Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes > Chapter 6 - State Auditor

• 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

• Absent parent: means a minor child's parent who does not live in the same home as the child. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Accidental: means a sudden, not reasonably foreseeable, and unexpected occurrence or event that:

  (1) is not likely to occur and could not have been prevented by exercise of due care; and

  (2) if occurring while a child is receiving services from a facility, happens when the facility and the employee or person providing services in the facility are in compliance with the laws and rules relevant to the occurrence or event. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03

• Acquittal:
  1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
  2. A verdict of "not guilty."
   
• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Administer: means to deliver by, or pursuant to the lawful order of a practitioner a single dose of a controlled substance to a patient or research subject by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or by any other immediate means. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Adult: means an individual 18 years of age or older. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Agency: has the meaning given in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Agency error: means an error that results in an overpayment or underpayment to an assistance unit and is not caused by an applicant's or participant's failure to provide adequate, correct, or timely information about income, property, household composition, or other circumstances. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• analog: means a substance, the chemical structure of which is substantially similar to the chemical structure of a controlled substance in Schedule I or II:

  (1) that has a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance in Schedule I or II; or

  (2) with respect to a particular person, if the person represents or intends that the substance have a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is substantially similar to or greater than the stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system of a controlled substance in Schedule I or II. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01

• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: means a written statement from an applicant or participant who requests a hearing under section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Applicant: means a person who has submitted to a county agency an application and whose application has not been acted upon, denied, or voluntarily withdrawn. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Application: means the submission by or on behalf of a family to a county agency of a completed, signed, and dated form, prescribed by the commissioner, that indicates the desire to receive assistance. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• 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
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Artificially derived cannabinoid: has the meaning given in section 342. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
• 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.
• Authorized representative: means a person who is authorized, in writing, by an applicant or participant to act on the applicant's or participant's behalf in matters involving the application for assistance or participation in MFIP. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Balanced budget: A budget in which receipts equal outlays.
• 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.
• Basic needs: means the minimum personal requirements of subsistence and is restricted to food, clothing, shelter, utilities, and other items for which the loss, or lack of basic needs, is determined by the county agency to pose a direct, immediate threat to the physical health or safety of the applicant or participant. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Budget month: means the calendar month which the county agency uses to determine the income or circumstances of an assistance unit to calculate the amount of the assistance payment in the payment month. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Cannabis concentrate: has the meaning given in section 342. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Cannabis flower: has the meaning given in section 342. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Cannabis plant: has the meaning given in section 342. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Cannabis product: has the meaning given in section 342. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Caregiver: means a minor child's birth or adoptive parent or parents and stepparent who live in the home with the minor child. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Chair: includes chairman, chairwoman, and chairperson. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• 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.
• Child fatality: means the death of a child from maltreatment. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Cocaine: means coca leaves and any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of coca leaves, including cocaine and ecgonine, the salts and isomers of cocaine and ecgonine, and the salts of their isomers and any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation thereof that is chemically equivalent or identical with any of those substances, except decocainized coca leaves or extraction of coca leaves, which extractions do not contain cocaine or ecgonine. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of human services or the commissioner's designated representative. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of human services unless otherwise indicated in this chapter. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Commissioner of education-selected high school equivalency: means the high school equivalency certification issued by the commissioner of education as an equivalent to a secondary school diploma under section 124D. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contingent beneficiary: Receiver of property or benefits if the first named beneficiary fails to receive any or all of the property or benefits in question before his (her) death.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Controlled substance: means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in Schedules I through V of section 152. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Countable income: means earned and unearned income that is described in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Counted earnings: means the earned income that remains after applicable disregards under section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• County agency: means the agency designated by the county board to implement financial assistance for current programs and for MFIP and the agency responsible for enforcement of child support collection, and a county or multicounty agency that is authorized under sections 393. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• County board: means a board of commissioners, a local services agency as defined in chapter 393, a board established under the Joint Powers Act, section 471. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• County of financial responsibility: means the county that has financial responsibility for providing public assistance as specified in chapter 256G. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• County of residence: means the county where the caregiver has established a home. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• 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
• custodian: means any Indian person who has legal custody of an Indian child under tribal law or custom, under state law, or to whom temporary physical care, custody, and control has been transferred by the parent of the child, as provided in section 260. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Date of application: has the meaning given in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Deem: means to treat all or part of the income of an individual who is not in the assistance unit, but who is financially responsible for members of the assistance unit, as if it were income available to the assistance unit. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• 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 Human Services. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• 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:
• Dispense: means to deliver one or more doses of a controlled substance in a suitable container, properly labeled, for subsequent administration to, or use by a patient or research subject. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Disqualified: means being ineligible to receive MFIP due to noncooperation with program requirements. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Documentation: means a written statement or record that substantiates or validates an assertion made by a person or an action taken by a person, agency, or entity. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Donee: The recipient of a gift.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• drug: includes all medicines and preparations recognized in the United States Pharmacopoeia or National Formulary and any substance or mixture of substances intended to be used for the cure, mitigation, or prevention of disease of either humans or other animals. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• drug paraphernalia: means all equipment, products, and materials of any kind, except those items used in conjunction with permitted uses of controlled substances under this chapter or the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, which are knowingly or intentionally used primarily in (1) manufacturing a controlled substance, (2) injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance, or (3) enhancing the effect of a controlled substance. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Drug treatment facility: means any facility in which a residential rehabilitation program licensed under chapter 245G or Minnesota Rules, parts Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• DWP: has the meaning given in section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Earned income: has the meaning given in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Egregious harm: means harm under section 260C. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Employable: means a person is capable of performing existing positions in the local labor market, regardless of the current availability of openings for those positions. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• 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.
• Excluded time: has the meaning given in section 256G. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Facility: means :

