or action of any kind in which one may not engage, or offer to engage, without a license issued pursuant to this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Licensee: means a person currently or previously authorized to practice a licensed activity pursuant to this chapter and includes a person holding a license, permit, certification, or registration granted pursuant to this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Life insurance: means a contract of insurance upon the lives of human beings. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Limited liability company: means a business organization, excluding partnerships and ordinary business corporations, organized or operating pursuant to the laws of the United States or a state of the United States that limits the personal liability of investors to the equity investment of the investor in the business entity. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Lower grade investment: means a rated credit instrument rated 4, 5, 6, P4, P5, P6, PFS4, PFS5, or PFS6 by the SVO or an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the SVO. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Manufactured home: means a structure, transportable in one or more sections which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or forty body feet or more in length or when erected on site is three hundred twenty or more square feet and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained in it. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Manufactured home contractor: means a person or entity, other than an employee of a licensed manufactured home retail dealer or a person licensed by the board or licensed by the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board to perform a particular function, who for valuable consideration engages in the installation, modification, alteration, or repair to the structural, mechanical, or electrical systems of a manufactured home. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Manufactured home installer: means a person or entity, other than an employee of a licensed manufactured home retail dealer or a person licensed by the board or licensed by the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board to perform a particular function, who for valuable consideration installs manufactured housing. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Manufactured home manufacturer: means a person, resident, or nonresident, who designs, constructs, or produces manufactured homes. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Manufactured home repairer: means a person or entity, other than an employee of a licensed manufactured home retail dealer or a person licensed by the board or licensed by the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board to perform a particular function, who for valuable consideration modifies, alters, or repairs the structural, mechanical, or electrical systems of a manufactured home. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Manufactured home retail dealer: means a person engaged in the business of buying, selling, offering for sale, or dealing in manufactured homes or offering for display manufactured homes for sale in South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Manufactured home retail salesman: means a person who is an employee or otherwise acts as an agent or representative of a manufactured home retail dealer and holds himself out as promoting, offering for sale, or selling the manufactured home retail dealer's goods or services. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Marine insurance: means each insurance against loss or destruction of or damage to aircraft, vessels, or watercraft and their cargoes; insurance covering the risks or perils of navigation, transit, or transportation of all forms of property, including the liability of a carrier for hire for the loss of property of shippers delivered for transporting; marine builder's risks; bridges, tunnels, piers, wharves, docks and slips, dry docks, marine railways, and other aids to navigation and transportation, precious stones, precious metals, and jewelry, whether in the course of transportation or otherwise; coverage of personal property by all risk forms known as the "Personal Property Floater"; and coverage of mobile machinery and equipment. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Market value: means :
  
  (a) the amount of cash or a letter of credit; or
  
  (b) the price of a security or derivative instrument on any date obtained from a generally recognized source or the most recent quotation from the source or, to the extent no generally recognized source exists, the price for the security or derivative instrument as determined pursuant to the terms of the instrument or in good faith by the parties to a transaction, plus accrued but unpaid income on the security or derivative instrument to the extent that income is not included in the price as of the date that market value is determined. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Medium grade investment: means a rated credit instrument that at the time of acquisition by the insurer is rated 3, P3 or PSF3 by the SVO or an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the SVO. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Money market mutual fund: means a mutual fund that meets the conditions of 17 Code of Federal Regulations Par. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: means an obligation secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, trust deed, or other consensual lien on real estate. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Multilateral development bank: means an international development organization of which the United States is a member. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Mutual fund: means an investment company or, in the case of an investment company that is organized as a series company, an investment company series, that, in either case, is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• NAIC: means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• NAIC accounting manual: means the NAIC "Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual" as amended, or any successor publication. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• NCEES examination: means those written or electronic tests developed and administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying for the purpose of providing one indication of competency to practice engineering. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• 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.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Obligation: means a bond, note, debenture, trust certificate including an equipment trust certificate, production payment, negotiable bank certificate of deposit, bankers' acceptance, asset-backed security, credit tenant loan, loan secured by financing a net lease or net leases, and other evidence of indebtedness for the payment of money, or participations, certificates, or other evidences of an interest in any of them, whether constituting a general obligation of the issuer or payable only out of certain revenues or certain funds pledged or otherwise dedicated for payment. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• operator: means a person employed in a public water distribution system whose duties include making process control and system integrity decisions about water quality or quantity that affect public health. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Option: includes an insurance futures option. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Otolaryngologist: means a licensed physician specializing in ear, nose, and throat. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• Over-the-counter derivative instrument: means a derivative instrument entered into with a counterparty other than through a qualified exchange or futures exchange or cleared through a qualified clearinghouse. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• 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: means a corporation, agency, partnership, association, voluntary organization, individual, or another entity, organization, or aggregation of individuals. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Person: means an individual human being, firm, partnership, or corporation. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Person: means an individual, partnership, copartnership, cooperative, firm, company, public or private corporation, political subdivision, government agency, trust, estate, joint structure company, or any other legal entity or its legal representative, agent, or assigns. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Person: means an individual, a business entity, a multilateral development bank, or a government or quasi-governmental body, such as a political subdivision or a government sponsored enterprise. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Person: means an individual, natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, legal representative, or other recognized legal entity. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Policy: means a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Policyholder obligations: means those liabilities of the insurer to or for its policyholders arising out of its policies and to its creditors and includes the liabilities required to be included in the insurer's annual statement including, but not limited to, the unearned premium reserve, reserves required by applicable mortality or morbidity tables, and claim or loss reserves including incurred but not reported claims. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Potential exposure: means :
  
