Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 33 > Chapter 31 - Communications Districts

• Advertisement: means any promotion of 900, 976, or any other pay-per-call service by means of any radio, television, video or print media, telemarketing, or any other communication promoting a 900 or 976 number, service, or program to consumers. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1730
• 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.
• Amount financed: means the amount borrowed under a consumer loan, revolving loan or lender credit card account, plus any other charges, fees, and closing costs authorized by law, that are financed by the creditor under the transaction, or included in or added to the balance of the consumer's indebtedness subject to loan finance charges. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• ANSI: means the American National Standards Institute. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• 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.
• ASCE: means the American Society of Civil Engineers. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• ASME: means the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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.
• Board: means the Louisiana Life Safety and Property Protection Education Board. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Carrier: means any company that provides telecommunications transmission services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1730
• Certify: means to attest to the proper functionality, inspection, installation, integration, programming, and service of life safety and property protection systems and equipment in accordance with all applicable engineered specifications, manufacturer specifications, and submitted plans and per the inspection, testing and maintenance chapters as set forth in the applicable NFPA, ASME, ANSI, and ASCE codes, standards, and manufacturer specifications. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• 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.
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of financial institutions. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Consumer: means a telephone user or end-user who calls or may call a 900, 976, or any other pay-per-call service. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1730
• Consumer: means a natural person who purchases goods, services, or movable or immovable property or rights therein, for a personal, family, or household purpose and includes a purchaser or buyer in a consumer credit sale or transaction made with the use of a seller credit card or otherwise, or a borrower or debtor in a consumer loan, revolving loan account, or a lender credit card. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Consumer credit transaction: means a consumer loan or a consumer credit sale but does not include a motor vehicle credit transaction made pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Consumer loan: means a loan of money or its equivalent made by a supervised financial organization, a licensed lender, or lender in which the debtor is a consumer, and the loan is entered into primarily for personal, family, or household purposes and includes debts created by the use of a lender credit card, revolving loan account, or similar arrangement, as well as insurance premium  financing. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• conveyance device: means any of the following, except those located in one- or two-family dwellings as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Conveyance device mechanic: means any person engaged in the erecting, constructing, installing, altering, servicing, dismantling, maintaining, or testing of a conveyance device. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Credit service charge: means the sum of the following:

  (i)  All charges payable directly or indirectly by the consumer and imposed directly or indirectly by the seller as an incident to the extension of credit, including any of the following types of charges that are applicable: time price differential; service; carrying or other charge, however denominated; premium or other charge for any guarantee or insurance protecting the seller against the consumer's default or other credit loss; and

