Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 7 - County Boundaries

• Abandoned: means a situation in which the parent or person having legal custody of a child, while being able, makes little or no provision for the child's support or makes little or no effort to communicate with the child, which situation is sufficient to evince an intent to reject parental responsibilities. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• abandonment: means a situation in which the parent or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or legal custodian, the caregiver, while being able, has made no significant contribution to the child's care and maintenance or has failed to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child, or both. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Abuse: means any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical, mental, or sexual abuse, injury, or harm that causes or is likely to cause the child's physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Accumulated contributions: means the sum of:
  (a) A member's contributions, without interest, subsequent to December 1, 1970; and
  (b) The single-sum amount the member would have received if he or she was covered by an existing system prior to December 1, 1970, and had terminated membership in such system on November 30, 1970, subject to reduction on account of benefit payments as provided under certain options. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• active military service: as used in this chapter shall signify active duty in the Florida defense force or federal service in training or on active duty with any branch of the Armed Forces or Reservists of the Armed Forces, the Florida National Guard, the Coast Guard of the United States, and service of all officers of the United States Public Health Service detailed by proper authority for duty with the Armed Forces, and shall include the period during which a person in military service is absent from duty on account of sickness, wounds, leave, or other lawful cause. See Florida Statutes 115.08
• Actuarial equivalent: means a benefit of equal value when computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables adopted by the administrator. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Addictions receiving facility: is a secure, acute care facility that provides, at a minimum, detoxification and stabilization services; is operated 24 hours per day, 7 days per week; and is designated by the department to serve individuals found to be substance use impaired as described in…. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Adjournment sine die: The end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of legislature.
• Administrative Procedures Committee: means a committee designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Administrative proceeding: means any nonjudicial hearing which may result in the recommendation, approval, or order of disciplinary action against, or suspension or discharge of, a firefighter. See Florida Statutes 112.81
• Administrator: means the secretary of the Department of Management Services. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Adoption: means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child where it did not exist, thereby declaring the child to be legally the child of the adoptive parents and their heir at law and entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the obligations of a child born to such adoptive parents in lawful wedlock. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Adoption: means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child where it did not exist, thereby declaring the child to be legally the child of the adoptive parents and their heir at law, and entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the obligations of a child born to the adoptive parents in lawful wedlock. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Adoption entity: means the department, a child-caring agency registered under…. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Adoption plan: means an arrangement made by a birth parent or other individual having a legal right to custody of a minor, born or to be born, with an adoption entity in furtherance of placing the minor for adoption. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Adult: means a person who is not a minor. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Adult: means any natural person other than a child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Advisory body: means any board, commission, committee, council, or authority, however selected, whose total budget, appropriations, or authorized expenditures constitute less than 1 percent of the budget of each agency it serves or $100,000, whichever is less, and whose powers, jurisdiction, and authority are solely advisory and do not include the final determination or adjudication of any personal or property rights, duties, or obligations, other than those relating to its internal operations. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Affordable housing bonds: means multifamily affordable housing bonds and single-family affordable housing bonds. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Agency: means any child-placing agency licensed by the department pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• agency: means any official, officer, commission, board, authority, council, committee, or department of the executive branch or the judicial branch of state government as defined in chapter 216. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Agency: means any state, regional, county, local, or municipal government entity of this state, whether executive, judicial, or legislative; any department, division, bureau, commission, authority, or political subdivision of this state therein; any public school, community college, or state university; or any special district as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Agreement: means that certain agreement entered into October 23, 1951, between the State of Florida and the Federal Security Administrator. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Alley: means a right-of-way providing a secondary means of access and service to abutting property. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• 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.
• Ancillary administration: Probate administration of property (usually real property) owned in a State other than the one in which the decedent had his (her) principal residence at the time of death.
• Annexation: means the adding of real property to the boundaries of an incorporated municipality, such addition making such real property in every way a part of the municipality. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• Annual compensation: means the total compensation paid a member during a year. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Annual percentage rate: The cost of credit at a yearly rate. It is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan so borrowers can compare loans. Lenders are required by law to disclose a card account's APR. ^{Source: FDIC}
• 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.
• 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
• Arbitration: means a process whereby a neutral third person or panel, called an arbitrator or arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision which may be binding or nonbinding as provided in this chapter. See Florida Statutes 44.1011
• Arbitration: means a process whereby a neutral third person or panel, called an arbitrator or an arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision which may be binding or nonbinding. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Area of operation: means the area within the territorial boundaries of the county for which the housing finance authority is created, and any area outside the territorial boundaries of such county if the governing body of the county within which such outside area is located approves. See Florida Statutes 159.603
• Areawide council: means an advisory comprehensive health planning council, as described and approved under all pertinent federal and state laws and rules and regulations. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• assessment: means the gathering of information for the evaluation of a child's and caregiver's physical, psychiatric, psychological, or mental health; developmental delays or challenges; and educational, vocational, and social condition and family environment as they relate to the child's and caregiver's need for rehabilitative and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment services, mental health services, developmental services, literacy services, medical services, family services, and other specialized services, as appropriate. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• 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 ad litem: means an attorney appointed by the court to represent a child in a dependency case who has an attorney-client relationship with the child under the rules regulating The Florida Bar. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Audio-video communication technology: means technology in compliance with applicable law which enables real-time, two-way communication using electronic means in which participants are able to see, hear, and communicate with one another. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Authority: means a body politic and corporate created pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• Authorized position: means a position included in an approved budget. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Average final compensation: means :
  1. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Average monthly compensation: means one-twelfth of average final compensation. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bailiff: a court officer who enforces the rules of behavior in courtrooms.
• 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.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• 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}
• Beneficiary: means the joint annuitant or any other person, organization, estate, or trust fund designated by the member to receive a retirement benefit, if any, which may be payable upon the member's death. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Benefit: means any pension payment, lump-sum or periodic, to a member, retiree, or beneficiary, based partially or entirely on employer contributions or employee contributions, if applicable. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Blender: means any person who blends any product with motor or diesel fuel and who has been licensed or authorized by the department as a blender. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Block: includes "tier" or "group" and means a group of lots existing within well-defined and fixed boundaries, usually being an area surrounded by streets or other physical barriers and having an assigned number, letter, or other name through which it may be identified. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Board: means the State Board of Education, created pursuant to Florida Statutes 159.833
• Board: means the State Board of Education, created pursuant to Florida Statutes 159.843
• Board: means any board appointed by a municipality, county commission, or state agency, such as the planning and zoning board, area planning board, or the governing board of a drainage district. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• bond: means any bond which requires an allocation pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• bonds: shall include water revenue bonds, sewer revenue bonds, and general obligation bonds. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• Bonds: means any bonds, notes, debentures, interim certificates, or other evidences of financial indebtedness issued by a housing finance authority under and pursuant to this act. See Florida Statutes 159.603
• Bonus: means a payment made in addition to an employee's regular or overtime salary. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Brady identification system: means a list or identification, in whatever form, of the name or names of law enforcement officers or correctional officers about whom a prosecuting agency is in possession of impeachment evidence as defined by court decision, statute, or rule. See Florida Statutes 112.531
• Breach of the public trust: means a violation of a provision of the State Constitution or this part which establishes a standard of ethical conduct, a disclosure requirement, or a prohibition applicable to public officers or employees in order to avoid conflicts between public duties and private interests, including, without limitation, a violation of Florida Statutes 112.312
• Broadband level: means all positions that are sufficiently similar in knowledge, skills, and abilities; the kind or subject matter of work; the level of difficulty or the level of responsibilities; and the qualification requirements of the work so as to warrant the same treatment with respect to title, pay band, and other personnel transactions. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
• Bulk transfer: means the shipment of fuel by pipeline or marine vessel between terminals or from a refinery to a terminal. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Business associate: means any person or entity engaged in or carrying on a business enterprise with a public officer, public employee, or candidate as a partner, joint venturer, corporate shareholder where the shares of such corporation are not listed on any national or regional stock exchange, or co-owner of property. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Business entity: means any corporation, partnership, limited partnership, company, limited liability company, proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, self-employed individual, or trust, whether fictitiously named or not, doing business in this state. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Calendar month: means one of the 12 divisions of a year as determined by the Gregorian calendar (e. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Calendar year: means a period of time beginning January 1 and ending on the following December 31. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Campaign fund raiser: means an affair held to raise funds to be used in a campaign for public office. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Campaign treasurer: means an individual appointed by a candidate or political committee as provided in this chapter. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Candidate: means a person to whom any of the following applies:
  (a) A person who seeks to qualify for nomination or election by means of the petitioning process. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Candidate: means any person who has filed a statement of financial interest and qualification papers, has subscribed to the candidate's oath as required by…. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Capital offense: A crime punishable by death.
