Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes > Chapter 10A - Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure

• abode: means domicile;

  (2) "action" means any proceeding in any court of this state;

  (3) "adult" means an individual 18 years of age or over;

  (4) "as now provided by law" means a reference to the laws in force at the time the law containing the phrase was finally enacted;

  (5) "as provided by law" means a reference to the laws in force at the particular time the law containing the phrase is applied;

  (6) "attorney at law" means an individual admitted to practice law by a court of record of this state;

  (7) "attorney of record" means an attorney at law who is entered on the docket or record of a court as appearing for or representing a party in a legal proceeding;

  (8) "child" or "children" includes children by birth or adoption;

  (9) "day" comprises the time from midnight to the next midnight;

  (10) "fiscal year" means the year by or for which accounts are reckoned;

  (11) "hereafter" means a reference to the time after the time when the law containing such word takes effect;

  (12) "heretofore" means a reference to the time previous to the time when the law containing such word takes effect;

  (13) "judicial sale" means a sale conducted by an officer or person authorized for the purpose by some competent tribunal;

  (14) "minor" means an individual under the age of 18 years;

  (15) "money" means lawful money of the United States;

  (16) "night time" means the time from sunset to sunrise;

  (17) "non compos mentis" refers to an individual of unsound mind;

  (18) "notary" means a notary public;

  (19) "now" in any provision of a law referring to other laws in force, or to persons in office, or to any facts or circumstances as existing, relates to the laws in force, or to the persons in office, or to the facts or circumstances existing, respectively, on the effective date of such provision;

  (20) "verified" when used in reference to writings, means supported by oath or affirmation. See Minnesota Statutes 645.45

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Adjournment sine die: The end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of legislature.
• Administrative action: means an action by any official, board, commission or agency of the executive branch to adopt, amend, or repeal a rule under chapter 14. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Adult: means an individual 18 years of age or older. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Adulterated: means an item is covered by section 34A. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Advance of credit: means any money owed for goods provided or services rendered. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• 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.
• Agent: means any individual who is engaged by a livestock dealer to act as the dealer's representative. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• Agricultural use: means the production of livestock, dairy animals, dairy products, poultry or poultry products, fur-bearing animals, horticultural or nursery stock, fruit, vegetables, forage, grains, timber, trees, or bees and apiary products. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Approved expenditure: means an expenditure made on behalf of a candidate or a local candidate by an entity other than the candidate's principal campaign committee or the local candidate, if the expenditure is made with the authorization or expressed or implied consent of, or in cooperation or in concert with, or at the request or suggestion of the candidate or local candidate, the candidate's principal campaign committee, or the candidate's or local candidate's agent. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Associated business: means an association, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or other organized legal entity from which the individual or the individual's spouse receives compensation in excess of $250, except for actual and reasonable expenses, in any month during the reporting period as a director, officer, owner, member, partner, employer or employee, or whose securities the individual or the individual's spouse holds worth more than $10,000 at fair market value. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Association: means a group of two or more persons, who are not all members of an immediate family, acting in concert. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Ballot question: means a question or proposition that is placed on the ballot and that may be voted on by:

  (1) all voters of the state;

  (2) all voters of Hennepin County;

  (3) all voters of any home rule charter city or statutory city located wholly within Hennepin County and having a population of 75,000 or more; or

  (4) all voters of Special School District No. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01