  (1) a licensed or unlicensed day care facility, certified license-exempt child care center, residential facility, agency, hospital, sanitarium, or other facility or institution required to be licensed under sections 144. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03

• 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.
• Fair market value: means the price that an item of a particular make, model, size, material, or condition would sell for on the open market in the particular geographic area. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Family: includes :

  (1) the following individuals who live together: a minor child or a group of minor children related to each other as siblings, half siblings, stepsiblings, or adoptive siblings, together with their natural, adoptive parents, stepparents, or caregiver as defined in subdivision 11; and

  (2) a pregnant woman with no other children. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08

• Family assessment: means a comprehensive assessment of child safety, risk of subsequent maltreatment, and family strengths and needs that is applied to a maltreatment report that does not allege sexual abuse or substantial child endangerment. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• family or household member: means :

  (1) spouses and former spouses;

  (2) parents and children;

  (3) persons related by blood;

  (4) persons who are residing together or who have resided together in the past;

  (5) persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together at any time;

  (6) a man and woman if the woman is pregnant and the man is alleged to be the father, regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together at anytime; and

  (7) persons involved in a current or past significant romantic or sexual relationship. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08

• Family violence: means the following, if committed against a family or household member by a family or household member:

  (1) physical harm, bodily injury, or assault;

  (2) the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault; or

  (3) terroristic threats, within the meaning of section 609. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08

