reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
WV Code § 24-3-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 3. Duties and Privileges of Public Utilities Subject to Regulations of Commission|§24-3-3. Connecting Carriers Generally; Sharing Use of Terminals; Discrimination by Railroad Main Lines Against Tap, etc., Lines

All common carriers subject to this chapter shall, according to their respective powers, afford all reasonable, proper and equal facilities for the interchange of traffic between their respective lines, and for the receiving, forwarding and delivering of passengers and property to and from their several lines, and those connecting therewith, and shall not discriminate in their rates and charges or methods or manner of service between such connecting lines.If the commission finds it to be in the public interest and to be practicable, without substantially impairing the ability of a carrier owning or entitled to the enjoyment of terminal facilities to handle its own business, it shall have power to require the use of any such terminal facilities, including main- line track or tracks for a reasonable distance outside of such terminal, of any carrier, by another carrier or other carriers, on such terms and for such compensation as the carriers affected may agree upon, or, in the event of a failure to agree, as the commission may fix as just and reasonable for the use so required, to be ascertained on the principle controlling compensation in condemnation proceedings. Such compensation shall be paid or adequately secured before the enjoyment of the use may be commenced. If under this paragraph the use of such terminal facilities of any carrier is required to be given to another carrier or other carriers, and the carrier whose terminal facilities are required to be so used is not satisfied with the terms fixed for such use, or if the amount of compensation so fixed is not duly and promptly paid, the carrier whose terminal facilities have thus been required to be given to another carrier or other carriers shall be entitled to recover, by suit or action against such other carrier or carriers, proper damages for any injuries sustained by it as the result of compliance with such requirement, or just compensation for such use, or both, as the case may be.Trunk lines, or principal railroads, shall, in the distribution of cars and the furnishing of facilities, treat industries and shippers, located on and tributary to lateral, industrial or tap lines, as if they were located directly on the track of the trunk lines or principal railroads, and not discriminate between such industries and shippers and those which may be located in direct proximity to their own tracks. And trunk lines or principal railroads shall allow and pay to the lateral, industrial or tap lines, a reasonable and equitable portion of the rate, consistent with the service rendered, giving due consideration to the fact that such lateral, industrial or tap line originates and assembles the freight. But nothing out of the main line rate shall be allowed the shipper or owner for the use of what may be termed "plant facilities."
WV Code § 24-3-4 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 3. Duties and Privileges of Public Utilities Subject to Regulations of Commission|§24-3-4. Free Transportation and Passes; Reduced Rates; Exchange of Services and Privileges

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent any common carrier from furnishing free transportation to its officers, attorneys, agents and employees, and their families, and like free transportation to the officers, attorneys, agents and employees of other common carriers and their families, mail clerks, expressmen and sleeping car conductors and porters, and like free transportation according to its own regulations to persons devoting their entire time to religious work, and reduced rates to all other persons engaged in religious, charitable and literary pursuits, and for excursions, and for children and students attending schools and colleges, and for commutation tickets; or to prevent telephone, telegraph, sleeping car and express companies from entering into contracts with one another, and with common carriers for the exchange of services, or from exchanging with one another and with common carriers, the privileges of passes or franks for the officers, agents, employees and their families of such companies and common carriers.
WV Code § 24-3-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 3. Duties and Privileges of Public Utilities Subject to Regulations of Commission|§24-3-5. Schedule of Rates to Be Filed With Commission

Every public utility shall file with the commission, and keep open to public inspection, schedules showing all the rates, charges and tolls for service to be rendered by it or by other persons, firms or corporations in connection with it: Provided, That the reports and tariffs filed by interstate carriers with the Public Service Commission may be copies of its reports and tariffs filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission; but nothing herein shall preclude the Public Service Commission from requiring interstate carriers to furnish information bearing upon any complaint or question pending before said Public Service Commission and with which it has a right to deal.
WV Code § 24-3-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 3. Duties and Privileges of Public Utilities Subject to Regulations of Commission|§24-3-6. Special License Fee;"public Service Commission fund."

