Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 20 > Chapter 112 - Missing Persons and Search and Rescue

• 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.
• 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
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Public Safety. See
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the Department of Public Safety. See
• Early college: means full-time enrollment, pursuant to subsection 4011(e) of this title, by a 12th grade Vermont student for one academic year in a program offered by a postsecondary institution in which the credits earned apply to secondary school graduation requirements. See
• 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.
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• 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.
• Independent school: means a school other than a public school, which provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both. See
• 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.
• Missing person: means an individual:

• Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
• Public safety agency: means any municipal, county, or State agency or organization within the State that specializes in protecting the safety of the public and includes municipal police and fire departments, volunteer fire departments, county sheriffs, and constables who exercise law enforcement authority. See
• 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.
• School district: means town school districts, union school districts, interstate school districts, city school districts, unified union districts, and incorporated school districts, each of which is governed by a publicly elected board. See
• Search and rescue: means the deployment, coordination, and utilization of available resources and personnel in locating, relieving the distress, and preserving the lives of and removing persons who are missing or lost in the backcountry, remote areas, or waters of the State. See
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Education. See
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
• 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.
• Town: shall include city and wards or precincts therein; "selectboard members" and "board of civil authority" shall extend to and include the mayor and aldermen of cities; "trustees" shall extend to and include bailiffs of incorporated villages; and the laws applicable to the inhabitants and officers of towns shall be applicable to the inhabitants and similar officers of all municipal corporations. See
• Unemancipated minor: means an individual under the age of majority who has not married and who resides with a parent or legal guardian. See