Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 288 > Part I - General Provisions

• Ad valorem tax roll: means the roll prepared by the property appraiser and certified to the tax collector for collection. See Florida Statutes 197.102
• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Awarded: means the time when the tax collector or a designee determines and announces verbally or through the closing of the bid process in a live or an electronic auction that a buyer has placed the winning bid on a tax certificate at a tax certificate sale. See Florida Statutes 197.102
• 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.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the Department of Commerce. See Florida Statutes 288.005
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Direct: means the index in straight and continuous alphabetic order by grantor, and "inverse" means the index in straight and continuous alphabetic order by grantee. See Florida Statutes 197.502
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Economic benefits: means the direct, indirect, and induced gains in state revenues as a percentage of the state's investment. See Florida Statutes 288.005
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• 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.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• 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}
• 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}
• Jobs: means full-time equivalent positions, including, but not limited to, positions obtained from a temporary employment agency or employee leasing company or through a union agreement or coemployment under a professional employer organization agreement, which result directly from a project in this state. See Florida Statutes 288.005
• 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.
• 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}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Loan administrator: means an entity statutorily eligible to receive state funds and authorized by the department to make loans under a loan program. See Florida Statutes 288.005
• Loan program: means a program established in this chapter to provide appropriated funds to an eligible entity to further a specific state purpose for a limited period of time and with a requirement that such appropriated funds be repaid to the state. See Florida Statutes 288.005
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Non-ad valorem assessment roll: means a roll prepared by a local government and certified to the tax collector for collection. See Florida Statutes 197.102
• 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.
• 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
• Omitted taxes: means those taxes which have not been extended on the tax roll against a parcel of property after the property has been placed upon the list of lands available for taxes pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 197.102
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: includes 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.
• 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
• 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.
• Proxy bidding: means a method of bidding by which a bidder authorizes an agent, whether an individual or an electronic agent, to place bids on his or her behalf. See Florida Statutes 197.102
• 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.
• 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.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Target industry business: means a corporate headquarters business or any business that is engaged in one of the target industries identified pursuant to the following criteria developed by the Department of Commerce:
  (a) Future growth. See Florida Statutes 288.005
• Tax certificate: means a paper or electronic legal document, representing unpaid delinquent real property taxes, non-ad valorem assessments, including special assessments, interest, and related costs and charges, issued in accordance with this chapter against a specific parcel of real property and becoming a first lien thereon, superior to all other liens, except as provided by…. See Florida Statutes 197.102
• Tax notice: means the paper or electronic tax bill sent to taxpayers for payment of any taxes or special assessments collected pursuant to this chapter, or the bill sent to taxpayers for payment of the total of ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments collected pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 197.102
• taxpayer: includes the taxpayer's family or any entity in which the taxpayer or taxpayer's family has any interest. See Florida Statutes 197.502
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tourism marketing: means any effort exercised to attract domestic and international visitors from outside the state to destinations in this state and to stimulate Florida resident tourism to areas within the state. See Florida Statutes 288.005
• Tourist: means any person who participates in trade or recreation activities outside the county of his or her permanent residence or who rents or leases transient living quarters or accommodations as described in…. See Florida Statutes 288.005
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• 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