• Ballot question political committee: means a political committee that makes only expenditures to promote or defeat a ballot question and disbursements permitted under section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Ballot question political fund: means a political fund that makes only expenditures to promote or defeat a ballot question and disbursements permitted under section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• 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.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• 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}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board: means the Board of Water and Soil Resources. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Board: means the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Candidate: means an individual who seeks nomination or election as a state constitutional officer, legislator, or judge. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Cheese: includes all varieties of cheese, cheese spreads, cheese foods, cheese compounds, or processed cheese made or manufactured in whole or in part from milk. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• 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.
• Commercial unit: means a unit of goods that by commercial usage is a single whole for purposes of lease and division of which materially impairs its character or value on the market or in use. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's representative. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• constituent services: means services performed or provided by an incumbent legislator or constitutional officer for the benefit of one or more residents of the official's district, but does not include gifts, congratulatory advertisements, or charitable contributions. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Consumer lease: means a lease that a lessor regularly engaged in the business of leasing or selling makes to a lessee who is an individual and who takes under the lease primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose, if the total payments to be made under the lease contract, excluding payments for options to renew or buy, do not exceed $25,000. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract for sale: includes both a present sale of goods and a contract to sell goods at a future time. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2-106
• Contribution: includes a loan or advance of credit to a political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, local candidate, or party unit, if the loan or advance of credit is: (1) forgiven; or (2) repaid by an individual or an association other than the political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, local candidate, or party unit to which the loan or advance of credit was made. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• controls: has the meaning given in section 394. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• 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.
• court administrator: means the court administrator of the court in which the action or proceeding is pending, and "court administrator's office" means that court administrator's office. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Crop equivalent rating: means a rating that reflects the net economic return per acre of soil when managed for cultivated crops, permanent pasture, or forest, whichever provides the highest net return. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Dairy farm: means a place or premises where one or more lactating animals, including cows, goats, sheep, water buffalo, camels, or other hoofed mammals, are kept, and from which all or a portion of the milk produced at the place or premises is delivered, sold, or offered for sale. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Dairy plant: means any place where a dairy product is manufactured, processed, or handled and includes milk-receiving stations, creameries, cheese factories, condenseries, milk plants, transfer stations, and marketing organizations that purchase milk and cream directly from producers for resale and other establishments, as those terms are used in this chapter and chapters 17, 27, and 31; but does not include any place where dairy products are not processed but sold at wholesale or retail only. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Dairy product: means milk as defined by Code of Federal Regulations, title 21, cream, any product or by-product of either, or any commodity among the principal constituents or ingredients of which is one or a combination of two or more of them, as determined by standards, grades, or rules adopted by the commissioner. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• date of application: means the date the application is determined to be complete by the county. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.10
• 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 Minnesota Department of Agriculture. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• Department: means the Department of Agriculture. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Depository: means a bank, savings association, or credit union organized under federal or state law and transacting business within this state. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Designated lobbyist: means the lobbyist responsible for reporting the lobbying disbursements and activity of the entity the lobbyist represents. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Development: means the subdivision and partitioning of land or the construction of residences on land or the conversion to competing land uses. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Disclaimer statement: means a written statement that is part of or separate from the lease contract that discloses all warranties and other rights provided to the lessee by the lessor and supplier in connection with the lease contract and informs the lessee in a conspicuous manner that there are no warranties or other rights provided to the lessee by the lessor and supplier other than those disclosed in the statement. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• District: means a soil and water conservation district. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• document: includes any publication issued by the state, constitutional officers, departments, commissions, councils, bureaus, research centers, societies, task forces, including advisory task forces created under section 15. See Minnesota Statutes 3.302
• domestic animals: include poultry. See Minnesota Statutes 35.01
• Donation in kind: means anything of value that is given, other than money or negotiable instruments. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Election: means a primary, special primary, general, or special election. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Election cycle: means the period from January 1 following a general election for an office to December 31 following the next general election for that office, except that "election cycle" for a special election means the period from the date the special election writ is issued to 15 days after the special election is held. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• 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.
• 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.
• estimated market value: has the meaning given in section 273. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• expenditure: includes the dollar value of a donation in kind. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Expressly advocating: means that a communication:

  (1) clearly identifies a candidate or a local candidate and uses words or phrases of express advocacy; or

  (2) when taken as a whole and with limited reference to external events, such as the proximity to the election, could only be interpreted by a reasonable person as containing advocacy of the election or defeat of one or more clearly identified candidates because:

  (i) the electoral portion of the communication is unmistakable, unambiguous, and suggestive of only one meaning; and

  (ii) reasonable minds could not differ as to whether the communication encourages actions to elect or defeat one or more clearly identified candidates or encourages some other kind of action. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01

• 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.
• Fault: means wrongful act, omission, breach, or default. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• 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}
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Finance lease: means a lease in which

  (1) the lessor does not select, manufacture, or supply the goods,

  (2) the lessor acquires the goods or the right to possession and use of the goods in connection with the lease, and