  (ii)  Charges paid by the consumer for investigating the collateral or credit worthiness of the consumer or for commissions or brokerage for obtaining the credit, irrespective of the person to whom the charges are paid or payable, unless the seller had no notice of the charges when the credit was granted. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• 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.
• department: means the Department of Energy and Natural Resources of the state of Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1602
• Department: means the Department of Justice. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1730
• Department: means the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:2102
• Department of Energy: means the Department of Energy of the United States. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1602
• Direct supervision: means oversight of a firm's operations by a qualifier or onsite supervision by a licensed technician or specialist of an apprentice or consultant. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• 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:
• District: means the Jefferson Parish Communication District as created by  Act No. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:9125
• door hardware: means stand alone electro/mechanical locks, latches, exit hardware, closures, and hinges mounted onto doors intended to operate and secure the door properly. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• DOT: means the United States Department of Transportation. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Employee: means a person who performs services for wages or salary and receives a W-2 tax form from his employer. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Enrolled bill: The final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed both chambers in identical form. It is printed on parchment paper, signed by appropriate officials, and submitted to the President/Governor for signature.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Exchange access facilities: means all lines, or their equivalent wireless service, provided for by the service supplier for the provision of local exchange service. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:9125
• 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.
• False alarm: means a security alarm signal eliciting a response by police when a situation requiring such a response does not exist, including but not limited to the activation or transmission of any alarm signal caused by human error, mechanical or electronic malfunction, negligence of the alarm system user or user's agent or employee, whether or not the exact cause of the alarm activation is determined, or any other activation or transmission of any alarm signal where no actual police emergency exists. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. ^{Source: OCC}
• Firm: means a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or any other entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Firm license: means that document authorizing a firm to perform life safety and property protection contracting for those endorsements held. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• 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).
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fund the district: means pay the expenses necessary to carry out all purposes of the district, including but not limited to identification of all streets, roads, highways, and dwelling places in the district and to provide for other communication enhancements for public safety agencies to decrease response time and improve effectiveness. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:9125
• Hospital: means any institution, place, building, or agency, public or private, whether for profit or not, with facilities for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of persons who are suffering from illness, injury, infirmity, or deformity or other physical condition for which obstetrical, medical, or surgical services would be available and appropriate and which operates or is affiliated with facilities for the overnight care, observation, or recovery of those persons. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:2102
• Individual license: means that document authorizing an individual to perform life safety and property protection contracting for those endorsements held. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Inspect: means a visual examination of life safety and property protection systems or equipment to verify that it appears to be in operating condition and is free of physical damage. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Install: means the initial placement of life safety and property protection systems or equipment or an extension of such after initial placement. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Integrate: means the act of utilizing accepted and approved life safety and property protection systems or equipment and components in accordance with manufacturers' direction to develop a unified and functioning system meeting applicable NFPA codes and standards. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Licensed lender: means a person licensed by the commissioner to make consumer loans pursuant to this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Life safety and property protection contracting: means performing certification, inspection, installation, integration, programming, sale, or service of systems and equipment designed to protect life and property. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• NFPA: means the National Fire Protection Association. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• 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.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Officer: means the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, comptroller, or any other person who performs functions for a life safety and property protection contracting firm corresponding to those performed by those officers. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Operating location: means a physical address that houses an entity that performs life safety and property protection contracting. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• 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.
• Pay-per-call service: means any passive, interactive, polling, or other similar audiotext service that is accessed through a seven or ten digit telephone number that is provided for a charge to a caller through an exclusive telephone number prefix or service access code. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1730
• Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental subdivision, or public or private organization of any character. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1602
• Person: as used in this Chapter means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, association, joint venture pool, syndicate, sole proprietorship, unincorporated organization, or any other form of entity not specifically listed herein. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Person: means the state, and any political subdivision or municipal corporation thereof, an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association or joint stock association, or the legal successor thereof. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:2102
• Person: means a natural person or individual. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• 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.
• 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.
• Principal: means the amount financed or amount deferred under a consumer credit transaction. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Principal: includes a person or entity entitled to exercise the prerogatives or indicia of ownership or control of a property protection firm whether by direct action, assignment, or any other kind of substitution or subrogation. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Project costs: means all costs necessary for the planning, development, acquisition, construction, extension, or improvement of a revenue bond project, including site acquisition and preparation and installation of utilities, architectural, engineering, supervising, accounting, inspection, legal, and financing fees and costs, preparation of feasibility studies and reports, interest on revenue bonds and notes during construction and for a reasonable period thereafter, establishment of reserves to secure the bonds and notes, and all other expenditures incidental and necessary or convenient therefor. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1602
• Property protection systems and equipment: means those life safety and property protection systems intended to protect lives and property from the risk of theft, unauthorized entry, or other physical harm to a structure's occupants or property. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• 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 safety agency: means law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, and emergency preparedness services as designated by the parish of Jefferson. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:9125
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• 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.
• Revenue Bond Projects: means any one or more of the facilities authorized to be financed by the issuance of revenue bonds pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1602
• Revenue bonds: means any bonds or notes issued pursuant to this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1602
• Revenues: include fees, proceeds, moneys, receipts, and income derived for the account of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources in connection with any revenue bond project or arising from the project. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1602
• secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources of the state of Louisiana or such persons as the secretary may authorize to act for him as provided in Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1602
• Secretary: means the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:2102
• Sell: means to solicit another on behalf of a property protection firm by any means, including but not limited to telephone or electronic device, public notice or advertisement, door-to-door or any other type of personal interaction. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Service: means to repair or maintain. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Service supplier: means any person providing any of the following:

  (a)  A landline exchange telephone service. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:9125

• Specialty endorsement: means a narrow category of license authorizing its holder to perform only one aspect of life safety and property protection contracting. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Sponsor: means an individual, corporation, association, partnership, or other entity that sells a pay-per-call service on whose behalf charges are billed, but shall not include a public utility regulated by the state or the Federal Communications Commission or an interexchange carrier which provides transport or billing, or both, and collection services for a pay-per-call service, unless the public utility or interexchange carrier actually produces or promotes the pay-per-call service. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1730
• State fire marshal: means the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state fire marshal, code enforcement and building safety, and its authorized representatives empowered to enforce the provisions of this Subpart. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subscriber: means any person or entity in whose name a telephone account is billed. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1730
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Tariff rate: means the rate or rates billed by a service supplier as stated in the landline exchange telephone service supplier's tariffs and approved by the Public Service Commission, which represent the service supplier's recurring charges for landline exchange access facilities, exclusive of all taxes, fees, licenses, or similar charges whatsoever. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:9125
• Technical endorsement: means a broad category of license authorizing its holder to perform multiple aspects of life safety and property protection contracting within a certain endorsement. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Technician: means an individual who is trained and certified to perform life safety and property protection contracting within a technical endorsement. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1664.3
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Testing: means calibration testing, conformance testing, or fixed system testing. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1615
• 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.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.