• Family violence waiver: means a waiver of the 60-month time limit for victims of family violence who meet the criteria in section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Family wage level: means 110 percent of the transitional standard as specified in section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• fentanyl: includes fentanyl, carfentanil, and any fentanyl analogs and fentanyl-related substances listed in section 152. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• FICA: means the federal law under United States Code, title 26, subtitle C, chapter 21, subchapter A, sections 3101 to 3126, that requires withholding or direct payment from earned income. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Financial case record: means an assistance unit's financial eligibility file. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Findings and information: means a written summary described in section 260E. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• 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).
• 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}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Full-time student: means a person who is enrolled in a graded or ungraded primary, intermediate, secondary, commissioner of education-selected high school equivalency preparatory, trade, technical, vocational, or postsecondary school, and who meets the school's standard for full-time attendance. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• 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
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Gross earned income: means earned income from employment before mandatory and voluntary payroll deductions. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Half-time student: means a person who is enrolled in a graded or ungraded primary, intermediate, secondary, commissioner of education-selected high school equivalency preparatory, trade, technical, vocational, or postsecondary school, and who meets the school's standard of half-time attendance. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Hallucinogen: means any hallucinogen listed in section 152. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• hearing: means the evidentiary hearing conducted by the department human services judge to resolve disputes as specified in section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• 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
• Home: means the primary place of residence used by a person as the base for day-to-day living and does not include locations used as mail drops. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Homestead: means the home that is owned by, and is the usual residence of, the assistance unit together with the surrounding property which is not separated from the home by intervening property owned by others. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Household: means a group of persons who live together. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Immediate precursor: means a substance which the state Board of Pharmacy has found to be and by rule designates as being the principal compound commonly used or produced for use, and which is an immediate chemical intermediary used or likely to be used in the manufacture of a controlled substance, the control of which is necessary to prevent, curtail, or limit such manufacture. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Immediately: means as soon as possible but in no event longer than 24 hours. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
• Income: means cash or in-kind benefit, whether earned or unearned, received by or available to an applicant or participant that is not property under section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• 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}
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Initial eligibility: means the determination of eligibility for an MFIP applicant. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Inquiry: means a communication to a county agency through mail, telephone, or in person, by which a person or authorized representative requests information about public assistance. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Interested person acting on behalf of the child: means a parent or legal guardian; stepparent; grandparent; guardian ad litem; adult stepbrother, stepsister, or sibling; or adult aunt or uncle; unless the person has been determined to be the offender who committed the maltreatment. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Investigation: means fact gathering conducted during:

  (1) a family investigation related to the current safety of a child and the risk of subsequent maltreatment that determines whether maltreatment occurred and whether child protective services are needed; or

  (2) a facility investigation related to duties under section 260E. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03

• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• 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.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• 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.
• Legal custodian: means any person who is under a legal obligation to provide care for a minor and who is in fact providing care for a minor. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Legally available: means a person's right under the law to secure, possess, dispose of, or control income or property. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
• LIHEAP: means the program authorized under United States Code, title 42, chapter 94, subchapter II, sections 8621 to 8629, and administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Lump sum: means nonrecurring income as described in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
• Maltreatment: means any of the following acts or omissions:

  (1) egregious harm under subdivision 5;

  (2) neglect under subdivision 15;

  (3) physical abuse under subdivision 18;

  (4) sexual abuse under subdivision 20;

  (5) substantial child endangerment under subdivision 22;

  (6) threatened injury under subdivision 23;

  (7) mental injury under subdivision 13; and

  (8) maltreatment of a child in a facility. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03

• Marijuana: means :

  (1) cannabis plants;

  (2) cannabis flower;

  (3) cannabis concentrate;

  (4) cannabis products;

  (5) cannabis seed; or

  (6) a mixture containing any tetrahydrocannabinol or artificially derived cannabinoid in a concentration that exceeds 0. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01

• Marital deduction: The deduction(s) that can be taken in the determination of gift and estate tax liabilities because of the existence of a marriage or marital relationship.
• Medical assistance: means the program established under chapter 256B and Title XIX of the Social Security Act. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Mental injury: means an injury to the psychological capacity or emotional stability of a child as evidenced by an observable or substantial impairment in the child's ability to function within a normal range of performance and behavior with due regard to the child's culture. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• MFIP: means the assistance program authorized in this chapter. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• MFIP assistance unit: means a group of mandatory or optional people receiving or applying for MFIP benefits together. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• MFIP household report form: means a form prescribed by the commissioner that a participant uses to report information to a county agency about changes in income and other circumstances. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Migrant worker: means a person who travels away from home on a regular basis, usually with a group of other laborers, to seek employment in an agriculturally related activity. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Minor: means an individual under the age of 18. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Minor caregiver: means a person who:

  (1) is under the age of 18;

  (2) has never been married or otherwise legally emancipated; and

  (3) is either the natural parent of a minor child living in the same household or is eligible for assistance paid to a pregnant woman. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08