  (3) either

  (i) the lessee receives a copy of the contract evidencing the lessor's purchase of the goods or a disclaimer statement on or before signing the lease contract, or

  (ii) the lessee's approval of the contract evidencing the lessor's purchase of the goods or a disclaimer statement is a condition to effectiveness of the lease contract. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103

• Financial institution: means a lending institution chartered by an agency of the federal government or regulated by the commissioner of commerce. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Fluid milk products: means yogurt, cream, sour cream, half and half, reconstituted half and half, concentrated milk, concentrated milk products, skim milk, nonfat milk, chocolate flavored milk, chocolate flavored dairy drink, chocolate flavored reconstituted milk, chocolate flavored reconstituted dairy drink, buttermilk, cultured buttermilk, cultured milk, vitamin D milk, reconstituted or recombined milk, reconstituted cream, reconstituted skim milk, homogenized milk, and any other fluid milk product made by the addition of any substance to milk or to any of the fluid milk products enumerated under this subdivision or by rule adopted by the commissioner. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• 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}
• Forest land: means land that is at least ten percent stocked by trees of any size and capable of producing timber, or of exerting an influence on the climate or on the water regime; land that the trees described above have been removed from to less than ten percent stocking and that has not been developed for other use; and afforested areas. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• 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
• General lobbying category: means an area of interest for lobbying for an entity that is on a list of categories specified by the board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• General treasury money: means money that an association other than a principal campaign committee, party unit, or political committee accumulates through membership dues and fees, donations to the association for its general purposes, and income from the operation of a business. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Goat milk: means a whole, fresh, clean lacteal secretion free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy goats. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Goods: means all things that are movable at the time of identification to the lease contract, or are fixtures (section 336. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Holiday: includes New Year's Day, January 1; Martin Luther King's Birthday, the third Monday in January; Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday, the third Monday in February; Memorial Day, the last Monday in May; Juneteenth, June 19; Independence Day, July 4; Labor Day, the first Monday in September; Indigenous Peoples Day, the second Monday in October; Veterans Day, November 11; Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November; and Christmas Day, December 25; provided, when New Year's Day, January 1; or Juneteenth, June 19; or Independence Day, July 4; or Veterans Day, November 11; or Christmas Day, December 25; falls on Sunday, the following day shall be a holiday and, provided, when New Year's Day, January 1; or Juneteenth, June 19; or Independence Day, July 4; or Veterans Day, November 11; or Christmas Day, December 25; falls on Saturday, the preceding day shall be a holiday. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• In forma pauperis: In the manner of a pauper. Permission given to a person to sue without payment of court fees on claim of indigence or poverty.
• 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}
• Independent expenditure: means an expenditure expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or local candidate, if the expenditure is made without the express or implied consent, authorization, or cooperation of, and not in concert with or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or any candidate's principal campaign committee or agent or any local candidate or local candidate's agent. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Independent expenditure political committee: means a political committee that makes only independent expenditures and disbursements permitted under section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Independent expenditure political fund: means a political fund that makes only independent expenditures and disbursements permitted under section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• 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}
• Interested person: means a person or a representative of a person or association that has a direct financial interest in a decision that the individual receiving the compensation is authorized to make as a public or local official or will be authorized to make if the individual becomes a public or local official. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• 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}
• Lease: means a transfer of the right to possession and use of goods for a term in return for consideration, but a sale, including a sale on approval or a sale or return, or retention or creation of a security interest is not a lease. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Lease agreement: means the bargain, with respect to the lease, of the lessor and the lessee in fact as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances including course of dealing or usage of trade or course of performance as provided in this article. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Lease contract: means the total legal obligation that results from the lease agreement as affected by this article and any other applicable rules of law. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Leasehold interest: means the interest of the lessor or the lessee under a lease contract. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Legislative action: means any of the following:

  (1) the development of prospective legislation, including the development of amendment language to prospective legislation;

  (2) the review, modification, adoption, or rejection by a member of the legislature or an employee of the legislature, if applicable, of any (i) bill, (ii) amendment, (iii) resolution, (iv) confirmation considered by the legislature, or (v) report;

  (3) the development of, in conjunction with a constitutional officer, prospective legislation or a request for support or opposition to introduced legislation; and