• Caregiver: means the parent, legal custodian, permanent guardian, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child's welfare as defined in subsection (57). See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Carrier: means every railroad company, pipeline company, water transportation company, private or common carrier, and any other person transporting motor or diesel fuel, casinghead gasoline, natural gasoline, naphtha, or distillate for others, either in interstate or intrastate commerce, to points within Florida, or from a point in Florida to a point outside of the state. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Carryforward confirmation: means a confirmation for a project that qualifies for a carryforward pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Case plan: means a document, as described in…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Certificate of need: means a written advisory statement issued by the Agency for Health Care Administration, having as its basis a written advisory statement issued by an areawide council and, where there is no council, by the Agency for Health Care Administration, evidencing community need for a new, converted, expanded, or otherwise significantly modified health facility. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• Certification determination procedures: means the process used by the county of residence or the agency to determine a person's county of residence. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Certified resident: means a United States citizen or lawfully admitted alien who has been certified as a resident of the county by a person designated by the county governing body to provide certification determination procedures for the county in which the patient resides; by the agency if such county does not make a determination of residency within 60 days after receiving a certified letter from the treating hospital; or by the agency if the hospital appeals the decision of the county making such determination. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Charity care obligation: means the minimum amount of uncompensated charity care as reported to the agency, based on the hospital's most recent audited actual experience, which must be provided by a participating hospital or a regional referral hospital before the hospital is eligible to be reimbursed by a county under this part. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Chief administrative officer: means the municipal administrator, municipal manager, county manager, county administrator, or other officer of the municipality, county, or independent special district who reports directly to the governing body of the local government. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Child: means any unmarried person under the age of 18 years who has not been emancipated by court order. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Child Protection Team: means a team of professionals established by the Department of Health to receive referrals from the protective investigators and protective supervision staff of the department and to provide specialized and supportive services to the program in processing child abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Child support: means a court-ordered obligation, enforced under chapter 61 and ss. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• cigarette taxes: shall mean taxes levied and collected on the purchase or sale of cigarettes under the provisions of chapter 210 or any other law. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Circuit: means any of the 20 judicial circuits as set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Claimant: means any person other than the judgment debtor who claims any property levied on. See Florida Statutes 56.0101
• Classification plan: means a formal description of the concepts, rules, job family definitions, occupational group characteristics, and occupational profiles used in the classification of positions. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Clerk: means the clerk of the local agency, or the officer of the local agency, charged with the duties customarily imposed upon the clerk thereof. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• 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.
• Clinical assessment: means the collection of detailed information concerning an individual's substance use, emotional and physical health, social roles, and other areas that may reflect the severity of the individual's abuse of alcohol or drugs. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and rulings issued thereunder. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and rulings issued thereunder. See Florida Statutes 159.833
• Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and rulings issued thereunder. See Florida Statutes 159.843
• Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
• Coercion: means the exploitation of authority or the use of bribes, threats of force, or intimidation to gain cooperation or compliance. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Commission: means the Commission on Ethics created by…. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• commission: shall mean the board of county commissioners of any county operating under the powers granted by this chapter. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• Commission: means the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission created in Florida Statutes 161.71
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Education. See Florida Statutes 159.833
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Education. See Florida Statutes 159.843
• Common disaster: A sudden and extraordinary misfortune that brings about the simultaneous or near-simultaneous deaths of two or more associated persons, such as husband and wife.
• 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.
• Communications media: means broadcasting stations, newspapers, magazines, outdoor advertising facilities, printers, direct mail, advertising agencies, the Internet, and telephone companies; but with respect to telephones, an expenditure is deemed to be an expenditure for the use of communications media only if made for the costs of telephones, paid telephonists, or automatic telephone equipment to be used by a candidate or a political committee to communicate with potential voters but excluding the costs of telephones incurred by a volunteer for use of telephones by such volunteer; however, with respect to the Internet, an expenditure is deemed an expenditure for use of communications media only if made for the cost of creating or disseminating a message on a computer information system accessible by more than one person but excluding internal communications of a campaign or of any group. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Compensation: means the monthly salary paid a member by his or her employer for work performed arising from that employment. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• component: means a discrete operational entity within a service provider which is subject to licensing as defined by rule. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Component independent special district: means an independent special district that proposes to be merged into a merged independent district, or an independent special district as it existed before its merger into the merged independent district of which it is now a part. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Confirmation: means the conditional allocation of a portion of the state volume limitation to an issuer, made pursuant to a timely filed notice of intent to issue, which is contingent upon the issuer's timely filing of an issuance report. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• conflict of interest: means a situation in which regard for a private interest tends to lead to disregard of a public duty or interest. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Consent: means an agreement, including all of the following:
  1. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Contiguous: means that a substantial part of a boundary of the territory sought to be annexed by a municipality is coterminous with a part of the boundary of the municipality. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Continuous service: means creditable service as a member, beginning with the first day of employment with an employer covered under a state-administered retirement system consolidated herein and continuing for as long as the member remains in an employer-employee relationship with an employer covered under this chapter. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contraction: means the reversion of real property within municipal boundaries to an unincorporated status. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• Contribution: means :
  (a) A gift, subscription, conveyance, deposit, loan, payment, or distribution of money or anything of value, including contributions in kind having an attributable monetary value in any form, made for the purpose of influencing the results of an election or making an electioneering communication. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• controlled substance: means prescription drugs not prescribed for the parent or not administered as prescribed and controlled substances as outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporate judgment debtor: means a judgment debtor other than an individual, an estate, or a trust that is not a business trust. See Florida Statutes 56.0101
• 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.
• Corporation: means the Florida Housing Finance Corporation created by…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Correctional officer: means any person, other than a warden, who is appointed or employed full time or part time by the state or any political subdivision thereof whose primary responsibility is the supervision, protection, care, custody, or control of inmates within a correctional institution; and includes correctional probation officers, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 112.531
• Corruptly: means done with a wrongful intent and for the purpose of obtaining, or compensating or receiving compensation for, any benefit resulting from some act or omission of a public servant which is inconsistent with the proper performance of his or her public duties. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• cost of a project: shall mean the cost of acquiring or constructing such project, and the cost of improvements, and shall include the cost of all labor and materials, the cost of all lands, property, rights, easements and franchises acquired, which are deemed necessary for such acquisition or construction, the cost of all machinery and equipment, financing charges, interest prior to and during construction and for 1 year after the completion of construction, engineering and legal expenses, cost of plans, specifications, surveys, estimates of construction costs and of revenues, other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of such acquisition or construction, administrative expenses, and such other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the financing herein authorized and to such acquisition or construction and the placing of the project in operation. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• cost of improvements: shall mean the cost of construction or acquiring improvements as hereinabove defined and shall embrace the cost of all labor and materials, the cost of all lands, property, rights, easements and franchises acquired which are deemed necessary for such construction, the cost of all machinery and equipment, financing charges, cost of engineering and legal expenses, plans, specifications, surveys, and such other expenses as may be necessary or incident to such construction. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Council: means the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council created by this act. See Florida Statutes 161.71
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• county: shall mean any of the several counties of the state operating under the authority granted by this chapter. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• County: means any county within the regional transportation area. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• County charter: means the charter by which county government in this state may exercise all powers of local self-government not inconsistent with general law and as adopted by a vote of the electors of the county. See Florida Statutes 125.81
• County court mediation: which means mediation of civil cases within the jurisdiction of county courts, including small claims. See Florida Statutes 44.1011
• Court: means a circuit court of this state and, if the context requires, the court of any state that is empowered to grant petitions for adoption. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Court: means the court of legal jurisdiction in the context in which the term is used in this chapter. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Court reporter: A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court and produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.