(a) All public utilities subject to the provisions of this chapter shall pay a special license fee in addition to those now required by law. The amount of such fees shall be fixed by the Public Service Commission and such fee shall not exceed 10¢ on each $100 of value and shall be levied by it upon each of such public utilities according to the value of its property as ascertained by the last assessment, and shall be apportioned among such public utilities upon the basis of such valuation, which fees shall be paid on or before January 20, in each year. Such sum, together with that provided in subsection (b) hereof shall be paid into the State Treasury and kept as a special fund designated "Public Service Commission fund," to be appropriated as provided by law for the purpose of paying the salaries of the commission, as fixed by this chapter, its expenses and salaries, compensations, costs and expenses of its employees.(b) All public utilities subject to the provisions of this chapter shall pay a special license fee in addition to any and all fees now required by law. The amount of such fees shall be fixed by the Public Service Commission and such fee shall not exceed 40¢ on each $100 of total gross revenue and shall be levied by it upon each of such public utilities, in the proportion which the total gross revenue derived from intrastate business done by each of such public utilities in the calendar year next preceding bears to the total gross revenue derived from intrastate business done in such year by all public utilities subject to regulation by the Public Service Commission, in addition to such fees as may be fixed by the Public Service Commission under the provisions of subsection (a) hereof and which fees shall be paid on or before July 1, in each year. Such sum shall be paid into the State Treasury and be kept, appropriated and used as provided in subsection (a) hereof.(c) Any balance remaining in said fund at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the treasury but shall remain in said fund and may be appropriated and used as provided in subsection (a) hereof in the ensuing fiscal years.
WV Code § 24-3-7 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 3. Duties and Privileges of Public Utilities Subject to Regulations of Commission|§24-3-7. Permit to Abandon Service; Certificate; Hearing Upon Intervention by Consumer Advocate; Alternative Service; Recouping Costs of Converting Customers

(a) No railroad or other public utility shall abandon all or any portion of its service to the public or the operation of any of its lines which would affect the service it is rendering the public unless and until there shall first have been filed with the Public Service Commission of this state an application for a permit to abandon service and obtained from the commission an order stating that the present and future public convenience and necessity permits such abandonment.(b) The consumer advocates office shall be notified of all notices to abandon rail service. Within five days of the receipt of such notice the consumer advocate shall notify the West Virginia public port authority of such proposed abandonment. The public port authority shall advise the consumer advocate as to whether such abandonment is in the public interest or if such rail line or service is an integral part of the intermodal transportation system within West Virginia. If the public port authority deems such abandonment to be not in the public interest, then the consumer advocate shall intervene to block such abandonment before all appropriate state and federal agencies or courts.(c) The Public Service Commissioner, to the extent permitted by federal law, shall promulgate rules and regulations to govern the abandonment of rail lines and rail service, including, but not limited to, the providing of a hearing for the presentation of evidence in cases where the consumer advocate seeks intervention pursuant to subsection (b).(d) In the event the commission determines that an application to abandon gas service or any part thereof is in the public interest and required by the present and future public convenience and necessity, it shall include in its order, as a condition of releasing any such utility from its public service obligation to provide gas service, a provision requiring the utility, prior to discontinuing service, to pay the cost reasonably necessary to convert each customer to an alternate fuel source. Natural gas utilities may defer reasonable and prudent actual expenses attributable to converting each customer incurred after the test year for the utilitys last rate case proceeding and which are not included in the utilitys current base rates. The utility shall recover its reasonable and prudent deferred customer conversion expenses in a future base rate case through recovery of the deferred expenses amortized over a reasonable period of time to be determined by the commission, but such recovery will be allowed only to the extent that the commission also determines, based on evidence presented by the utility, that deferred amounts did not contribute to base rate earnings in excess of the utilitys last authorized return on equity calculated since the effective date of base rates from the utilitys last rate case proceeding.
WV Code § 24-3-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 3. Duties and Privileges of Public Utilities Subject to Regulations of Commission|§24-3-8. Deposits

No public utility shall require any deposit of any residential customer which shall exceed one twelfth of the estimated annual charge to the customer for such service: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to deposits received prior to the effective date of this act.
WV Code § 24-3-9 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 3. Duties and Privileges of Public Utilities Subject to Regulations of Commission|§24-3-9. Easement and Right-of-Way

