Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 29 > Chapter 5 - State Archives and Historical Objects

• Agency: means any agency, board, department, bureau or commission of this State which receives an appropriation under the general appropriation act of the General Assembly. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 5901
• Agency: means any office, department, board, commission or other separate unit of government of this State, including all branches of government: Executive, legislative and judicial. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 502
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Authorization act: means an act of the General Assembly, concurred in by 3/4 of all the members of each House, appropriating funds of the State from the proceeds of bonds authorized to be issued by such act. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7401
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• 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}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board: means the Merit Employee Relations Board created by this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 5901
• Board member: means a member of the Board. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 5901
• Bonds: means any bonds authorized to be issued by the State pursuant to a school construction bond authorization act. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• Bonds: means any bonds authorized to be issued by the State pursuant to an authorization act and to the payment of which the State has pledged its full faith and credit. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7401
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the Department of Finance. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 101
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the Director of the Division of Revenue or the Secretary of Finance of the State. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
• Division of Revenue: means the Division of Revenue of the Department of Finance of the State. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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}
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Finance lease: means a lease with respect to which:

  (i) The lessor does not select, manufacture or supply the goods;

  (ii) The lessor acquires the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods in connection with the lease; and

  (iii) One of the following occurs:

  (A) The lessee receives a copy of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods before signing the lease contract;

  (B) The lessee's approval of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods is a condition to effectiveness of the lease contract;

  (C) The lessee, before signing the lease contract, receives an accurate and complete statement designating the promises and warranties, and any disclaimers of warranties, limitations or modifications of remedies, or liquidated damages, including those of a third party, such as the manufacturer of the goods, provided to the lessor by the person supplying the goods in connection with or as part of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods; or

  (D) If the lease is not a consumer lease, the lessor, before the lessee signs the lease contract, informs the lessee in writing

  (1) Of the identity of the person supplying the goods to the lessor, unless the lessee has selected that person and directed the lessor to acquire the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods from that person,

  (2) That the lessee is entitled under this Article to the promises and warranties, including those of any third party, provided to the lessor by the person supplying the goods in connection with or as part of the contract by which the lessor acquired the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods, and

  (3) That the lessee may communicate with the person supplying the goods to the lessor and receive an accurate and complete statement of those promises and warranties, including any disclaimers and limitations of them or of remedies. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2A-103

• 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.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Goods: means all things that are movable at the time of identification to the lease contract, or are fixtures (Section 2A-309), but the term does not include money, documents, instruments, accounts, chattel paper, general intangibles, or minerals or the like, including oil and gas, before extraction. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2A-103
• Issuing officers: means the Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer and Secretary of Finance of the State. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7401
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Lease: means a transfer of the right to possession and use of goods for a term in return for consideration, but a sale, including a sale on approval or a sale or return, or retention or creation of a security interest is not a lease. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2A-103
• Lease contract: means the total legal obligation that results from the lease agreement as affected by this Article and any other applicable rules of law. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2A-103
• Lessee: means a person who acquires the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2A-103
• Lessor: means a person who transfers the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2A-103
• Local government: means any county, city, town, municipality or other government, created by an act of the General Assembly, that is not a state agency, department, board or commission. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 502
• Local share: means the sum of money specified in any school construction bond authorization act to render permissible the use of the state share for school construction within the particular school district. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• Minor capital improvement: means minor capital improvement as that term is defined in § 7528 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Notes: means anticipation notes issued by the State in anticipation of the issuance of bonds. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• Notes: means notes issued by the State in anticipation of the issuance of bonds authorized by an authorization act and to the payment of which the State has pledged its full faith and credit. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7401
• Notice of proposed assessment: means a notice sent to a taxpayer by the Director or the Director's delegate pursuant to § 521(c) of this title that tax, interest, penalty, additional amount or addition to the tax is proposed for assessment and is due. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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 natural person, partnership (whether general or limited), limited liability company, trust (including a common law trust, business trust, statutory trust, voting trust or any other form of trust), estate, association (including any group, organization, co-tenancy, plan, board, council or committee), corporation, government (including a country, state, county or any other governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality), custodian, nominee or any other individual or entity (or series thereof) in its own or any representative capacity, in each case, whether domestic or foreign. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
• Person: means and includes an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Political subdivision: includes counties, cities, towns, districts, authorities and other public corporations and entities whether mandated by the Constitution or formed by an act of the General Assembly. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 502
• Public record: means any document, book, photographic image, electronic data recording, paper, sound recording or other material regardless of physical form or characteristics, including electronic records created or maintained in electronic information systems, made, used, produced, composed, drafted or otherwise compiled or collected or received in connection with the transaction of public business or in any way related to public purposes by any officer or employee of this State or any political subdivision thereof. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 502
• Records officer: means any person or persons designated according to the provisions of this chapter, whose responsibilities include the development and oversight of agency or local government records management programs. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 502
• Revenue notes: means notes issued by the State in anticipation of the receipt by the State of taxes and revenues payable to the State and the payment of which the State has pledged its full faith and credit. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7401
• Rules: means those rules adopted by the Board pursuant to this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 5901
• School construction: includes , but is not limited to, the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling or enlargement of school buildings, the acquisition or installation of apparatus or equipment or educational supplies suitable for the use of such buildings, the acquisition of machinery necessary for the maintenance of such buildings or school grounds, the acquisition of land required as sites for such buildings, or for playgrounds, including land or rights in land needed to provide access to sites and to provide suitable playgrounds, and the grading or other improvements of such sites, land or rights in land, including the construction of sidewalks where authorized by law, the construction of any sewers or water mains needed to connect such buildings to any publicly owned sewer system or water system, the acquisition of temporary buildings or facilities for school purposes to be used until such time as permanent school buildings or facilities shall become available. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• School construction bond authorization act: means an authorization act of the General Assembly concurred in by 3/4 of all the members of each House, authorizing, among other things, the issuance of bonds and the appropriation of the proceeds thereof to finance school construction. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• School district: means a reorganized school district, or any newly created school unit or area for which no board has been appointed or elected at the time of the effective date of any school construction bond authorization act or any area which the State Board of Education shall determine to be the area served by any school facility which is referred to in any school construction bond authorization act and for which there is specified no local share. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 5901
• Series: means a designated series of limited partners, general partners, partnership interests or assets that is a protected series or a registered series, or that is neither a protected series nor a registered series. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
• 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.
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, The United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
• state service: means all positions of state employment other than the following positions, which are excluded:

  (1) Members of the General Assembly and others elected by popular vote and persons appointed to fill vacancies in elective offices. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 5903

• State share: means that maximum sum of money which may be paid from state sources for school construction in a particular school district as provided in any school construction bond authorization act. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Supplier: means a person from whom a lessor buys or leases goods to be leased under a finance lease. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2A-103
• Tax: shall be deemed also to refer to license fees imposed under Part III of this title. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 502
• Taxable: means any person, fiduciary, association of persons, syndicate, joint venture or copartnership subject to making return or to payment of tax imposed by this title. See Delaware Code Title 30 Sec. 101
• Total cost: means the maximum sum or sums of money which may be spent for school construction under a particular school construction bond authorization act in a particular school district, provided that nothing contained in this chapter shall prevent any school district from increasing said total cost by providing a larger amount from local sources than that stated as that district's local share, nor prevent the acceptance and use of any funds appropriated by the Congress of the United States for these purposes. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
• User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
• Vital records: means those records which contain information required for government to continue functioning during a disaster, protect the rights of Delaware citizens and document the obligations of Delaware government, and reestablish operations after a calamity has ended. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 502