• Minor child: means a child who is living in the same home of a parent or other caregiver, is not the parent of a child in the home, and is either less than 18 years of age or is under the age of 19 years and is a full-time student in a secondary school or pursuing a full-time secondary level course of vocational or technical training designed to fit students for gainful employment. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Mixture: means a preparation, compound, mixture, or substance containing a controlled substance, regardless of purity except as provided in subdivision 16; sections 152. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Monthly income test: means the test used to determine ongoing eligibility and the assistance payment amount according to section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• MSA: means the program established under sections 256D. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• narcotic drug: as used in this chapter shall not include decocainized coca leaves or extracts of coca leaves, which extracts do not contain cocaine or ecgonine. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Near fatality: means a case in which a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant determines that a child is in serious or critical condition as the result of sickness or injury caused by maltreatment. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Neglect: means the commission or omission of any of the acts specified under clauses (1) to (8), other than by accidental means:

  (1) failure by a person responsible for a child's care to supply a child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, health, medical, or other care required for the child's physical or mental health when reasonably able to do so;

  (2) failure to protect a child from conditions or actions that seriously endanger the child's physical or mental health when reasonably able to do so, including a growth delay, which may be referred to as a failure to thrive, that has been diagnosed by a physician and is due to parental neglect;

  (3) failure to provide for necessary supervision or child care arrangements appropriate for a child after considering factors as the child's age, mental ability, physical condition, length of absence, or environment, when the child is unable to care for the child's own basic needs or safety, or the basic needs or safety of another child in their care;

  (4) failure to ensure that the child is educated as defined in sections 120A. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03

• 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.
• Noncaregiver sex trafficker: means an individual who is alleged to have engaged in the act of sex trafficking a child and who is not a person responsible for the child's care, who does not have a significant relationship with the child as defined in section 609. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Noncaregiver sex trafficking assessment: is a comprehensive assessment of child safety, the risk of subsequent child maltreatment, and strengths and needs of the child and family. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Noncustodial parent: means a minor child's parent who does not live in the same home as the child. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Nonrecurring income: means a form of income which is received:

  (1) only one time or is not of a continuous nature; or

  (2) in a prospective payment month but is no longer received in the corresponding retrospective payment month. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08

• 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
• Opiate: means any dangerous substance having an addiction forming or addiction sustaining liability similar to morphine or being capable of conversion into a drug having such addiction forming or addiction sustaining liability. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Opium poppy: means the plant of the species Papaver somniferum L. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Orphan drug: means a drug for a disease or condition which is rare in the United States and has been designated as an orphan drug by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as provided in the Orphan Drug Act, Public Law 92-414, as amended. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
• Overpayment: means the portion of an assistance payment issued by the county agency that is greater than the amount for which the assistance unit is eligible. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parent: means a child's biological or adoptive parent who is legally obligated to support that child. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Park zone: includes the area within 300 feet or one city block, whichever distance is greater, of the park boundary. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Participant: includes any of the following:

  (1) a person who is currently receiving cash assistance or the food portion available through MFIP;

  (2) a person who withdraws a cash or food assistance payment by electronic transfer or receives and cashes an MFIP assistance check or food coupons and is subsequently determined to be ineligible for assistance for that period of time is a participant, regardless whether that assistance is repaid;

  (3) the caregiver relative and the minor child whose needs are included in the assistance payment;

  (4) a person in an assistance unit who does not receive a cash and food assistance payment because the case has been suspended from MFIP; and

  (5) a person who receives cash payments under family stabilization services under section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08