A public utility may not acquire an easement or right-of-way unless the deed or other instrument granting or reserving the easement or right-of-way describes the property in accordance with the requirements of section five-a, article three, chapter thirty-six of this code.
WV Code § 24-3-10 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 3. Duties and Privileges of Public Utilities Subject to Regulations of Commission|§24-3-10. Termination of Water Service for Delinquent Sewer Bills

(a) In the event that any publicly or privately owned utility, city, incorporated town, municipal corporation or public service district owns and operates either water facilities or sewer facilities, and a privately owned public utility or a public utility that is owned and operated by a homeowners' association owns and operates the other kind of facilities, either water or sewer, then the privately owned public utility or the homeowners' association may contract with the publicly or privately owned utility, city, incorporated town, or public service district which provides the other services to shutoff and discontinue the supplying of water service for the nonpayment of sewer service fees and charges.(b) Any contracts entered into by a privately owned public utility or by a public utility that is owned and operated by a homeowners' association pursuant to this section must be submitted to the Public Service Commission for approval.(c) Any privately owned public utility or any public utility that is owned and operated by a homeowners' association which provides water and sewer service to its customers may terminate water service for delinquency in payment of either water or sewer bills.(d) Where a privately owned public utility or a public utility that is owned and operated by a homeowners' association is providing sewer service and another utility is providing water service, and the privately owned public utility or the homeowners' association providing sewer service experiences a delinquency in payment, the utility providing water service, upon the request of the homeowners' association or the privately owned public utility providing sewer service to the delinquent account, shall terminate its water service to the customer having the delinquent sewer account.(e) Any termination of water service must comply with all rules and orders of the Public Service Commission: Nothing contained within the rules of the Public Service Commission shall be deemed to require any agents or employees of the water or sewer utility to accept payment at the customer's premises in lieu of discontinuing water service for a delinquent water or sewer bill.
WV Code § 24-4-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 4. Violations of Provisions of This Chapter or Orders of Commission|§24-4-1. General Penalties for Violating Provisions of This Chapter

Every officer, agent, employee, or stockholder of any public utility subject to the provisions of this chapter, and every patron, passenger, shipper or consignee, or other person, who shall violate any provision of this chapter, or who procures, aids or abets any violation of any such provision by any such public utility shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or be confined in jail not more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. When any person is convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter, and it is alleged in the indictment on which he is convicted, and is admitted, or by the jury found, that he has been before convicted of the violation of any provisions hereof, committed prior to the violation for which the indictment upon trial was found, then he shall be fined not less than $200 nor more than $2,000, or be confined in jail not less than thirty days nor more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. When any person is convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter and it is alleged in the indictment upon which he is convicted and is admitted, or by the jury found, that he has been twice, or oftener, before convicted of a violation of any provisions hereof, committed prior to the violation for which the indictment upon trial was found, then he shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, and shall, in addition thereto, be confined in the county jail not less than three months nor more than one year.
WV Code § 24-4-2 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 4. Violations of Provisions of This Chapter or Orders of Commission|§24-4-2. Penalty for Falsifying, Destroying or Altering Entries and for Making False Statements

Any person, officer, agent or employee of any public utility subject to this chapter who shall knowingly or wilfully make any false entries in the accounts, account books, records or memoranda kept by any public utility, or who shall knowingly or wilfully destroy or mutilate any account books, record or memoranda useful for the enforcement or administration of this chapter by the commission, or who shall alter or by any other means or device falsify the record of any such accounts, account books, records or memoranda, or who shall knowingly or wilfully neglect or fail to make full, true and correct entries of or in such account, account book, record or memoranda of all the facts and transactions appertaining to such public utility, or who shall falsely make any statement required to be made to the commission, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than five years.
WV Code § 24-4-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 4. Violations of Provisions of This Chapter or Orders of Commission|§24-4-3. Additional Penalties for Violating Certain Orders of Commission

If any public utility or other person shall fail or refuse to comply with the order of the commission under sections three, seven or nine respectively of article two, such public utility or other person shall, in addition to the other penalties provided for in this chapter, be subject to a fine not to exceed $5,000.
WV Code § 24-4-4 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 4. Violations of Provisions of This Chapter or Orders of Commission|§24-4-4. Penalty for Violating Orders of Commission for Which No Other Penalty Is Provided