  (4) the action of the governor in approving or vetoing any act of the legislature or portion of an act of the legislature. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01

• Lessee: means a person who acquires the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Lessor: means a person who transfers the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lien: means a charge against or interest in goods to secure payment of a debt or performance of an obligation, but the term does not include a security interest. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Livestock: means cattle, sheep, swine, horses intended for slaughter, mules, farmed Cervidae, as defined in section 35. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• Livestock dealer: means any person, including a packing company, engaged in the business of buying or selling livestock on a regular basis for the person's own account or for the account of others. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• Livestock market agency: means any person who sells consigned livestock for the account of others, but does not include an occasional or special event or disposal sale. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• livestock scale: means a scale equipped with stock racks and gates and adapted to weighing single or multiple heads of livestock standing on the scale platform, and "monorail scale" means a scale, also called an abattoir scale, a track scale, or a rail scale, the load receiving element of which is part of a monorail conveyor system and which is used primarily for the weighing of livestock carcasses. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• Loan: means an advance of money or anything of value made to a political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, local candidate, or party unit. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Lobbyist: means an individual:

  (1) engaged for pay or other consideration of more than $3,000 from all sources in any year:

  (i) for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials; or

  (ii) from a business whose primary source of revenue is derived from facilitating government relations or government affairs services if the individual's job duties include offering direct or indirect consulting or advice that helps the business provide those services to clients; or

  (2) who spends more than $3,000 of the individual's personal funds, not including the individual's own traveling expenses and membership dues, in any year for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action, or the official action of a political subdivision, by communicating or urging others to communicate with public or local officials. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01

• Local candidate: means an individual who seeks nomination or election to:

  (1) any county office in Hennepin County;

  (2) any city office in any home rule charter city or statutory city located wholly within Hennepin County and having a population of 75,000 or more; or

  (3) the school board in Special School District No. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01

• Local government: means a county or municipality. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Local official: means a person who holds elective office in a political subdivision or who is appointed to or employed in a public position in a political subdivision in which the person has authority to make, to recommend, or to vote on as a member of the governing body, major decisions regarding the expenditure or investment of public money. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Major political party: means a major political party as defined in section 200. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Metropolitan area: has the meaning given in section 473. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Metropolitan governmental unit: means any of the seven counties in the metropolitan area as defined in section 473. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Milk: means the normal lacteal secretion, practically free of colostrum, obtained by the milking of one or more healthy hoofed mammals. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Minor: means an individual under the age of 18. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Minor political party: means a minor political party as defined in section 200. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• misbranding: means an item is covered by section 34A. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and "year" is equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Municipality: means a statutory or home rule charter city or town. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• 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.
• Noncampaign disbursement: means a purchase or payment of money or anything of value made, or an advance of credit incurred, or a donation in kind received, by a principal campaign committee for any of the following purposes:

  (1) payment for accounting and legal services related to operating the candidate's campaign committee, serving in office, or security for the candidate or the candidate's immediate family, including but not limited to seeking and obtaining a harassment restraining order;

  (2) return of a contribution to the source;

  (3) repayment of a loan made to the principal campaign committee by that committee;

  (4) return of a public subsidy;

  (5) payment for food, beverages, and necessary utensils and supplies, entertainment, and facility rental for a fundraising event;

  (6) services for a constituent by a member of the legislature or a constitutional officer in the executive branch as provided in section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01

• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes "affirmation" in all cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath; and in like cases "swear" includes "affirm" and "sworn" "affirmed. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• 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.
• Official action of a political subdivision: means any action that requires a vote or approval by one or more elected local officials while acting in their official capacity; or an action by an appointed or employed local official to make, to recommend, or to vote on as a member of the governing body, major decisions regarding the expenditure or investment of public money. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• 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.
• party unit: means the state committee, the party organization within a house of the legislature, or any other party organization designated by the chair of the political party in an annual certification of party units provided to the board. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Person: means an individual, an association, a political subdivision, or a public higher education system. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Political committee: means an association whose major purpose is to influence the nomination or election of one or more candidates or local candidates or to promote or defeat a ballot question, other than a principal campaign committee, local candidate, or a political party unit. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Political fund: means an accumulation of dues or voluntary contributions by an association other than a political committee, principal campaign committee, or party unit, if the accumulation is collected or expended to influence the nomination or election of one or more candidates or local candidates or to promote or defeat a ballot question. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Political party: means a major political party or a minor political party. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Political subdivision: means the Metropolitan Council, a metropolitan agency as defined in section 473. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Population: means the population established by the most recent federal census, by a special census taken by the United States Bureau of the Census, by an estimate made by the Metropolitan Council, or by an estimate made by the state demographer under section 4A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• preserve: means a preserve created under this chapter. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• 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 an individual or association that:

