Terms Used In Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 50 - Sex Trafficking Prevention and Victim Treatment Programs

• Accommodation: means any apartment, condominium or cooperative unit, hotel or motel room, cabin, lodge, or other private or commercial structure that:
  (A) is affixed to real property;
  (B) is designed for occupancy or use by one or more individuals; and
  (C) is part of a timeshare plan. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Advertisement: means any written, oral, or electronic communication that is directed to or targeted at individuals in this state and contains a promotion, inducement, or offer to sell a timeshare interest, including a promotion, inducement, or offer to sell:
  (A) contained in a brochure, pamphlet, or radio or television transcript;
  (B) communicated by electronic media or telephone; or
  (C) solicited through direct mail. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Amenities: means all common areas and includes recreational and maintenance facilities of the timeshare plan. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• 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
• Association: means a council or association composed of all persons who have purchased a timeshare interest. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• 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.
• Commission: means the Texas Real Estate Commission. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Component site: means a specific geographic location where accommodations that are part of a multisite timeshare plan are located. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Comptroller: means the state comptroller of public accounts. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Developer: means :
  (A) any person, excluding a sales agent, who creates a timeshare plan or is in the business of selling timeshare interests or employs a sales agent to sell timeshare interests; or
  (B) any person who succeeds in the developer's interest by sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, or other transfer if the person:
  (i) offers at least 12 timeshare interests in a particular timeshare plan; and
  (ii) is in the business of selling timeshare interests or employs a sales agent to sell timeshare interests. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• disposition: means a voluntary transfer of any legal or equitable timeshare interest but does not include the transfer or release of a real estate lien or of a security interest. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Effects: includes all personal property and all interest in that property. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Escrow agent: means a bonded escrow company, a financial institution whose accounts are insured by a governmental agency or instrumentality, or an attorney or title insurance agent licensed in this state who is responsible for the receipt and disbursement of funds in accordance with this chapter. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Exchange company: means any person who owns or operates an exchange program. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Exchange disclosure statement: means a written statement that includes the information required by § 221. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Exchange program: means any method, arrangement, or procedure for the voluntary exchange of timeshare interests among purchasers or owners. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• 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}
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by writing, printing, or other means. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• 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}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Managing entity: means the person responsible for operating and maintaining a timeshare property. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Multisite timeshare plan: means a plan in which a timeshare purchaser has:
  (A) a specific timeshare interest, which is the right to use and occupy accommodations at a specific timeshare property and the right to use and occupy accommodations at one or more other component sites created by or acquired solely through the reservation system of the timeshare plan; or
  (B) a nonspecific timeshare interest, which is the right to use and occupy accommodations at more than one component site created by or acquired solely through the reservation system of the timeshare plan but which does not include a right to use and occupy a particular accommodation. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• 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.
• offer: means any advertisement, inducement, or solicitation and includes any attempt to encourage a person to purchase a timeshare interest other than as a security for an obligation. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• 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: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Promotion: means any program, activity, contest, or gift, prize, or other item of value used to induce any person to attend a timeshare sales presentation. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Purchaser: means any person, other than a developer, who by means of a voluntary transfer acquires a legal or equitable interest in a timeshare interest other than as a security for an obligation. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reservation system: means the method, arrangement, or procedure by which a purchaser, in order to reserve the use and occupancy of an accommodation of a multisite timeshare plan for one or more timeshare periods, is required to compete with other purchasers in the same multisite timeshare plan, regardless of whether the reservation system is operated and maintained by the multisite timeshare plan, a managing entity, an exchange company, or any other person. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Signature: includes the mark of a person unable to write, and "subscribe" includes the making of such a mark. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• Signed: includes any symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Single-site timeshare plan: means a timeshare plan in which a timeshare purchaser's right to use and occupy accommodations is limited to a single timeshare property. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Timeshare disclosure statement: means a written statement that includes the information required by § 221. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Timeshare interest: means a timeshare estate or timeshare use. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Timeshare period: means the period within which the purchaser of a timeshare interest is entitled to the exclusive possession, occupancy, and use of an accommodation. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Timeshare plan: means any arrangement, plan, scheme, or similar method, excluding an exchange program but including a membership agreement, sale, lease, deed, license, or right-to-use agreement, by which a purchaser, in exchange for consideration, receives an ownership right in or the right to use accommodations for a period of time less than a year during a given year, but not necessarily consecutive years. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Timeshare property: means :
  (A) one or more accommodations and any related amenities subject to the same timeshare instrument; and
  (B) any other property or property rights appurtenant to the accommodations and amenities. See Texas Property Code 221.002
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Week: means seven consecutive days. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005