If any person, firm, corporation or officer of a corporation subject to the provisions of this chapter shall fail or refuse to comply with any requirement of the commission hereunder, for which a penalty has not been hereinbefore prescribed, such person, firm, corporation or officer of such corporation shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than $500 for each offense, and such person or firm, and the officers of such corporation, upon indictment and conviction, may, in the discretion of the court, be confined in jail not to exceed thirty days.
WV Code § 24-4-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 4. Violations of Provisions of This Chapter or Orders of Commission|§24-4-5. Violation of Commission's Orders as Contempt Punishable by Commission

Any person or public utility who shall violate any of the orders or findings of the commission shall be guilty of contempt, and the commission shall have the same power to punish therefor as is now conferred on the circuit court, with the right of appeal in all cases to the Supreme Court of Appeals.
WV Code § 24-4-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 4. Violations of Provisions of This Chapter or Orders of Commission|§24-4-6. Procedure Before Commission as to Violations

Any person, firm, association of persons, corporation, municipality or county, complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by any public utility subject to this chapter, in contravention of the provisions thereof, or any duty owing by it under the provisions of this chapter, may present to the commission a petition which shall succinctly state all the facts. Whereupon, if there shall appear to be any reasonable ground to investigate such complaint, a statement of the charges thus made shall be forwarded by the commission to such public utility, which shall be called upon to satisfy such complaint or to answer to the same in writing within a reasonable time to be specified by the commission. If such public utility within the time specified shall make reparation for the injury alleged to have been done, or correct the practice complained of and obey the law and discharge its duties in the premises, then it shall be relieved of liability to the complainant for the particular violation of the law or duty complained of. If such public utility shall not satisfy the complainant within the time specified, it shall be the duty of the commission to investigate the same in such manner and by such means as it shall deem proper.
WV Code § 24-4-7 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 4. Violations of Provisions of This Chapter or Orders of Commission|§24-4-7. Damages Recoverable for Violations

Any person, firm or corporation claiming to be damaged by any violation of this chapter by any public utility subject to the provisions of this chapter, may make complaint to the commission, as provided herein, and bring suit in his own behalf for the recovery of the damages for which such public utility may be liable under this chapter in any circuit court having jurisdiction. In any such action, the court may compel the attendance of any agent, officer, director or employee of such corporation as a witness and require also the production of all books, papers and documents which may be used as evidence, and in the trial thereof such witnesses may be compelled to testify, but any such witness shall not be prosecuted for any offense concerning which he is compelled hereunder to testify.
WV Code § 24-4-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 4. Violations of Provisions of This Chapter or Orders of Commission|§24-4-8. What Constitutes Separate Violation

Every day during which any person, firm or corporation, or any officer, agent or employee thereof, shall fail to observe and comply with any order or direction of the commission, or to perform any duty enjoined by this chapter, shall constitute a separate and distinct violation of such order or direction of this chapter, as the case may be.
WV Code § 24-5-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 5. Review of Commission's Action|§24-5-1. Review of Final Orders of Commission

Any party feeling aggrieved by the entry of a final order by the commission, affecting him or it, may present a petition in writing to the Supreme Court of Appeals, or to a judge thereof in vacation, within thirty days after the entry of such order, praying for the suspension of such final order. The applicant shall deliver a copy of such petition to the secretary of the commission on or before the date the same is presented to the court or the judge, and it shall be the duty of the secretary promptly to file with the clerk of said court all papers, documents, evidence and other records constituting the complete record in the case, or certified copies thereof, as were before the commission at the time of the entry of the order from which the appeal is taken. The court or judge shall fix a time for the hearing on the application, but such hearing, unless by agreement of the parties, shall not be held sooner than five days after its presentation; and notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be forthwith delivered to the secretary of the commission, so that the commission may be represented at such hearing by one or more of its members or by counsel. If the court or the judge after such hearing be of the opinion that a suspending order should issue, the court or the judge may require bond, upon such conditions and in such penalty, and impose such terms and conditions upon the petitioner, as are just and reasonable. The commission shall file with the court before the day fixed for the final hearing a written statement of its reasons for the entry of such order, and after arguments by counsel the court shall decide the matter in controversy as may seem to be just and right.