  (1) spends more than $500 in the aggregate in any calendar year to engage a lobbyist, compensate a lobbyist, or authorize the expenditure of money by a lobbyist; or

  (2) is not included in clause (1) and spends a total of at least $50,000 in any calendar year on efforts to influence legislative action, administrative action, or the official action of metropolitan governmental units, as described in section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01

• Principal campaign committee: means a principal campaign committee formed under section 10A. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Promoting or defeating a ballot question: includes activities, other than lobbying activities, related to qualifying the question for placement on the ballot. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• 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.
• Public official: means any:

  (1) member of the legislature;

  (2) individual employed by the legislature as secretary of the senate, legislative auditor, director of the Legislative Budget Office, chief clerk of the house of representatives, revisor of statutes, or researcher, legislative analyst, fiscal analyst, or attorney in the Office of Senate Counsel, Research and Fiscal Analysis, House Research, or the House Fiscal Analysis Department;

  (3) constitutional officer in the executive branch and the officer's chief administrative deputy;

  (4) solicitor general or deputy, assistant, or special assistant attorney general;

  (5) commissioner, deputy commissioner, or assistant commissioner of any state department or agency as listed in section 15. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01

• Public stockyard: means an assembly point operated as a public livestock market for livestock producers, feeders, market agencies and buyers; providing the services and facilities for loading and unloading, yarding and sale of all classes of livestock, for individuals or organizations granted the privilege of the market by the management of the public stockyards. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• Public waters: means public waters as defined in section 103G. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Purchase: includes taking by sale, lease, mortgage, security interest, pledge, gift, or any other voluntary transaction creating an interest in goods. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Ranking minority member: The highest ranking (and usually longest serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee.
• rBGH: means a growth hormone intended for use in bovine animals that has been produced through recombinant DNA techniques, described alternately as recombinant bovine somatotropin or rBST. See Minnesota Statutes 32D.01
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
• seal: includes an impression thereof upon the paper alone, as well as an impression on a wafer, wax, or other substance thereto attached. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Securities: means any stock, share, bond, warrant, option, pledge, note, mortgage, annuity, debenture, lease, or commercial paper in any corporation, partnership, trust, or other association. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Seller: means a person who sells or contracts to sell goods. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2-103
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• slaughtering houses: means places of business where livestock purchased or acquired is slaughtered. See Minnesota Statutes 17A.03
• Soil survey: means the comprehensive inventory and classification of soil types being conducted by the Minnesota Cooperative Soil Survey. See Minnesota Statutes 40A.02
• Sole ownership: The type of property ownership in which one individual holds legal title to the property and has full control of it.
• Specific subject of interest: means a particular topic or area of lobbying interest within a general lobbying category. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• state board: means the Board of Animal Health. See Minnesota Statutes 35.01
• State committee: means the organization that, by virtue of the bylaws of a political party, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the political party at the state level. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Sublease: means a lease of goods the right to possession and use of which was acquired by the lessor as a lessee under an existing lease. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Supplier: means a person from whom a lessor buys or leases goods to be leased under a finance lease. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Supply contract: means a contract under which a lessor buys or leases goods to be leased. See Minnesota Statutes 336.2A-103
• Testate: To die leaving a will.
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• 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.
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• verified: when used in reference to writings, means supported by oath or affirmation. See Minnesota Statutes 645.45
• Violate: includes failure to comply with. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Virtual currency: means any digital currency which is only available in an electronic form and not as a physical form of money. See Minnesota Statutes 10A.01
• Wetlands: means lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.