  (a) the amount of initial margin required for a futures position; or
  
  (b) as to swaps, collars, and forwards, one-half of one percent times the notional amount times the square root of the remaining years to maturity. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Practice of engineering: means any service or creative work, the adequate performance of which requires engineering education, training, and experience in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences to such services or creative work as commissioning, consultation, investigation, expert technical testimony, evaluation, design and design coordination of engineering works and systems, design for development and use of land and water, performing engineering surveys and studies, and the review of construction for the purpose of monitoring compliance with drawings and specifications, any of which embraces such services or work, either public or private, in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, work systems projects, and industrial or consumer products or equipment of control systems, chemical, communications, mechanical, electrical, environmental, hydraulic, pneumatic, or thermal nature, insofar as they involve safeguarding life, health, or property, and including such other professional services as may be necessary to the planning, progress, and completion of any engineering services. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Practice of specializing in hearing aids: means the measurement of human hearing by an audiometer and by other established means solely for fitting, making selections, adaptations, or sale of hearing aids. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• 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.
• Preferred stock: means preferred, preference, or guaranteed stock of a business entity authorized to issue the stock, that has a preference in liquidation over the common stock of the business entity. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Premium: means payment given in consideration of a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Professional engineer: means a license holder who, by reason of his special knowledge of the mathematical and physical sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, acquired by professional education and practical experience, is qualified to practice engineering as defined in this section as attested by his license and registration as a professional engineer in this State. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Professional surveyor: means a licensee who is qualified to practice any discipline of TIER A or TIER B surveying in this State, as defined in this section and as attested by his license and registration as a TIER A or TIER B professional surveyor in this State. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Property insurance: means each insurance against direct or indirect loss of or damage to a property resulting from fire, smoke, weather disturbances, climatic conditions, earthquake, volcanic eruption, rising waters, insects, blight, animals, war damage, riot, civil commotion, destruction by order of civil authority to prevent spread of conflagration or for other reason, water damage, vandalism, glass breakage, explosion of a water system, collision, theft of automobiles, and personal effects in them (but no other forms of theft insurance), loss of or damage to domestic or wild animals, and any other perils to property which in the discretion of the director or his designee form proper subjects of property insurance, if not specified in items (1), (7), (11), (35), (40), (54), or (59) of this section. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• 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 wastewater treatment plant: means that portion of any system that treats domestic or industrial waste and that alters physical, chemical, or bacteriological characteristics before placing the waste into any receiving waters. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Public water distribution system: means that portion of a public water system that is utilized for the delivery of water for human consumption, whether bottled, piped, or delivered through some other constructed conveyance, up to the point of consumer or owner connection. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Public water system: means :
  
  (a) any publicly or privately owned waterworks system which provides water, whether bottled, piped, or delivered through some other constructed conveyance, for human consumption, including the source of supply whether the source of supply is of surface or subsurface origin;
  
  (b) all structures and appurtenances used for the collection, treatment, storage, or distribution of water delivered to point of meter of consumer or owner connection;
  
  (c) any part or portion of the system, including any water treatment facility, which in any way alters the physical, chemical, radiological, or bacteriological characteristics of the water; however, a public water system does not include a water system serving a single private residence or dwelling. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Qualified bank: means :
  