• Covered employment: means employment in a regularly established position as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Covered group: means the officers and employees of an employer who become members under this chapter. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Credential analysis: means a process or service, in compliance with applicable law, in which a third party aids a notary public in affirming the validity of a government-issued identification credential and data thereon through review of public or proprietary data sources. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Cul-de-sac: means a street terminated at the end by a vehicular turnaround. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Date of participation: means the date on which the officer or employee becomes a member. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Death in line of duty: means death arising out of and in the actual performance of duty required by a member's employment during his or her regularly scheduled working hours or irregular working hours as required by the employer. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• defendant: means any party on whom service by publication is authorized by this chapter, without regard to his or her designation in the pleadings or position in the action. See Florida Statutes 49.031
• Demotion: means the changing of the classification of an employee to a broadband level having a lower maximum salary; or the changing of the classification of an employee to a broadband level having the same or a higher maximum salary but a lower level of responsibility. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Department: means the Department of Management Services. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Department: means the Department of Management Services. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Department: means the Department of Commerce. See Florida Statutes 189.012
• Department: means the Department of Revenue. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Department: means the Department of Education, created pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.833
• Department: means the Department of Education, created pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.843
• Department: means the Department of Environmental Protection. See Florida Statutes 161.71
• Dependency or in need of services mediation: which means mediation of dependency, child in need of services, or family in need of services matters. See Florida Statutes 44.1011
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dependent special district: means a special district that meets at least one of the following criteria:
  (a) The membership of its governing body is identical to that of the governing body of a single county or a single municipality. See Florida Statutes 189.012
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Detoxification: is a service involving subacute care that is provided on an inpatient or an outpatient basis to assist individuals to withdraw from the physiological and psychological effects of substance abuse and who meet the placement criteria for this component. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Developer: means the owners of record executing the dedication required by…. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the chief administrative or executive officer of a service provider or recovery residence. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Director: means a person appointed to the board by a member. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• disclosure: means a communication of identifying information, the affirmative verification of another person's communication of identifying information, or the communication of any information regarding an individual who has received services. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Disclosure period: means the calendar year, if disclosure is required for the entire year, or the portion of a calendar year ending with the last day of the period for which disclosure is required. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Dismissal: means a disciplinary action taken by an agency pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Division: means the Division of Elections of the Department of State. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Division: means the Division of Retirement in the department. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Division: means the Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of Administration. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donee: The recipient of a gift.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Dower: A widow
• DROP participant: means any member who elects to retire and participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Program as provided in…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• drugs: means prescription drugs not prescribed for the child or not administered as prescribed, and controlled substances as outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Early retirement date: means the first day of the month following the date a member becomes vested and elects to receive retirement benefits in accordance with this chapter. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Easement: means any strip of land created by a subdivider for public or private utilities, drainage, sanitation, or other specified uses having limitations, the title to which shall remain in the name of the property owner, subject to the right of use designated in the reservation of the servitude. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Effective date of retirement: means the first day of the month in which benefit payments begin to accrue pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Election: means a primary election, special primary election, general election, special election, or municipal election held in this state for the purpose of nominating or electing candidates to public office, choosing delegates to the national nominating conventions of political parties, selecting a member of a political party executive committee, or submitting an issue to the electors for their approval or rejection. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Electioneering communication: means a text message or communication that is publicly distributed by a television station, radio station, cable television system, satellite system, newspaper, magazine, direct mail, or telephone which:
  1. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Electioneering communications organization: means any group, other than a political party, affiliated party committee, or political committee, whose election-related activities are limited to making expenditures for electioneering communications or accepting contributions for the purpose of making electioneering communications and whose activities would not otherwise require the group to register as a political party or political committee under this chapter. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Elector-initiated merger plan: means the merger plan of two or more independent special districts, a majority of whose qualified electors have elected to merge, which outlines the terms and agreements for the official merger of the districts and is finalized and approved by the governing bodies of the districts pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Electronic means: means by telephone, if the required information is received on a recorded line, or through Internet access, if the required information is captured online. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Eligibility determination procedures: means the process used by a county or the agency to evaluate a person's financial eligibility, eligibility for state-funded or federally funded programs, and the availability of insurance, in order to document a person as a qualified indigent for the purpose of this part. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Eligible employee: means an officer or employee, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Eligible persons: means one or more natural persons or a family, irrespective of race, creed, national origin, or sex, determined by the housing finance authority to be of low, moderate, or middle income. See Florida Statutes 159.603
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• employee: means an eligible employee who enrolls in, or who defaults into, the investment plan as provided in subsection (4), a terminated Deferred Retirement Option Program member as described in subsection (21), or a beneficiary or alternate payee of a member or employee. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• employee contributions: means the sum of all amounts deducted from the salary of a member by his or her employer in accordance with…. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Employer: means any agency, branch, department, institution, university, institution of higher education, or board of the state, or any county agency, branch, department, board, district school board, municipality, metropolitan planning organization, or special district of the state which participates in the system for the benefit of certain of its employees, or a charter school or charter technical career center that participates as provided in…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Employer: means an employer, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Employing agency: means any agency authorized to employ personnel to carry out the responsibilities of the agency under the provisions of chapter 20 or other law. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Employing agency: means any municipality or the state or any political subdivision thereof, including authorities and special districts, which employs firefighters. See Florida Statutes 112.81
• Enclave: means :
  (a) Any unincorporated improved or developed area that is enclosed within and bounded on all sides by a single municipality; or
  (b) Any unincorporated improved or developed area that is enclosed within and bounded by a single municipality and a natural or manmade obstacle that allows the passage of vehicular traffic to that unincorporated area only through the municipality. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equality: means two participants operating with the same level of power in a relationship, neither being controlled nor coerced by the other. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• 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}
• Errors and omissions insurance: means a type of insurance that provides coverage for potential errors or omissions in or relating to the notarial act and is maintained, as applicable, by the online notary public or his or her employer, or a Remote Online Notarization service provider. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. ^{Source: OCC}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship: includes , but is not limited to, frequent and regular contact with the child through frequent and regular visitation or frequent and regular communication to or with the child, and the exercise of parental rights and responsibilities. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Established position: means an authorized position that has been classified in accordance with a classification and pay plan as provided by law. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• evaluation: means a systematic measurement of a service provider's achievement of desired individual or service outcomes. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• 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.
• Exchange agreement: means an agreement between two licensed terminal suppliers whereby a position holder in a terminal agrees to deliver fuel to the other party or the other party's customer at the loading rack of the terminal where the delivering party holds an inventory position. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Executive director: means the executive director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. See Florida Statutes 161.71
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Exempt facility bonds: means any bonds, except multifamily affordable housing bonds, issued pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Existing systems: means the State and County Officers and Employees' Retirement System, the retirement system for school teachers, and the highway patrol pensions and pension trust fund, which are consolidated in…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Expenditure: means a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, transfer of funds by a campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer between a primary depository and a separate interest-bearing account or certificate of deposit, or gift of money or anything of value made for the purpose of influencing the results of an election or making an electioneering communication. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Export: means any removal of taxable motor or diesel fuels from this state other than by bulk transfer. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Exporter: means any person that has met the requirements of…. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• expressways: shall mean any limited access highway where tolls are charged for use thereof. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
• facility: shall mean such water systems, sewage disposal systems, water system improvements and/or sewer improvements or additions thereto as are defined by this chapter. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• 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.
• Family: means a collective body of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, legal custodian, or adult relative, in which:
  (a) The persons reside in the same house or living unit; or
  (b) The parent, legal custodian, or adult relative has a legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or court order to support or care for the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Family mediation: which means mediation of family matters, including married and unmarried persons, before and after judgments involving dissolution of marriage; property division; shared or sole parental responsibility; or child support, custody, and visitation involving emotional or financial considerations not usually present in other circuit civil cases. See Florida Statutes 44.1011
• Feasibility study: means an analysis conducted by qualified staff or consultants of the economic, market, technical, financial, and management feasibility of the proposed annexation or contraction, as applicable. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• 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.
• Fictive kin: means a person unrelated by birth, marriage, or adoption who has an emotionally significant relationship, which possesses the characteristics of a family relationship, to a child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Filing officer: means the person before whom a candidate qualifies or the agency or officer with whom a political committee or an electioneering communications organization registers. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Final certification of allocation: means the certification issued by the division following the timely filing of an issuance report which establishes the final amount of state volume limitation allocated to an issuer for an issuance of private activity bonds as required in…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Firefighter: means a firefighter certified under chapter 633. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Firefighter: means a person who is certified in compliance with…. See Florida Statutes 112.81
• 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.
• Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
  • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
  • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
  • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
• Forcible entry: means entering into and taking possession of real property with force, in a manner that is not peaceable, easy, or open, even if such entry is authorized by a person entitled to possession of the real property and the possession is only temporary or applies only to a portion of the real property. See Florida Statutes 82.01
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Formal investigation: means the process of investigation ordered by supervisory or management personnel, to determine if the firefighter should be disciplined, reprimanded, suspended, or removed, during which the questioning of a firefighter is conducted for the purpose of gathering evidence of misconduct. See Florida Statutes 112.81
• Foster care: means care provided a child in a foster family or boarding home, group home, agency boarding home, child care institution, or any combination thereof. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• franchise taxes: shall mean payments to a municipality pursuant to the provisions of a franchise granted to a person, firm or corporation for the furnishing of utilities or other services or facilities in such municipality. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• 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}
