Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 3 > Chapter 4-A > Part I - General Provisions

• Affiliate: as used in this Chapter , means a specific person who is directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controlled by, or controls, or is under common control with the person specified. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Agency: means any state office, department, board, commission, institution, division, officer or other person, or functional group, heretofore existing or hereafter created, that is authorized to exercise, or that does exercise, any functions of the government of the state in the executive branch, but not any governing body or officer of any local government or subdivision of the state, or any parochial officer who exercises functions coterminous with the municipality in which he performs those functions. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• 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
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Applicant: means any local governing authority requesting a loan from or completing an application form to apply for a loan under the Rural Development Loan Program. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• Commission: means the Louisiana Cybersecurity Commission. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:15.12
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of administration. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:16.1
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of financial institutions. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• 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
• Credit card: means any card, plate, coupon book, or other single credit device that may be used from time to time to obtain credit. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• 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

• creditor: as used in this Chapter includes a seller in a consumer credit sale, revolving charge account, or transaction made with the use of a seller credit card or otherwise, or a lender in a consumer loan, a revolving loan account, or a lender credit card transaction. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Critical infrastructure sectors: includes the following sectors which the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the federal Department of Homeland Security has identified as critical:

              (a) Chemical. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:15.12

• Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:1
• Director: means the chief administrative officer of the state office of rural development. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• Down payment: means an amount, including the value of any property used as a trade-in, paid to a seller to reduce the cash price of goods or services purchased under a consumer credit sale. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Expenses: means amounts represented by cash paid out or by obligations to pay cash or partly by each for maintaining and operating government services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Federal agency: means any department, office, council, or agency of the federal government, or any public benefit corporation or authority authorized by federal statute. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• 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}
• 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).
• 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}
• Functions: means duties, jurisdiction, powers, rights, and obligations, conferred or imposed upon, or vested in, any agency by law, or exercised, performed, or discharged by any agency without contravention of any provision of law. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Fund: means an independent fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash or other resources together with all related liabilities, obligations, reserves, and equities which are segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in accordance with regulations, restrictions, and limitations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Home protection plan: means a contract between the homeowner and a warranty or service company wherein the company is obligated to pay or reimburse the cost to repair or replace the covered built-in appliances or major mechanical systems of the consumer's home in the event of a breakdown. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• lender credit card: includes a travel and entertainment credit card account that is not subject to loan finance charges or credit service charges. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Licensed lender: means a person licensed by the commissioner to make consumer loans pursuant to this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:3516
• Markup: The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation.
• 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.
• Municipality: means any incorporated city, town, or village. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• Office: means the state office of rural development created by this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• 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
• Political subdivision: means a parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district, authorized by law to perform governmental functions. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• Probate: Proving a will
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Regional planning commission districts: means the eight regional planning commissions created pursuant to Subparts C and F of Part IV of Chapter 1 of Title 33 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• 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}
• Rural areas: means parishes within the state having less than one hundred thousand population, or municipalities within the state having less than thirty-five thousand population, and the unincorporated areas of a parish with a population of over one hundred thousand. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• Rural development and revitalization: means those policies, programs, laws, regulations, or other matters having to do with rural areas, including but not limited to economic development, employment, local government services and management, business, agriculture, environment, land use and natural resources, human services and community life, health care, education, transportation, community facilities, housing, broadband connectivity, water quality, and sewer treatment. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:313
• Strategy: means the method used to accomplish the objectives of an agency. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on ^{Source: OCC}
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}