  (a) a national bank, state-chartered bank, or trust company that is at all times capitalized adequately as determined by standards adopted by United States banking regulators and that is either regulated by state banking laws or is a member of the Federal Reserve System; or
  
  (b) a bank or trust company incorporated or organized pursuant to the laws of a country other than the United States that is regulated as a bank or trust company by that country's government or an agency of it and that is at all times capitalized adequately as determined by the standards adopted by international banking authorities. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Qualified business entity: means a business entity that is:
  
  (a) an issuer of obligations or preferred stock that are rated 1 or 2 by the SVO or an issuer of obligations, preferred stock, or derivative instruments that are rated the equivalent of 1 or 2 by the SVO or by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the SVO;
  
  (b) a primary dealer in United States government securities, that is recognized by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; or
  
  (c) with respect to investment practices under § 38-12-280, an affiliate of an entity that is a qualified business entity pursuant to this item, provided that the affiliate's obligation pursuant to its agreement with the insurer are guaranteed by a qualified business entity that meets the requirements of subitem (a) or (b). See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Qualified clearinghouse: means a clearinghouse subject to the rules of a qualified exchange or a qualified foreign exchange that provides clearing services, including acting as a counterparty to each of the parties to a transaction so that the parties no longer have credit risk to each other. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Qualified exchange: means :
  
  (a) a securities exchange registered as a national securities exchange, or a securities market regulated pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Qualified foreign exchange: means a foreign exchange, board of trade, or contract market located outside the United States, its territories, or possessions:
  
  (a) that has received regulatory comparability relief pursuant to CFTC Rule 30. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Qualified primary credit source: means the credit source to which an insurer looks for payment as to an investment and against which an insurer has a direct claim for full and timely payment, evidenced by a contractual right for which an enforcement action may be brought in a domestic jurisdiction. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Rated credit instrument: means an obligation or other instrument that gives its holder a contractual right to receive cash or another rated credit instrument from another entity, and that:
  
  (i) is rated by the SVO or a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the SVO;
  
  (ii) is issued, guaranteed, or insured by an entity that is rated by, or another obligation or other instrument of such entity is rated by, the SVO or a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the SVO, in the case of an obligation or other instrument with a maturity of three hundred ninety-seven days or less;
  
  (iii) has been issued, assumed, accepted, guaranteed, or insured by a qualified bank, in the case of an obligation or other instrument with a maturity of ninety days or less;
  
  (iv) is a share of a class one bond mutual fund; or
  
  (v) is a share of a money market mutual fund. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• real estate: includes the leasehold estate only if it has an unexpired term, including renewal options exercisable at the option of the lessee, extending beyond the scheduled maturity date of the obligation that is secured by a mortgage on the leasehold estate by a period equal to at least twenty percent of the original term of the obligation or ten years, whichever is greater. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Registered: means the engineer or surveyor is licensed and registered in the State. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Related field: means architecture, civil engineering, horticulture, or other field as determined appropriate by the board. See South Carolina Code 40-28-20
• Remediation: means the correction, repair, restoration, or any other action taken in order to bring any condition or circumstance into compliance with a statute, standard, or regulation. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Replication transaction: means a derivative transaction or combination of derivative transactions that is entered into separately or in conjunction with other permissible investments held or acquired by the insurer in order to replicate the investment characteristics of otherwise permissible investments or operate as a substitute for cash market transactions, or for both reasons. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Repurchase transaction: means a transaction in which an insurer purchases securities from a counterparty that is obligated to repurchase the purchased securities or equivalent securities from the insurer at a specified price, within a specified period of time or upon demand. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Required liabilities: means total liabilities required to be reported on the statutory financial statement of the insurer most recently required to be filed with the director. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Residential mortgage loan: means a loan primarily secured by a mortgage on real estate improved with a one-to-four family residence. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• responsible charge: means that there is a clear-cut personal connection to the project or employee supervised, marked by firsthand knowledge and direct control and assumption of professional responsibility for the work. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• Responsible charge: means direct control and personal supervision of landscape architecture. See South Carolina Code 40-28-20
• Reverse repurchase transaction: means a transaction in which an insurer sells securities to a qualified bank or a qualified business entity or a bank or a business entity whose obligations with respect to the transaction are guaranteed by a qualified bank or a qualified business entity and the insurer is obligated to repurchase the sold securities or equivalent securities from the bank or business entity at a specified price, within a specified period of time or upon demand. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Rock well: means an opening into the ground, which qualifies as a "well" of Type I construction as defined in this section, that is made by boring, drilling, jetting, driving, direct push technology, or any other method into consolidated materials, and that does not qualify as an environmental well. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Safe Drinking Water Act: means Article 1, Chapter 55 of Title 44. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• sale: means the transfer of title or of the right to use by lease, bailment, or other contract, excluding wholesale transactions with distributors or specialists. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• sale: include lease-purchase transactions. See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). See South Carolina Code 40-29-20
• Secured location: means the contiguous real estate owned by one person. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Securities lending transaction: means a transaction in which securities are loaned by an insurer or its custodian bank or agent to a qualified bank or a qualified business entity or a bank or a business entity whose obligations with respect to the transaction are guaranteed by a qualified bank or a qualified business entity that is obligated to return the loaned securities or equivalent securities to the insurer, its custodian bank, or agent, within a specified period of time or upon demand. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Sell: means to exchange a contract of insurance by any means, for money or its equivalent, on behalf of an insurance company. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Series company: means an investment company that is organized as a series company, as defined in Rule 18f-2(a) adopted under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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.
• Shell business entity: means a business entity having no economic substance, except as a vehicle for owning interests in assets issued, owned, or previously owned by a person domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Sinking fund stock: means preferred stock that:
  