• fuel: means all gasoline products or any product blended with gasoline or any fuel placed in the storage supply tank of a gasoline-powered motor vehicle. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Fuel tank: means any receptacle or reservoir attached to a motor vehicle from which fuel is supplied for the propulsion thereof. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Fuel tax: means and includes any tax imposed by the laws of the state upon or measured by the sale, use, distribution, or consumption of motor fuel. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Fuel tax collection trust fund: means any fund or funds heretofore or hereafter created by the Legislature for the purpose of enforcing the fuel tax laws of the state. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Full-time position: means a position authorized for the entire normally established work period, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Furlough: means a temporary reduction in the regular hours of employment in a pay period, or temporary leave without pay for one or more pay periods, with a commensurate reduction in pay, which is necessitated by a projected deficit in any fund that supports salary and benefit appropriations. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• gas system: shall mean and include works and structures necessary for the production, supply and distribution of gas, manufactured or natural, for lighting, heating, refrigeration or other domestic or industrial use, whether inside or outside the unit and shall include but shall not be limited to distribution mains, meters, plants, equipment, machinery and any other property necessary for the production, supply and distribution of either manufactured or natural gas, for domestic or industrial use. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• general obligation bonds: shall mean general obligations of the county which are payable from unlimited ad valorem taxes or from such taxes and additionally secured by a pledge of water service charges or sewer service charges or special assessments, or all of them. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the board, commission, or other governing body of any local agency in which the general legislative powers of such local agency are vested. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• governing body: means the council, commission, or other board or body in which the general legislative powers of the municipality shall be vested. See Florida Statutes 166.101
• Governing body: means the board of county commissioners or the legal governing body of a county, municipality, town, or village of this state. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Governing body: means the governing body of the independent special district in which the general legislative, governmental, or public powers of the district are vested and by authority of which the official business of the district is conducted. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Government-issued identification credential: means any approved credential for verifying identity under…. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Governmental unit: means the general-purpose governmental unit, as defined in the Code, which provides approval under the federal Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) for proposed issuances of private activity bonds for issuers within its jurisdiction. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• 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}
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Guardian: means a relative, nonrelative, next of kin, or fictive kin who is awarded physical custody of a child in a proceeding brought pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Guardian ad litem: means a person or an entity that is a fiduciary appointed by the court to represent a child in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding to which the child is a party, including, but not limited to, under this chapter, which uses a best interest standard for decisionmaking and advocacy. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Guardianship assistance payment: means a monthly cash payment made by the department to a guardian on behalf of an eligible child or young adult. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Guardianship Assistance Program: means a program that provides benefits to a child's guardian on behalf of the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Guardianship nonrecurring payment: means a one-time payment of up to $2,000 made by the department to a guardian to assist with the expenses associated with obtaining legal guardianship of a child who is eligible for the Guardianship Assistance Program pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• harbor and port facilities: shall include docks, wharves, piers, warehouses, terminals, refrigerating plants, channels, turning basins, connecting railroads, breakwaters, causeways and bridges, and bulkheads and equipment. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• health facilities authority: means any of the public corporations created by…. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• Health facility: means any private corporation organized not for profit and authorized by law to provide:
  (a) Hospital services in accordance with chapter 395;
  (b) Nursing home care services in accordance with chapter 400;
  (c) Life care services in accordance with chapter 651;
  (d) Services for the developmentally disabled under chapter 393;
  (e) Services for the mentally ill under chapter 394;
  (f) Assisted living services in accordance with chapter 429; or
  (g) Hospice services in accordance with chapter 400. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• Hospital: means a hospital or hospital-based component licensed under chapter 395. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Hospital: means an establishment as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Housing development: means any residential building, land, equipment, facility, or other real or personal property which may be necessary, convenient, or desirable in connection therewith, including streets, sewers, water and utility services, parks, gardening, administrative, community, health, recreational, and educational facilities, and other facilities related and subordinate to moderate, middle, or lesser income housing, and also includes site preparation, the planning of housing and improvements, the acquisition of property, the removal or demolition of existing structures, the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of housing and improvements, and all other work in connection therewith, and all costs of financing, including without limitation the cost of consultant and legal services, other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility of the housing development, administrative and other expenses necessary or incident to the housing development and the financing thereof (including reimbursement to any municipality, county, or entity for expenditures made with the approval of the housing finance authority for the housing development), and interest accrued during construction and for a reasonable period thereafter. See Florida Statutes 159.603
• Housing finance authority: means a housing finance authority created pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.603
• Identifying information: means the name, address, social security number, fingerprints, photograph, and similar information by which the identity of an individual can be determined with reasonable accuracy directly or by reference to other publicly available information. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Identity proofing: means a process or service in compliance with applicable law in which a third party affirms the identity of an individual through use of public or proprietary data sources, which may include by means of knowledge-based authentication or biometric verification. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
• Impending danger: means a situation in which family behaviors, attitudes, motives, emotions, or situations pose a threat that may not be currently active but that can be anticipated to become active and to have severe effects on a child at any time. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Import: means delivery of motor fuel or diesel fuel into this state. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Importer: means any person that has met the requirements of…. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• improvements: shall mean such repairs, replacements, additions, extensions and betterments of and to a project as are deemed necessary to place such project in proper condition for the safe, efficient and economic operation thereof, or necessary to preserve a project or to maintain adequate service to the public. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• in the presence of: means :
  (a) In the physical presence of another person; or
  (b) Outside of the physical presence of another person, but able to see, hear, and communicate with the person by means of audio-video communication technology. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• incinerator and solid waste disposal systems: shall include any system whereby solid wastes are burned, buried, composted or any system for such disposal approved by a state pollution control agency. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Independent contractor: means an individual who is not subject to the control and direction of the employer for whom work is being performed, with respect not only to what shall be done but to how it shall be done. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Independent expenditure: means an expenditure by a person for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or the approval or rejection of an issue, which expenditure is not controlled by, coordinated with, or made upon consultation with, any candidate, political committee, or agent of such candidate or committee. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Independent special district: means a special district that is not a dependent special district as defined in subsection (2). See Florida Statutes 189.012
• Independent special district: means an independent special district, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Individual: means a person who receives alcohol or other drug abuse treatment services delivered by a service provider. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Informal inquiry: means a meeting by supervisory or management personnel with a firefighter about whom an allegation of misconduct has come to the attention of such supervisory or management personnel, the purpose of which meeting is to mediate a complaint or discuss the facts to determine whether a formal investigation should be commenced. See Florida Statutes 112.81
• Informed consent: means consent voluntarily given in writing by a competent person after sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable the person to make a knowing and willful decision without any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, or other form of constraint or coercion. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Initiating county: means a county that commences the process for negotiating an interlocal service boundary agreement through the adoption of an initiating resolution. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Initiating local government: means a county, municipality, or independent special district that commences the process for negotiating an interlocal service boundary agreement through the adoption of an initiating resolution. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Initiating municipality: means a municipality that commences the process for negotiating an interlocal service boundary agreement through the adoption of an initiating resolution. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Initiating resolution: means a resolution adopted by a county, municipality, or independent special district which commences the process for negotiating an interlocal service boundary agreement and which identifies the unincorporated area and other issues for discussion. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Initiative: means the filing of a petition containing a proposal for a referendum to be placed on the ballot for election. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• intangible personal property: means property as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• 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}
• Interlocal service boundary agreement: means an agreement adopted under this part, between a county and one or more municipalities, which may include one or more independent special districts as parties to the agreement. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Intermediary: means an attorney who is licensed or authorized to practice in this state and who is placing or intends to place a child for adoption, including placing children born in another state with citizens of this state or country or placing children born in this state with citizens of another state or country. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Interrogation: means the questioning of a firefighter by an employing agency in connection with a formal investigation or an administrative proceeding but does not include arbitration or civil service proceedings. See Florida Statutes 112.81
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• investment plan: means the defined contribution program established under this part. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Invited local government: means an invited county, municipality, or special district and any other local government designated as such in an initiating resolution or a responding resolution that invites the local government to participate in negotiating an interlocal service boundary agreement. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Invited municipality: means an initiating municipality and any other municipality designated as such in an initiating resolution or a responding resolution that invites the municipality to participate in negotiating an interlocal service boundary agreement. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Involuntary treatment services: means an array of behavioral health services that may be ordered by the court for persons with substance abuse impairment or co-occurring substance abuse impairment and mental health disorders. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• Issuance report: means the form containing the information described in…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Issue: means a proposition that is required by the State Constitution, by law or resolution of the Legislature, or by the charter, ordinance, or resolution of a political subdivision of this state to be submitted to the electors for their approval or rejection at an election, or a proposition for which a petition is circulated in order to have such proposition placed on the ballot at an election. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Issuer: means the State of Florida, any governmental unit, a housing finance authority, an industrial development authority, or any other entity in this state authorized to issue private activity bonds. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Job family: means a defined grouping of one or more occupational groups. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Joint annuitant: means any person designated by the member to receive a retirement benefit upon the member's death who is:
  (a) The spouse of the member;
  (b) The member's natural or adopted child who is under age 25, or is physically or mentally disabled and incapable of self-support, regardless of age; or any person other than the spouse for whom the member is the legal guardian, provided that such person is under age 25 and is financially dependent for no less than one-half of his or her support from the member at retirement or at the time of death of such member, whichever occurs first; or
  (c) A parent or grandparent, or a person age 25 or older for whom the member is the legal guardian, provided that such parent, grandparent, or other person is financially dependent for no less than one-half of his or her support from the member at retirement or at time of the death of such member, whichever occurs first. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Joint meeting: An occasion, often ceremonial, when the House and Senate each adopt a unanimous consent agreement
• Joint merger plan: means the merger plan that is adopted by resolution of the governing bodies of two or more independent special districts that outlines the terms and agreements for the official merger of the districts and that is finalized and approved by the governing bodies pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Judge: means the circuit judge exercising jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Judgment creditor: means the holder of an unsatisfied judgment, order, or decree for the payment of money, including a transferee or a surety having the right to control and collect the judgment under…. See Florida Statutes 56.0101
• Judgment debtor: means each person who is liable on a judgment, an order, or a decree subject to execution under this chapter. See Florida Statutes 56.0101
• judicial office: includes the office of:
  (a) Justice of the Supreme Court. See Florida Statutes 105.011
• 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.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Jury instructions: A judge's directions to the jury before it begins deliberations regarding the factual questions it must answer and the legal rules that it must apply. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Knowledge-based authentication: means a form of identity proofing based on a set of questions which pertain to an individual and are formulated from public or proprietary data sources. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Law enforcement officer: means a law enforcement officer as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Law enforcement officer: means any person, other than a chief of police, who is employed full time or part time by any municipality or the state or any political subdivision thereof and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, traffic, or highway laws of this state; and includes any person who is appointed by the sheriff as a deputy sheriff under…. See Florida Statutes 112.531
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Layoff: means termination of employment due to a shortage of funds or work, or a material change in the duties or organization of an agency, including the outsourcing or privatization of an activity or function previously performed by career service employees. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• 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}
• Leave of absence: means a leave of absence from employment under the Florida Retirement System, subsequent to November 30, 1970, for which retirement credit may be received in accordance with…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Legal custody: has the meaning ascribed in…. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Legal custody: means a legal status created by a court which vests in a custodian of the person or guardian, whether an agency or an individual, the right to have physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, nurture, guide, and discipline the child and to provide him or her with food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Legal entity: means an entity that holds a certificate of authorization issued under chapter 472, whether the entity is a corporation, partnership, association, or person practicing under a fictitious name. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Legal father: means a man married to the mother at the time of conception or birth of their child, unless paternity has been otherwise determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. ^{Source: U.S. Mint}
• Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
• Legislative Auditing Committee: means a committee or committees designated by joint rule of the Legislature, by the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Lending institution: means any bank or trust company, mortgage banker, savings bank, credit union, national banking association, savings and loan association, building and loan association, insurance company, or other financial institution authorized to transact business in this state and which customarily provides service or otherwise aids in the financing of mortgages located in the state. See Florida Statutes 159.603
• Levying creditor: means the levying judgment creditor. See Florida Statutes 56.0101
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Liability: means any monetary debt or obligation owed by the reporting person to another person, entity, or governmental entity, except for credit card and retail installment accounts, taxes owed unless reduced to a judgment, indebtedness on a life insurance policy owed to the company of issuance, contingent liabilities, or accrued income taxes on net unrealized appreciation. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Licensed child-caring agency: means a person, society, association, or agency licensed by the department to care for, receive, and board children. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Licensed child-placing agency: means a person, society, association, or institution licensed by the department to care for, receive, or board children and to place children in a licensed child-caring institution or a foster or adoptive home. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Licensed health care professional: means a physician licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459, a nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464, a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, or a dentist licensed under chapter 466. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Licensed service provider: means a public agency under this chapter, a private for-profit or not-for-profit agency under this chapter, a physician or any other private practitioner licensed under this chapter, or a hospital that offers substance abuse services through one or more licensed service components. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Likely to injure oneself: means that, as evidenced by violent or other actively self-destructive behavior, it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will attempt to commit suicide or inflict serious bodily harm on himself or herself. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Likely to injure others: means that it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will inflict serious and unjustified bodily harm on another person. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Loading rack: means that part of a terminal or refinery by which petroleum products are physically removed from the terminal or refinery into tanker trucks or rail cars. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Local agency: means any county or municipality existing or hereafter created pursuant to the laws of this state. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• Local agency employer: means the board of county commissioners or other legislative governing body of a county, however styled, including that of a consolidated or metropolitan government; a clerk of the circuit court, sheriff, property appraiser, tax collector, or supervisor of elections, provided such officer is elected or has been appointed to fill a vacancy in an elective office; a community college board of trustees or district school board; or the governing body of any city, metropolitan planning organization created pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Local governing authority: means the governing body of a unit of local general-purpose government. See Florida Statutes 189.012
• Lot: includes tract or parcel and means the least fractional part of subdivided lands having limited fixed boundaries, and an assigned number, letter, or other name through which it may be identified. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
• marinas: shall mean any facilities for the sale, repair, rental, storage, and servicing of boats. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Material interest: means direct or indirect ownership of more than 5 percent of the total assets or capital stock of any business entity. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Materially affected: means involving an interest in real property located within the jurisdiction of the official's agency or involving an investment in a business entity, a source of income or a position of employment, office, or management in any business entity located within the jurisdiction or doing business within the jurisdiction of the official's agency which is or will be affected in a substantially different manner or degree than the manner or degree in which the public in general will be affected or, if the matter affects only a special class of persons, then affected in a substantially different manner or degree than the manner or degree in which such class will be affected. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Mediation: includes :
  (a) "Appellate court mediation" which means mediation that occurs during the pendency of an appeal of a civil case. See Florida Statutes 44.1011
• Mediation: means a process whereby a neutral third person called a mediator acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Medical neglect: means the failure to provide or the failure to allow needed care as recommended by a health care practitioner for a physical injury, illness, medical condition, or impairment, or the failure to seek timely and appropriate medical care for a serious health problem that a reasonable person would have recognized as requiring professional medical attention. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Member: means any officer or employee who is covered or who becomes covered under this system in accordance with this chapter. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Member: means the municipality, county, or political subdivision which, in combination with another member or members, comprises the authority. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• Mental injury: means an injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity of a child as evidenced by a discernible and substantial impairment in the ability to function within the normal range of performance and behavior. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Merged independent district: means a single independent special district that results from a successful merger of two or more independent special districts pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Merger: means the combination of two or more contiguous independent special districts resulting in a newly created merged independent district that assumes jurisdiction over all of the component independent special districts. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Merger plan: means a written document that contains the terms, agreements, and information regarding the merger of two or more independent special districts. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Metropolitan planning organization: means an entity created by an interlocal agreement pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Monument: means a survey marker which must:
  (a) Be composed of a durable material. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Motor vehicle: means any vehicle, machine, or mechanical contrivance which is propelled by any form of engine or motor which utilizes motor or diesel fuel and is required, or would be required, to be licensed under chapter 320 if owned by a resident. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Multifamily affordable housing bonds: means bonds issued pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Municipal service area: means one or more of the following as designated in an interlocal service boundary agreement:
  (a) An unincorporated area that has been identified in an interlocal service boundary agreement for municipal annexation by a municipality that is a party to the agreement. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Municipality: means a municipality created pursuant to general or special law authorized or recognized pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• municipality: shall mean any city, town, village or port authority in the state, whether incorporated by special act of the Legislature or under the general laws of the state. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Municipality: means any city with a population of over 50,000 within the regional transportation area. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• Municipality: means any incorporated city, town, or village. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Necessary medical treatment: means care which is necessary within a reasonable degree of medical certainty to prevent the deterioration of a child's condition or to alleviate immediate pain of a child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Net amount: means the actual amount of fuel pumped through the loading rack, pipeline, or tanker adjusted for 60 degrees Fahrenheit. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Newspaper of general circulation: means a newspaper printed in the language most commonly spoken in the area within which it circulates, which is readily available for purchase by all inhabitants in its area of circulation, but does not include a newspaper intended primarily for members of a particular professional or occupational group, a newspaper whose primary function is to carry legal notices, or a newspaper that is given away primarily to distribute advertising. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• Next of kin: means an adult relative of a child who is the child's brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or first cousin. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• 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.
• Nonrelative: means a person unrelated by blood or marriage or a relative outside the fifth degree of consanguinity. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Normal retirement date: means the date a member attains normal retirement age and is vested, which is determined as follows:
  (a) If a Regular Class member, a Senior Management Service Class member, or an Elected Officers' Class member initially enrolled:

  1. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Notice of intent to issue: means the form containing the information described in…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Notified local government: means the county or a municipality, other than an invited municipality, that receives an initiating resolution. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: includes affirmations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• 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.
• Occupation: means all positions that are sufficiently similar in knowledge, skills, abilities, and the kind or subject matter of work. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Occupational group: means a group of occupations that are sufficiently similar in the kind of work performed to warrant the use of the same performance factors in determining the level of complexity for all occupations in that occupational group. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Oceans: means those waters from the mean high-water line outward to the state's jurisdictional boundary and those United States waters in which this state has an interest. See Florida Statutes 161.71
• Office: means the Office of Adoption and Child Protection within the Executive Office of the Governor. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Office of Economic and Demographic Research: means an entity designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability: means an entity designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Officer: means all officials of county government operating under a charter which shall be provided in the charter. See Florida Statutes 125.81
• Officer or employee: means any person receiving salary payments for work performed in a regularly established position and, if employed by a municipality, a metropolitan planning organization, or a special district, employed in a covered group. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Official records: means each instrument that the clerk of the circuit court is required or authorized to record in one general series called "Official Records" as provided for in…. See Florida Statutes 28.001
• Online notarization: means the performance of a notarial act using electronic means in which the principal or any witness appears before the notary public by means of audio-video communication technology. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Online notary public: means a notary public commissioned under part I of this chapter, a civil-law notary appointed under chapter 118, or a commissioner of deeds appointed under part IV of chapter 721, who has registered with the Department of State to perform online notarizations under this part. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Out-of-home: means a placement outside of the home of the parents or a parent. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Outpatient treatment: is a service that provides individual, group, or family counseling by appointment during scheduled operating hours for individuals who meet the placement criteria for this component. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parent: means a woman who gives birth to a child and who is not a gestational surrogate as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Parent: means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• parking facilities: shall mean any facility constructed for the purpose of vehicular parking and the use, operation and occupancy of such parking facilities and for which charges are made. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Part-time position: means a position authorized for less than the entire normally established work period, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Participating hospital: means a hospital which is eligible to receive reimbursement under the provisions of this part because it has been certified by the agency as having met its charity care obligation and has either:
  (a) A formal signed agreement with a county or counties to treat such county's indigent patients; or
  (b) Demonstrated to the agency that at least 2. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Participating resolution: means the resolution adopted by the initiating local government and the invited local government. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Parties affected: means any persons or firms owning property in, or residing in, either a municipality proposing annexation or contraction or owning property that is proposed for annexation to a municipality or any governmental unit with jurisdiction over such area. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• 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.
• Party: means the parent or parents of the child, the petitioner, the department, the guardian ad litem, and the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Pay band: means the minimum salary, the maximum salary, and intermediate rates that are payable for work in a specific broadband level. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Pay plan: means a formal description of the philosophy, methods, procedures, and salary schedules for competitively compensating employees at market-based rates for work performed. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Payee: means a retiree or beneficiary of a retiree who has received or is receiving a retirement benefit payment. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Peer specialist: means a person who has been in recovery from a substance use disorder or mental illness for at least 2 years who uses his or her personal experience to provide services in behavioral health settings to support others in their recovery, or a person who has at least 2 years of experience as a family member or caregiver of an individual who has a substance use disorder or mental illness. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Pension: means monthly payments to a retiree derived as provided in this chapter. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• pension plan: means the defined benefit program of the Florida Retirement System administered under part I of this chapter. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Permanency goal: means the living arrangement identified for the child to return to or identified as the permanent living arrangement of the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Permanency plan: means the plan that establishes the placement intended to serve as the child's permanent home. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Permanent guardian: means the relative or other adult in a permanent guardianship of a dependent child under…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Permanent guardianship of a dependent child: means a legal relationship that a court creates under…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Florida Statutes 56.0101
• Person: includes a natural person, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, or association, and any other legal entity. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock company, club, organization, estate, trust, business trust, syndicate, or other combination of individuals having collective capacity. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Person: means and includes natural persons, corporations, copartnerships, firms, companies, agencies, or associations; state agencies; and counties, municipalities, or other political subdivisions of this state, singular or plural. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Petit jury: A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute. Federal criminal juries consist of 12 persons. Federal civil juries consist of six persons.