• Participation requirements of TANF: means activities and hourly requirements allowed under title IV-A of the federal Social Security Act. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• 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.
• Payee: means a person to whom an assistance payment is made payable. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Payment month: means the calendar month for which the assistance payment is paid. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Per stirpes: The legal means by which the children of a decedent, upon the death of an ancestor at a level above that of the decedent, receive by right of representation the share of the ancestor
• Person: includes every individual, copartnership, corporation or association of one or more individuals. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Person in a current or recent position of authority: means an individual in a position of authority over a child and includes but is not limited to any person who is a parent or acting in the place of a parent and charged with any of a parent's rights, duties, or responsibilities to a child, or a person who is charged with any duty or responsibility for the health, welfare, or supervision of a child, either independently or through another, no matter how brief, within 120 days immediately preceding the act. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Person trained in domestic violence: means an individual who works for an organization that is designated by the Minnesota Center for Crime Victims Services as providing services to victims of domestic violence, or a county staff person who has received similar specialized training, and includes any other person or organization designated by a qualifying organization under this section. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Personal property: means an item of value that is not real property, including the value of a contract for deed held by a seller, assets held in trust on behalf of members of an assistance unit, value of a prepaid burial, savings account, value of stocks and bonds, and value of retirement accounts. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• pharmacist intern: means a natural person, a graduate of the College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, or other pharmacy college, approved by the board, or a person satisfactorily progressing toward the degree in pharmacy required for licensure, registered by the state Board of Pharmacy, for the purpose of obtaining practical experience as a requirement for licensure as a pharmacist or a qualified applicant, awaiting licensure. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Physical abuse: means any physical injury, mental injury under subdivision 13, or threatened injury under subdivision 23, inflicted by a person responsible for the child's care on a child other than by accidental means, or any physical or mental injury that cannot reasonably be explained by the child's history of injuries, or any aversive or deprivation procedures, or regulated interventions, that have not been authorized under section 125A. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• 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.
• Poppy straw: means all parts, except the seeds, of the opium poppy, after mowing. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• 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.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probable fraud: means the level of evidence that, if proven as fact, would establish that assistance has been wrongfully obtained. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Prospective budgeting: has the meaning given in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Protective payee: means a person other than the caregiver of an assistance unit who receives the monthly assistance payment on behalf of an assistance unit and is responsible to provide for the basic needs of the assistance unit to the extent of that payment. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• public assistance: as used in this chapter and chapters 257, 518, 518A, and 518C, includes any form of assistance provided under the AFDC program formerly codified in sections 256. See Minnesota Statutes 256.741
• Public housing zone: means any public housing project or development administered by a local housing agency, plus the area within 300 feet of the property's boundary, or one city block, whichever distance is greater. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• 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 member: means a person who is not, or never was, a member of the profession or occupation being licensed or regulated or the spouse of any such person, or a person who does not have or has never had, a material financial interest in either the providing of the professional service being licensed or regulated, or an activity directly related to the profession or occupation being licensed or regulated. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Public waters: means public waters as defined in section 103G. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Qualified noncitizen: means a person:

  (1) who was lawfully admitted for permanent residence according to United States Code, title 8;

  (2) who was admitted to the United States as a refugee according to United States Code, title 8; section 1157;

  (3) whose deportation is being withheld according to United States Code, title 8, sections 1231(b)(3), 1253(h), and 1641(b)(5);

  (4) who was paroled for a period of at least one year according to United States Code, title 8, § 1182(d)(5);

  (5) who was granted conditional entry according to United States Code, title 8, § 1153(a)(7);

  (6) who is a Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined in section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980, United States Code, title 8, § 1641(b)(7);

  (7) who was granted asylum according to United States Code, title 8, § 1158;

  (8) who is a battered noncitizen according to United States Code, title 8, § 1641(c); or

  (9) who is a parent or child of a battered noncitizen according to United States Code, title 8, § 1641(c). See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08

• Qualified professional: means an individual as defined in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: means land and all buildings, structures, and improvements, or other fixtures on the land, belonging or appertaining to the land, and all mines, minerals, fossils, and trees on or under the land. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Reasonable compensation: means the value received in exchange for property transferred to another owner that is consistent with fair market value and equals or exceeds the seller's equity in the property, reduced by costs incurred in the sale. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Recertification: means the periodic review of eligibility factors to determine an assistance unit's continued eligibility. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Recoupment: means the action of the county agency to reduce a family's monthly assistance payment to recover overpayments caused by client or agency error and overpayments received while an appeal is pending. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Recovery: means actions taken by a county agency to reclaim the value of overpayments through voluntary repayment, recoupment from the assistance payment, court action, revenue recapture, or federal tax refund offset program (FTROP). See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Recurring income: means a form of income which is:

  (1) received periodically, and may be received irregularly when receipt can be anticipated even though the date of receipt cannot be predicted; and

  (2) from the same source or of the same type that is received and budgeted in a prospective month. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08

• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Report: means any communication received by the local welfare agency, police department, county sheriff, or agency responsible for child protection pursuant to this section that describes maltreatment of a child and contains sufficient content to identify the child and any person believed to be responsible for the maltreatment, if known. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• 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.
• Retrospective budgeting: means a method of determining the amount of the assistance payment in which the payment month is the second month after the budget month. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Sanction: means the reduction of a family's assistance payment by a specified percentage of the MFIP standard of need because: a nonexempt participant fails to comply with the requirements of sections 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• School zone: means :

  (1) any property owned, leased, or controlled by a school district or an organization operating a nonpublic school, as defined in section 123B. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01

• 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
• Sell: means :

  (1) to sell, give away, barter, deliver, exchange, distribute or dispose of to another, or to manufacture; or

  (2) to offer or agree to perform an act listed in clause (1); or

  (3) to possess with intent to perform an act listed in clause (1). See Minnesota Statutes 152.01

• Sentencing guidelines: A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Severe forms of trafficking in persons: means : (1) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform the act has not attained 18 years of age; or (2) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Sexual abuse: means the subjection of a child by a person responsible for the child's care, by a person who has a significant relationship to the child, or by a person in a current or recent position of authority, to any act that constitutes a violation of section 609. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• Shelter costs: means rent, manufactured home lot rental costs, or monthly principal, interest, insurance premiums, and property taxes due for mortgages or contracts for deed. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Significant change: means a decline in gross income of the amount of the disregard as defined in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Significant relationship: means a situation in which the alleged offender is:

  (1) the child's parent, stepparent, or guardian;

  (2) any of the following persons related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption: brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, first cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, grandparent, great-grandparent, great-uncle, great-aunt; or

  (3) an adult who jointly resides intermittently or regularly in the same dwelling as the child and who is not the child's spouse. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03

• Small business: means a business entity organized for profit, including but not limited to any individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, association or cooperative, which entity:

  (1) is not an affiliate or subsidiary of a business dominant in its field of operation; and

  (2) has 20 or fewer full-time employees; or

  (3) in the preceding fiscal year has not had more than the equivalent of $1,000,000 in annual gross revenues; or

  (4) if the business is a technical or professional service, shall not have had more than the equivalent of $2,500,000 in annual gross revenues in the preceding fiscal year. See Minnesota Statutes 645.445

• SSI: means the program authorized under title XVI of the Social Security Act. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• SSI recipient: means a person who receives at least $1 in SSI benefits, or who is not receiving an SSI benefit due to recoupment or a one-month suspension by the Social Security Administration due to excess income. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• subsequent controlled substance conviction: means that before commission of the offense for which the person is convicted under this chapter, the person was convicted of a violation of section 152. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Substantial child endangerment: means that a person responsible for a child's care, by act or omission, commits or attempts to commit an act against a child in the person's care that constitutes any of the following:

  (1) egregious harm under subdivision 5;

  (2) abandonment under section 260C. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03

• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Tax: means any fee, charge, exaction, or assessment imposed by a governmental entity on an individual, person, entity, transaction, good, service, or other thing. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• 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.
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Threatened injury: means a statement, overt act, condition, or status that represents a substantial risk of physical or sexual abuse or mental injury. See Minnesota Statutes 260E.03
• 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.
• Transitional standard: means the basic standard for a family without earned income and is a combination of the cash portion and food portion as specified in section 256J. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• 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}
• Unearned income: has the meaning given in section 256P. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Unemployment benefits: means the insurance benefit paid to an unemployed worker under sections 268. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Unlawfully: means selling or possessing a controlled substance in a manner not authorized by law. See Minnesota Statutes 152.01
• Unrelated member: means an individual in the household who does not meet the definition of an eligible caregiver. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• 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.
• 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.
• Vendor: means a provider of goods or services. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Vendor payment: means a payment authorized by a county agency to a vendor. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Verification: means the process a county agency uses to establish the accuracy or completeness of information from an applicant, participant, third party, or other source as that information relates to program eligibility or an assistance payment. See Minnesota Statutes 256J.08
• verified: when used in reference to writings, means supported by oath or affirmation. See Minnesota Statutes 645.45
• Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
• Violate: includes failure to comply with. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• 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.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.