Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 2 > Chapter 9 > Part 9 - Limitations on Liability Relating to Covid-19

• Additional services: means different services or more of the same services. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Agency: means all offices, departments, boards, commissions, institutions, universities, colleges, and any other person or any other administrative unit of state government that spends or encumbers public money by virtue of an appropriation from the legislature under 17-8-101. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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
• Approving authority: means :

  (a)the governor or the governor's designated representative for executive branch agencies;

  (b)the chief justice of the supreme court or the chief justice's designated representative for judicial branch agencies;

  (c)the speaker for the house of representatives;

  (d)the president for the senate;

  (e)appropriate legislative committees or a designated representative for legislative branch agencies; or

  (f)the board of regents of higher education or its designated representative for the university system. See Montana Code 17-7-102

• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Budget amendment: means a temporary appropriation as provided in Title 17, chapter 7, part 4. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Emergency: means a catastrophe, disaster, calamity, or other serious unforeseen and unanticipated circumstance that has occurred subsequent to the time that an agency's appropriation was made, that was clearly not within the contemplation of the legislature and the governor, and that affects one or more functions of a state agency and the agency's expenditure requirements for the performance of the function or functions. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• 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.
• Government entity: means the state and political subdivisions, including but not limited to:

  (a)political subdivisions as defined in 2-9-101(5);

  (b)the legislature, legislative committees, and legislators acting in their official capacity; and

  (c)employees of the state or a political subdivision. See Montana Code 2-9-901

• Health care provider: means a health care professional, whether the health care professional works for a health care provider or a government health care provider, health care facility, home health care facility, assisted living facility, or any other person or facility otherwise authorized or permitted by any federal or state statute, regulation, order, or public health guidance to administer health care services or treatment. See Montana Code 2-9-901
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Necessary: means essential to the public welfare and of a nature that cannot wait until the next legislative session for legislative consideration. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• 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.
• 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.
• Person: means an individual, corporation, nonprofit corporation, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, business or similar trust, association, joint venture, place of worship, personal representative, trustee, government entity, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 2-9-901
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Premises: includes any real property and any appurtenant building or structure, as well as any other location, vehicle, or place serving a commercial, residential, educational, religious, governmental, cultural, charitable, or health care purpose. See Montana Code 2-9-901
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Program: means a principal organizational or budgetary unit within an agency. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• proposed supplemental appropriation: means an application for authorization to make expenditures during the first fiscal year of the biennium from appropriations for the second fiscal year of the biennium. See Montana Code 17-7-301
• Public debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The public debt does not include agency debt (amounts borrowed by other agencies of the Federal Government). The total public debt is subject to a statutory limit.
• Public health guidance: includes guidance related to covid-19 issued by the following:

  (a)the centers for disease control and prevention of the United States department of health and human services;

  (b)the centers for medicare and medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services;

  (c)the federal occupational safety and health administration;

  (d)the office of the governor;

  (e)a state agency, including the Montana department of public health and human services; or

  (f)a local government, including a local government health department or local government board of health. See Montana Code 2-9-901

• Requesting agency: means the agency of state government that has requested a specific budget amendment. See Montana Code 17-7-102
• Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• subscription: includes the mark of a person who cannot write if the person's name is written near the mark by another person who also signs that person's own name as a witness. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Supplemental appropriation: Budget authority provided in an appropriations act in addition to regular or continuing appropriations already provided. Supplemental appropriations generally are made to cover emergencies, such as disaster relief, or other needs deemed too urgent to be postponed until the enactment of next year's regular appropriations act.
• 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.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203