• Phased retirement program: means a program contracted by the governing board of a university or community college participating under this chapter in which a retiree may be reemployed in a faculty position provided:
  (a) The member retired and met the definition of termination under this section;
  (b) The retired member is reemployed for not more than 780 hours during the first 12 months of his or her retirement; and
  (c) The retired member is reemployed with the university or community college from which he or she retired. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Physical injury: means death, permanent or temporary disfigurement, or impairment of any bodily part. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Physical presence: means being in the same physical location as another person and close enough to see, hear, communicate with, and exchange credentials with that person. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Physician: means any licensed physician, dentist, podiatric physician, or optometrist and includes any intern or resident. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Physician: means a person licensed under chapter 458 to practice medicine or licensed under chapter 459 to practice osteopathic medicine, and may include, if the context so indicates, an intern or resident enrolled in an intern or resident training program affiliated with an approved medical school, hospital, or other facility through which training programs are normally conducted. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Physician assistant: means a person licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician or psychiatrist whose specialty includes substance abuse treatment. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Pipeline: means a fuel distribution system that moves product in bulk, through a pipe, from a refinery to a terminal or from one terminal to another terminal. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Placement: means the process of a parent or legal guardian surrendering a child for adoption and the prospective adoptive parents receiving and adopting the child and all actions by any adoption entity participating in placing the child. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• plaintiff: means any party in the action who is entitled to service of original process on any other party to the action or any person who may be brought in or allowed to come in as a party by any lawful means. See Florida Statutes 49.031
• Plan year: means the period of time beginning July 1 and ending on the following June 30, both dates inclusive, for all state-administered retirement systems. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Plat or replat: means a map or delineated representation of the subdivision of lands, being a complete exact representation of the subdivision and other information in compliance with the requirement of all applicable sections of this part and of any local ordinances. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• 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.
• Political advertisement: means a paid expression in a communications medium prescribed in subsection (4), whether radio, television, newspaper, magazine, periodical, campaign literature, direct mail, or display or by means other than the spoken word in direct conversation, which expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or the approval or rejection of an issue. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Political committee: means :
  1. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Population: means the population as determined under the provisions of…. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• Position: means the work, consisting of duties and responsibilities, assigned to be performed by an officer or employee. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Position holder: means a person that holds the inventory position in the motor or diesel fuel in storage at a terminal, as reflected on the records of the terminal operator. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• Preliminary screening: means the gathering of preliminary information to be used in determining a child's need for further evaluation or assessment or for referral for other substance abuse services through means such as psychosocial interviews; urine and breathalyzer screenings; and reviews of available educational, delinquency, and dependency records of the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Present danger: means a significant and clearly observable family condition that is occurring at the current moment and is already endangering or threatening to endanger the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Preventive services: means social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the parent or legal custodian of the child and to the child for the purpose of averting the removal of the child from the home or disruption of a family which will or could result in the placement of a child in foster care. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Previous service: means the number of years, complete months, and any fractional part of a month, as recognized and credited by an employer and approved by the administrator, of service under one of the retirement systems established by this chapter, chapter 122, former chapter 123, chapter 238, or chapter 321, on which the required contributions were paid at the member's termination of employment, and for which the member has received no refund of contributions. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Principal: means an individual whose electronic signature is acknowledged, witnessed, or attested to in an online notarization or who takes an oath or affirmation administered by the online notary public. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Private activity bond: means any bond described in…. See Florida Statutes 159.833
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
• Professional surveyor and mapper: means a surveyor and mapper registered under chapter 472 who is in good standing with the Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Project: means any structure, facility, machinery, equipment, or other property suitable for use by a health facility in connection with its operations or proposed operations, including, without limitation, real property therefor; a clinic, computer facility, dining hall, firefighting facility, fire prevention facility, food service and preparation facility, health care facility, long-term care facility, hospital, interns' residence, laboratory, laundry, maintenance facility, nurses' residence, nursing home, nursing school, office, parking area, pharmacy, recreational facility, research facility, storage facility, utility, or X-ray facility, or any combination of the foregoing; and other structures or facilities related thereto or required or useful for health care purposes, the conducting of research, or the operation of a health facility, including facilities or structures essential or convenient for the orderly conduct of such health facility and other similar items necessary or convenient for the operation of a particular facility or structure in the manner for which its use is intended. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• project: shall include all property, rights, easements, and franchises relating thereto and deemed necessary or convenient for the construction or acquisition or the operation thereof, and shall embrace waterworks systems, sewer systems, gas systems, bridges, causeways, tunnels, incinerator and solid waste disposal systems, harbor and port facilities, mass transportation systems, expressways, marinas, civic auditoriums, sports arenas, parking facilities, and theme and amusement parks. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• project: means a governmental undertaking approved by the governing body and includes all property rights, easements, and franchises relating thereto and deemed necessary or convenient for the construction, acquisition or operation thereof, and embraces any capital expenditure which the governing body of the municipality shall deem to be made for a public purpose including the refunding of any bonded indebtedness which may be outstanding on any existing project which is to be improved by means of a new project. See Florida Statutes 166.101
• Promotion: means the changing of the classification of an employee to a broadband level having a higher maximum salary; or the changing of the classification of an employee to a broadband level having the same or a lower maximum salary but a higher level of responsibility. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Proposed elector-initiated merger plan: means a written document that contains the terms and information regarding the merger of two or more independent special districts and that accompanies the petition initiated by the qualified electors of the districts but that is not yet finalized and approved by the governing bodies of each component independent special district pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Proposed joint merger plan: means a written document that contains the terms and information regarding the merger of two or more independent special districts and that has been prepared pursuant to a resolution of the governing bodies of the districts but that is not yet finalized and approved by the governing bodies of each component independent special district pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Prosecuting agency: means the Attorney General or an assistant attorney general, the statewide prosecutor or an assistant statewide prosecutor, a state attorney or an assistant state attorney, a city or county attorney, a special prosecutor, or any other person or entity charged with the prosecution of a criminal case. See Florida Statutes 112.531
• Prospective parent: means a person who claims to be, or has been identified as, a person who may be a mother or a father of a child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Protective investigation: means the acceptance of a report alleging child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as defined in this chapter, by the central abuse hotline or the acceptance of a report of other dependency by the department; the investigation of each report; the determination of whether action by the court is warranted; the determination of the disposition of each report without court or public agency action when appropriate; and the referral of a child to another public or private agency when appropriate. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Protective investigator: means an authorized agent of the department who receives and investigates reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect; who, as a result of the investigation, may recommend that a dependency petition be filed for the child; and who performs other duties necessary to carry out the required actions of the protective investigation function. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Protective supervision: means a legal status in dependency cases which permits the child to remain safely in his or her own home or other nonlicensed placement under the supervision of an agent of the department and which must be reviewed by the court during the period of supervision. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• provider: means a public agency, a private for-profit or not-for-profit agency, a person who is a private practitioner, or a hospital licensed under this chapter or exempt from licensure under this chapter. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• provider: means a private sector company that is selected and approved by the state board to offer one or more investment products or services to the investment plan. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Public facilities: means major capital improvements, including, but not limited to, transportation facilities, sanitary sewer facilities, solid waste facilities, water management and control facilities, potable water facilities, alternative water systems, educational facilities, parks and recreational facilities, health systems and facilities, and, except for spoil disposal by those ports listed in…. See Florida Statutes 189.012
• Public highways: means and includes every way or place, of whatever nature generally open to the use of the public as a matter of right, for the purpose of vehicular travel, notwithstanding that the same have been temporarily closed for the purpose of construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or repair. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• 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 office: means a state, county, municipal, or school or other district office or position that is filled by vote of the electors. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Public transportation: means transportation of passengers by means, without limitation, of a street railway, elevated railway or guideway, subway, motor vehicle, motor bus, or any bus or other means of conveyance operating as a common carrier within the regional transportation area, including charter service therein. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• Public transportation system: means , without limitation, a combination of real and personal property, structures, improvements, buildings, equipment, plants, vehicle parking or other facilities, and rights-of-way, or any combination thereof, used or useful for the purposes of public transportation. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• Public utility: includes any public or private utility, such as, but not limited to, storm drainage, sanitary sewers, electric power, water service, gas service, or telephone line, whether underground or overhead. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• publication: includes the posting of the notice of action as provided for in ss. See Florida Statutes 49.031
• Purchasing agent: means a public officer or employee having the authority to commit the expenditure of public funds through a contract for, or the purchase of, any goods, services, or interest in real property for an agency, as opposed to the authority to request or requisition a contract or purchase by another person. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Qualified elector: means an individual at least 18 years of age who is a citizen of the United States, a permanent resident of this state, and a resident of the district who registers with the supervisor of elections of a county within which the district lands are located when the registration books are open. See Florida Statutes 189.07
• qualified indigent patient: means a person who has been determined pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Qualified professional: means a physician or a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a psychiatrist licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a psychologist as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Qualified professional: means a physician or a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a professional licensed under chapter 490 or chapter 491; an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464; or a person who is certified through a department-recognized certification process for substance abuse treatment services and who holds, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Qualified Public Educational Facility: means a facility described in…. See Florida Statutes 159.833
