Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 25B - State Mandates &Mdash; Funding Requirements

• 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
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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}
• 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.
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Political subdivision: means a city, county, township, or school district. See Iowa Code 25B.3
• property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
• State agency: means a board, department, commission or authority of or acting on behalf of the state having the power to enter into contracts with or without the approval of the executive council to acquire property in its own name or in the name of the state. See Iowa Code 7D.34
• State mandate: means a statutory requirement or appropriation which requires a political subdivision of the state to establish, expand, or modify its activities in a manner which necessitates additional combined annual expenditures of local revenue by all affected political subdivisions of at least one hundred thousand dollars, or additional combined expenditures of local revenue by all affected political subdivisions within five years of enactment of five hundred thousand dollars or more, excluding an order issued by a court of this state. See Iowa Code 25B.3