Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 13 > Chapter 32 > Part XIX - Preservation of Religious Freedom Act

• 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.
• 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
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• 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}
• Burden: means that the government, directly or indirectly, does any of the following:

  (a)  Constrains or inhibits conduct or expression mandated by a person's sincerely held religious tenet or belief. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5234

• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Demonstrates: means meeting the burdens of going forward with evidence and persuasion. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5234
• Department: shall mean the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:1270.2
• Department: means the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:1271.2
• Distressed neighborhood business district: shall mean a defined geographic area which includes buildings and structures which have housed businesses or other commercial activities and also includes adjacent residential areas  and which defined geographic area has pervasive poverty and unemployment, a high incidence of crime, narcotics use, homelessness, abandoned housing and deteriorated infrastructure, substantial population decline, or other similar indicators of general distress. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:1270.2
• Eligible entity: shall mean a nonprofit organization designated by a municipality to receive grants pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter and which has been designated as exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:1270.2
• 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.
• Established residential neighborhood: means a defined geographic area which has consisted of buildings and structures for housing individuals and families which has existed as a residential neighborhood since before 1971. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:1271.2
• 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.
• Exercise of religion: means the practice or observance of religion under Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution of Louisiana and the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and includes the ability to act or refuse to act in a manner substantially motivated by a sincerely-held religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or a central part or central requirement of the person's religious belief. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5234
• 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.
• governmental agency: means any of the following:

  (a)  Any board, commission, court, department, agency, special district, authority, or other entity of the state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5234

• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• 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.
• person: includes an individual and also includes a church, association of churches or other religious order, body or institution which qualifies for exemption from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) or (d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public law 99-514, Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5234
• person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
• Program: means the Magnolia Street Residential Neighborhood Enhancement Program as established by this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:1271.2
• Program: shall mean the Neighborhood Enhancement Program as established in this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 25:1270.2
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.