• Qualified school construction bond: means a bond described in…. See Florida Statutes 159.843
• Qualified school construction facility: means a facility permitted to be financed with qualified school construction bonds pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.843
• Qualifying housing development: means any work or improvement located or to be located in this state, including real property, buildings, and any other real and personal property, designed or intended for the primary purpose of providing decent, safe, and sanitary residential housing for four or more families, at least 60 percent of whom are eligible persons, whether new construction, the acquisition of existing residential housing, or the remodeling, improvement, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of existing housing, together with such related nonhousing facilities as the authority determines to be necessary, convenient, or desirable. See Florida Statutes 159.603
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Real property: means land or any existing permanent or temporary building or structure thereon, and any attachments generally held out for the use of persons in possession of the real property. See Florida Statutes 82.01
• Real property: includes all lands, including buildings, structures, improvements, and fixtures thereon; any property of any nature appurtenant thereto or used in connection therewith; and every estate, interest, and right, legal or equitable, therein, including any such interest for a term of years. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• Reassignment: means moving an employee from a position in one broadband level to a different position in the same broadband level or to a different broadband level having the same maximum salary. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Reclassification: means the changing of an established position in one broadband level in an occupational group to a higher or lower broadband level in the same occupational group or to a broadband level in a different occupational group. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form, including public records as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Record titleholder: means a person who holds title to real property as evidenced by an instrument recorded in the public records of the county in which the real property is located. See Florida Statutes 82.01
• 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}
• Recovery: means a process of personal change through which individuals achieve abstinence from alcohol or drug use and improve health, wellness, and quality of life. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Redevelopment bonds: means bonds issued pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Refinery: means those industrial plants, regardless of capacity, that process crude oil feed stock and manufacture refined petroleum products, except when such plant is a petrochemical plant. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Regional referral hospital: means any hospital that is eligible to receive reimbursement under the provision of this part because it has met its charity care obligation and it meets the definition of teaching hospital as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 154.304
• Regional transportation area: means that area the boundaries of which are identical to the boundaries of the political subdivisions or other legal entities which constitute the authority. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• registered mail: includes certified mail with return receipt requested. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Regularly established position: means :
  (a) With respect to a state employer, a position that is authorized and established pursuant to law and is compensated from a salaries and benefits appropriation pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Relative: means an individual related by consanguinity within the third degree as determined by the common law, a spouse, or an individual related to a spouse within the third degree as determined by the common law, and includes an individual in an adoptive relationship within the third degree. See Florida Statutes 56.0101
• Relative: means a person related by blood to the person being adopted within the third degree of consanguinity. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Relative: means a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, first cousin, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, niece, or nephew, whether related by the whole or half blood, by affinity, or by adoption. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Remote presentation: means transmission of an image of a government-issued identification credential that is of sufficient quality to enable the online notary public to identify the individual seeking the notary's services and to perform credential analysis through audio-video communication technology. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• representation: means actual physical attendance on behalf of a client in an agency proceeding, the writing of letters or filing of documents on behalf of a client, and personal communications made with the officers or employees of any agency on behalf of a client. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Requesting resolution: means the resolution adopted by a municipality seeking to participate in the negotiation of an interlocal service boundary agreement. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Reseller: means any person who purchases in the state tax-paid fuel from a terminal supplier or wholesaler and who is authorized by the terminal supplier or wholesaler to resell such fuel to retail dealers or end users only. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Responding resolution: means the resolution adopted by the county or an invited municipality which responds to the initiating resolution and which may identify an additional unincorporated area or another issue for discussion, or both, and may designate an additional invited municipality or independent special district. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Retail dealer: means any person who is engaged in the business of selling fuel at retail at posted retail prices. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Retiree: means a former member of the Florida Retirement System or an existing system who has terminated employment and is receiving benefit payments from the system in which he or she was a member. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Retiree: means a former member of the investment plan who has terminated employment and taken a distribution of vested employee or employer contributions as provided in…. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• Reunification services: means social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the parent of the child, to the child, and, where appropriate, to the relative placement, nonrelative placement, or foster parents of the child, for the purpose of enabling a child who has been placed in out-of-home care to safely return to his or her parent at the earliest possible time. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• revenue bonds: means revenue bonds of the authority issued under the provisions of this part, including revenue refunding bonds, notwithstanding that the same may be secured by mortgage or the full faith and credit of a health facility. See Florida Statutes 154.205
• revenue bonds: shall mean the obligations issued by a unit under the provisions of this part to pay the cost of a self-liquidating project or improvements thereof or combination of one or more projects or improvements thereof, and payable from the earnings of such project, and any other special funds authorized to be pledged as additional security therefor under this part. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Right of rescission: Right to cancel, within three business days, a contract that uses the home of a person as collateral, except in the case of a first mortgage loan. There is no fee to the borrower, who receives a full refund of all fees paid. The right of rescission is guaranteed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). ^{Source: OCC}
• Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
• Right-of-way: means land dedicated, deeded, used, or to be used for a street, alley, walkway, boulevard, drainage facility, access for ingress and egress, or other purpose by the public, certain designated individuals, or governing bodies. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• RON service provider: means a person that provides audio-video communication technology and related processes, services, software, data storage, or other services to online notaries public for the purpose of directly facilitating their performance of online notarizations, in compliance with the requirements of this chapter and any rules adopted by the Department of State pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Safety plan: means a plan created to control present or impending danger using the least intrusive means appropriate to protect a child when a parent, caregiver, or legal custodian is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to do so. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Management Services. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. See Florida Statutes 161.71
• 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.
• sewage: shall include any substance that contains any of the waste products, excrement or other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals as well as such other wastes as normally emanate from dwelling houses. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• sewage disposal system: shall mean and shall include any plant, system, facility, or property used or useful or having the present capacity for future use in connection with the collection, treatment, purification, or disposal of sewage, or reuse of wastewater, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing definition shall embrace treatment plants, pumping stations, intercepting sewers, pressure lines, mains, and all necessary appurtenances and equipment and shall include all property, rights, easements, and franchises relating to any such system and deemed necessary or convenient for the operation thereof. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• sewer improvements: shall include all sanitary sewers within the county other than such mains and lines as constitute a part of a sewage disposal system, and shall embrace sewer mains and laterals for the reception of sewage from premises connected therewith and for carrying such sewage to some part of the sewage disposal system or for the distribution of reclaimed sewage for reuse. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• sewer revenue bonds: shall mean special obligations of the county which are payable solely from sewer service charges and which in no way pledge the property, credit, or general tax revenue of the county. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• sewer system: shall mean and include sewage disposal systems, including wastewater reuse systems, or sanitary sewer systems and any integral part thereof, whether inside or outside the unit, and shall include but shall not be limited to sewage disposal plants or facilities, sanitary sewers, pumping stations, intercepting or trunk or lateral sewers, and any other properties or works or equipment necessary for the collection, treatment, and disposal of sewage and waste matter, including wastewater reuse, and including industrial wastes. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Shared employment: means part-time career employment in which the duties and responsibilities of a full-time position in the career service are divided among part-time employees who are eligible for the position and who receive career service benefits and wages pro rata. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Shelter: means a placement with a relative or a nonrelative, or in a licensed home or facility, for the temporary care of a child who is alleged to be or who has been found to be dependent, pending court disposition before or after adjudication. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Shelter hearing: means a hearing in which the court determines whether probable cause exists to keep a child in shelter status pending further investigation of the case. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Sibling: means :
  (a) A child who shares a birth parent or legal parent with one or more other children; or
  (b) A child who has lived together in a family with one or more other children whom he or she identifies as siblings. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Signature: means the name or mark of a person as written by that person. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Single-family affordable housing bonds: means qualified mortgage revenue bonds issued pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Small issue bonds: means bonds issued pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Social security coverage: means old-age, survivors, disability, and health insurance, as provided by the federal Social Security Act. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Social service agency: means the department, a licensed child-caring agency, or a licensed child-placing agency. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Social worker: means any person who has a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in social work. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Source: means the name, address, and description of the principal business activity of a person or business entity. See Florida Statutes 112.312
• Special district: means an independent special district as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Special district: means a unit of local government created for a special purpose, as opposed to a general purpose, which has jurisdiction to operate within a limited geographic boundary and is created by general law, special act, local ordinance, or by rule of the Governor and Cabinet. See Florida Statutes 189.012
• Special Risk Class member: means a member of the Florida Retirement System who meets the eligibility and criteria required under…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Stabilization: means :
  (a) Alleviation of a crisis condition; or
  (b) Prevention of further deterioration,

  and connotes short-term emergency treatment. See Florida Statutes 397.311