  (a) is subject to a mandatory sinking fund or similar arrangement that provides for the redemption, or open market purchase, of the entire issue over a period not longer than forty years from the date of acquisition; and
  
  (b) provides for mandatory sinking fund installments, or open market purchases, commencing not more than ten and one-half years from the date of issue, with the sinking fund installments providing for the purchase or redemption, on a cumulative basis commencing ten years from the date of issue, of at least two and one-half percent each year of the original number of shares of that issue of preferred stock. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Special rated credit instrument: means a rated credit instrument that is:
  
  (1) an instrument that is structured so that, if it is held until retired by or on behalf of the issuer, its rate of return based on its purchase cost and any cash flow stream possible under the structure of the transaction may become negative due to reasons other than the credit risk associated with the issuer of the instrument. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Substantially similar securities: means securities that meet all criteria for substantially similar securities specified in the NAIC accounting manual, and in an amount that constitutes good delivery form as determined by "The Bond Market Association". See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Surety: includes insurance or a bond that covers obligations to pay the debts, or answer for the default, of another, including faithlessness in a position of public or private trust. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Surveyor-in-training: means a person who has qualified for and passed the NCEES Fundamentals of Surveying examination as provided in this chapter and is entitled to receive a certificate as a surveyor-in-training. See South Carolina Code 40-22-20
• SVO: means the Securities Valuation Office of the NAIC or any successor office established by the NAIC. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• SVO procedures manual: means the "Purposes and Procedures of the Securities Valuation Office" as amended, or any successor publication. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Swap: means an agreement to exchange or to net payments at one or more times based on the actual or expected price, yield, level, performance or value of one or more underlying interests. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Temporary permit: means a permit issued while the applicant is in training to become a licensed hearing aid specialist. See South Carolina Code 40-25-20
• Terminate: means the cancellation of the relationship between an insurance producer and the insurer or the termination of a producer's authority to transact insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• 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.
• 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.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Underlying interest: means the assets, liabilities, or other interests, or a combination of them, underlying a derivative instrument such as any one or more securities, currencies, rates, indices, commodities, or derivative instruments that are or relate to investments or investment practices that an insurer is permitted to acquire or engage in pursuant to this chapter. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Unrestricted surplus: means the amount by which total admitted assets exceed one hundred twenty-five percent of the insurer's required liabilities. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• Warrant: means an instrument that gives the holder the right to purchase an underlying financial instrument at a given price and time or at a series of prices and times outlined in the warrant agreement. See South Carolina Code 38-12-30
• Well: means a manmade horizontal, vertical, or angled opening in the ground made by digging, boring, drilling, jetting, driving, direct push technology, or any other method through which water is injected or withdrawn from beneath the surface of the earth for the purpose of human consumption, irrigation, industrial or commercial processes, or construction of closed loop systems. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20
• Well drilling category: means the taxonomy of well drilling licenses according to the type of well a licensee is authorized to construct including, but not limited to, environmental wells, coastal wells, rock wells, and bored wells. See South Carolina Code 40-23-20