Terms Used In Utah Code > Title 63A > Chapter 14 - Review of Executive Branch Ethics Complaints

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• 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.
• Agency: means a board, commission, institution, department, division, officer, council, office, committee, bureau, or other administrative unit of the state, including the agency head, agency employees, or other persons acting on behalf of or under the authority of the agency head, the Legislature, the courts, or the governor, but does not mean a political subdivision of the state, or any administrative unit of a political subdivision of the state. See Utah Code 63A-1-103
• Agency: means :
       (6)(a) a person other than an individual, including a sole proprietorship by which an individual does business under an assumed name; and
       (6)(b) an insurance organization licensed or required to be licensed under Section 31A-23a-301, 31A-25-207, or 31A-26-209. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Certificate: means evidence of insurance given to:
       (23)(a) an insured under a group insurance policy; or
       (23)(b) a third party. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• Commission: means the Independent Executive Branch Ethics Commission, created in Section 63A-14-202. See Utah Code 63A-14-102
• commissioner of insurance: means Utah's insurance commissioner. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• 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.
• Complainant: means an individual who files a complaint under Subsection 63A-14-402(1)(a). See Utah Code 63A-14-102
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Corporation: means an insurance corporation, except when referring to:
            (34)(a)(i) a corporation doing business:

                 (34)(a)(i)(A) as:

                      (34)(a)(i)(A)(I) an insurance producer;

                      (34)(a)(i)(A)(II) a surplus lines producer;

                      (34)(a)(i)(A)(III) a limited line producer;

                      (34)(a)(i)(A)(IV) a consultant;

                      (34)(a)(i)(A)(V) a managing general agent;

                      (34)(a)(i)(A)(VI) a reinsurance intermediary;

                      (34)(a)(i)(A)(VII) a third party administrator; or

                      (34)(a)(i)(A)(VIII) an adjuster; and

                 (34)(a)(i)(B) under:

                      (34)(a)(i)(B)(I) Chapter 23a, Insurance Marketing - Licensing Producers, Consultants, and Reinsurance Intermediaries;

                      (34)(a)(i)(B)(II) Chapter 25, Third Party Administrators; or

                      (34)(a)(i)(B)(III) Chapter 26, Insurance Adjusters; or
            (34)(a)(ii) a noninsurer that is part of a holding company system under Chapter 16, Insurance Holding Companies. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• Department: means the Department of Government Operations. See Utah Code 63A-1-103
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• 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}
• 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.
• Executive branch elected official: means :
       (3)(a) the governor;
       (3)(b) the lieutenant governor;
       (3)(c) the state auditor;
       (3)(d) the state treasurer; or
       (3)(e) the attorney general. See Utah Code 63A-14-102
• Executive director: means the executive director of the Department of Government Operations. See Utah Code 63A-1-103
• Filed: means that a filing is:
            (69)(a)(i) submitted to the department as required by and in accordance with applicable statute, rule, or filing order;
            (69)(a)(ii) received by the department within the time period provided in applicable statute, rule, or filing order; and
            (69)(a)(iii) accompanied by the appropriate fee in accordance with:

                 (69)(a)(iii)(A) Section 31A-3-103; or

                 (69)(a)(iii)(B) rule. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• 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.
• 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.
• Improper purpose: includes harassing a respondent, causing unwarranted harm to a respondent's reputation, or causing unnecessary expenditure of public funds. See Utah Code 63A-14-102
• 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}
• insolvent: means that:
       (95)(a) an insurer is unable to pay the insurer's obligations as the obligations are due;
       (95)(b) an insurer's total adjusted capital is less than the insurer's mandatory control level RBC under Subsection 31A-17-601(8)(c); or
       (95)(c) an insurer's admitted assets are less than the insurer's liabilities. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• Insurance: includes :
            (96)(b)(i) a risk distributing arrangement providing for compensation or replacement for damages or loss through the provision of a service or a benefit in kind;
            (96)(b)(ii) a contract of guaranty or suretyship entered into by the guarantor or surety as a business and not as merely incidental to a business transaction; and
            (96)(b)(iii) a plan in which the risk does not rest upon the person who makes an arrangement, but with a class of persons who have agreed to share the risk. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• 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.
• Malfeasance in office: means an intentional act or omission relating to the duties of an executive branch elected official that:
       (5)(a) constitutes a crime; or
       (5)(b)

            (5)(b)(i) constitutes a substantial breach of the trust imposed upon the executive branch elected official by the nature of the official's office; and

            (5)(b)(ii) is against commonly accepted standards of honesty and morality. See Utah Code 63A-14-102
• Mutual: means a mutual insurance corporation. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• Oath: includes "affirmation. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Participating: means a plan of insurance under which the insured is entitled to receive a dividend representing a share of the surplus of the insurer. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• Person: means :
       (24)(a) an individual;
       (24)(b) an association;
       (24)(c) an institution;
       (24)(d) a corporation;
       (24)(e) a company;
       (24)(f) a trust;
       (24)(g) a limited liability company;
       (24)(h) a partnership;
       (24)(i) a political subdivision;
       (24)(j) a government office, department, division, bureau, or other body of government; and
       (24)(k) any other organization or entity. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Person: includes :
       (146)(a) an individual;
       (146)(b) a partnership;
       (146)(c) a corporation;
       (146)(d) an incorporated or unincorporated association;
       (146)(e) a joint stock company;
       (146)(f) a trust;
       (146)(g) a limited liability company;
       (146)(h) a reciprocal;
       (146)(i) a syndicate; or
       (146)(j) another similar entity or combination of entities acting in concert. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
• 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.
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Respondent: means the executive branch elected official against whom an ethics complaint described in Section 63A-14-402 is filed. See Utah Code 63A-14-102
• Signature: includes a name, mark, or sign written with the intent to authenticate an instrument or writing. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Violation: means a high crime, a misdemeanor, or malfeasance in office. See Utah Code 63A-14-102
• Writing: includes :
       (48)(a) printing;
       (48)(b) handwriting; and
       (48)(c) information stored in an electronic or other medium if the information is retrievable in a perceivable format. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5