• State agency: means the Department of Management Services within the provisions and contemplation of chapter 650. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• State board: means the State Board of Administration. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• State plane coordinates: means the system of plane coordinates which has been established by the National Ocean Service for defining and stating the positions or locations of points on the surface of the earth within the state and shall hereinafter be known and designated as the "Florida State Plane Coordinate System. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• state retirement actuary: means a fellow of the Society of Actuaries or a member of the American Academy of Actuaries or an organization of which one or more members is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries or a member of the American Academy of Actuaries or both. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• State volume limitation: means the maximum amount of private activity bonds which may be issued in this state during each calendar year as such limit is imposed by…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Street: includes any access way such as a street, road, lane, highway, avenue, boulevard, alley, parkway, viaduct, circle, court, terrace, place, or cul-de-sac, and also includes all of the land lying between the right-of-way lines as delineated on a plat showing such streets, whether improved or unimproved, but shall not include those access ways such as easements and rights-of-way intended solely for limited utility purposes, such as for electric power lines, gas lines, telephone lines, water lines, drainage and sanitary sewers, and easements of ingress and egress. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Student loan bonds: means bonds issued pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Subdivision: means the division of land into three or more lots, parcels, tracts, tiers, blocks, sites, units, or any other division of land; and includes establishment of new streets and alleys, additions, and resubdivisions; and, when appropriate to the context, relates to the process of subdividing or to the lands or area subdivided. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Substance abuse: means using, without medical reason, any psychoactive or mood-altering drug, including alcohol, in such a manner as to induce impairment resulting in dysfunctional social behavior. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Substance abuse: means the misuse or abuse of, or dependence on alcohol, illicit drugs, or prescription medications. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• substance abuse impaired: means having a substance use disorder or a condition involving the use of alcoholic beverages, illicit or prescription drugs, or any psychoactive or mood-altering substance in such a manner as to induce mental, emotional, or physical problems or cause socially dysfunctional behavior. See Florida Statutes 397.311
• Substantial compliance: means that the circumstances which caused the creation of the case plan have been significantly remedied to the extent that the well-being and safety of the child will not be endangered upon the child's remaining with or being returned to the child's parent. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Survey data: means all information shown on the face of a plat that would delineate the physical boundaries of the subdivision and any parts thereof. See Florida Statutes 177.031
• Suspension: means a disciplinary action taken by an agency pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• system: means the general retirement system established by this chapter, including, but not limited to, the defined benefit program administered under this part, referred to as the "Florida Retirement System Pension Plan" or "pension plan" and the defined contribution program administered under part II of this chapter, referred to as the "Florida Retirement System Investment Plan" or "investment plan. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• System Trust Fund: means the trust fund established in the State Treasury by this chapter for the purpose of holding and investing the contributions paid by members and employers and paying the benefits to which members or their beneficiaries may become entitled. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Taken into custody: means the status of a child immediately when temporary physical control over the child is attained by a person authorized by law, pending the child's release or placement. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• TEFRA approval: means the approval of a proposed issuance of bonds by an elected official or body of elected officials of the applicable governmental unit after a public hearing or by a referendum of the voters within such governmental unit, as required by…. See Florida Statutes 159.803
• Temporary legal custody: means the relationship that a court creates between a child and an adult relative of the child, legal custodian, agency, or other person approved by the court until a more permanent arrangement is ordered. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Temporary position: means :
  (a) With respect to a state employer, a position that is compensated from an other personal services (OPS) account as provided in…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• Terminal: is a storage and distribution facility for taxable motor or diesel fuel, supplied by pipeline or marine vessel, that has the capacity to receive and store a bulk transfer of taxable motor or diesel fuel, including a loading rack through which petroleum products are physically removed into tanker trucks or rail cars, and that is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a terminal. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Terminal operator: means any person that owns, operates, or otherwise controls a terminal. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Terminal supplier: means any position holder that has been licensed by the department as a terminal supplier, that has met the requirements of ss. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• To place: means the process whereby a parent or legal guardian surrenders a child for adoption and the prospective adoptive parents receive and adopt the child, and includes all actions by any person or adoption entity participating in the process. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• 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.
• Transfer: means moving an employee from one geographic location of the state to a different geographic location more than 50 miles from the employee's current work location. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• transportation facilities: means the property or property rights, both real and personal, of a type used for the establishment of public transportation systems which have heretofore been, or may hereafter be, established by public bodies for the transportation of people and property from place to place. See Florida Statutes 163.566
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trial jury: A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute. Federal criminal juries consist of 12 persons. Federal civil juries consist of six persons.
• 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.
• Trustees: means the Board of Trustees of the State Board of Administration. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• tunnel: shall include not only the bridge or the tunnel but also all structures and equipment connected therewith and the approaches thereto and approach roads. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Unincorporated service area: means one or more of the following as designated in an interlocal service boundary agreement:
  (a) An unincorporated area that has been identified in an interlocal service boundary agreement and that may not be annexed without the consent of the county. See Florida Statutes 171.202
• Unit: means any department, division, or subdivision of a city or any classification of city employees approved for social security coverage, as such, by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, not based on age, sex, or other classification resulting in higher than average costs for retirement benefits. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• unit: shall mean any county or municipality in the state, now or hereafter created or established. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• Unlawful detention: means possessing real property, even if the possession is temporary or applies only to a portion of the real property, without the consent of a person entitled to possession of the real property or after the withdrawal of consent by such person. See Florida Statutes 82.01
• Unlawful entry: means the entry into and possessing of real property, even if the possession is temporary or for a portion of the real property, when such entry is not authorized by law or consented to by a person entitled to possession of the real property. See Florida Statutes 82.01
• Unmarried biological father: means the child's biological father who is not married to the child's mother at the time of conception or on the date of the birth of the child and who, before the filing of a petition to terminate parental rights, has not been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be the legal father of the child or has not filed an affidavit pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 63.032
• Unopposed candidate: means a candidate for nomination or election to an office who, after the last day on which a person, including a write-in candidate, may qualify, is without opposition in the election at which the office is to be filled or who is without such opposition after such date as a result of a primary election or of withdrawal by other candidates seeking the same office. See Florida Statutes 106.011
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Urban in character: means an area used intensively for residential, urban recreational or conservation parklands, commercial, industrial, institutional, or governmental purposes or an area undergoing development for any of these purposes. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• Urban purposes: means that land is used intensively for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, and governmental purposes, including any parcels of land retained in their natural state or kept free of development as dedicated greenbelt areas. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• Urban services: means any services offered by a municipality, either directly or by contract, to any of its present residents. See Florida Statutes 171.031
• Use: means the placing of motor or diesel fuel into any receptacle on a motor vehicle from which fuel is supplied for the propulsion thereof. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• 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.
• utilities services taxes: shall mean taxes levied and collected on the purchase or sale of utilities services pursuant to any law. See Florida Statutes 159.02
• 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.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• vesting: means the guarantee that a member is eligible to receive a future retirement benefit upon completion of the required years of creditable service for the employee's class of membership, even though the member may have terminated covered employment before reaching normal or early retirement date. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• vesting: means the guarantee that a member is eligible to receive a retirement benefit upon completion of the required years of service under the investment plan. See Florida Statutes 121.4501
• veteran: means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under honorable conditions only or who later received an upgraded discharge under honorable conditions, notwithstanding any action by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on individuals discharged or released with other than honorable discharges. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
• Victim: means any child who has sustained or is threatened with physical, mental, or emotional injury identified in a report involving child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, or child-on-child sexual abuse. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Victim advocate: work with prosecutors and assist the victims of a crime.
• Visitor: means a person who:
  (a) Provides care or supervision to a child in the home; or
  (b) Is 12 years of age or older, other than a child in care, and who will be in the child's home at least:

  1. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Voir dire: The process by which judges and lawyers select a petit jury from among those eligible to serve, by questioning them to determine knowledge of the facts of the case and a willingness to decide the case only on the evidence presented in court. "Voir dire" is a phrase meaning "to speak the truth."
• Volunteer services: means services provided in accordance with…. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• water revenue bonds: shall mean special obligations of the county which are payable solely from water service charges and which shall in no way pledge the property, credit, or general tax revenue of the county. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• water system: shall mean and shall include any plant, wells, pipes, tanks, reservoirs, system, facility, or property used or useful or having the present capacity for future use in connection with the obtaining and supplying water and alternative water supplies, including, but not limited to, reclaimed water and water from aquifer storage and recovery and desalination systems, for human consumption, fire protection, irrigation, consumption by business, or consumption by industry, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing definition shall embrace all necessary appurtenances and equipment and shall include all property, rights, easements and franchises relating to any such system and deemed necessary or convenient for the operation thereof. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• water system improvements: shall include all water pipes or lines, valves, meters, and other water-supplying equipment within the county other than such equipment as constitute a part of the water supply system and shall embrace water mains and laterals for the carrying of water to the premises connected therewith and for carrying such water from some part of the water supply system. See Florida Statutes 153.02
• Wholesaler: means any person who holds a valid wholesaler of taxable fuel license issued by the department. See Florida Statutes 206.01
• willful: refers to the intent to perform an action, not to the intent to achieve a result or to cause an injury. See Florida Statutes 39.01
• Witness: when used as a noun, means an individual whose electronic signature is affixed to an electronic record to attest or subscribe to a principal's signature on such record. See Florida Statutes 117.201
• Work year: means the period of time an employee is required to work during the plan year to receive a full year of retirement credit, as provided by rule. See Florida Statutes 121.021
• wrecker operator: means any person or firm regularly engaged for hire in the business of towing or removing motor vehicles. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01