Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 20 > Chapter 173 - Prevention and Investigation of Fires

• Abandoned firearms: means firearms in the possession of the Department of Public Safety that are no longer needed as evidence and remain unclaimed for more than 18 months from the date the firearms come into the Department's possession. See
• 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 any State or local law enforcement agency, any State agency except the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, and any local government entity. See
• Alteration: includes remodeling, renovation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, historic restoration, changes, or rearrangement in the plan or configuration of walls and full-height partitions. See
• Ambulatory disability: means an impairment that prevents or impedes walking. See
• 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.
• 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
• approved education program: includes an "approved teen parent education program. See
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• assembly: means a gathering of 2,000 or more individuals in a public place that the general public is permitted or invited to attend, conducted or promoted for profit, whether or not a profit is actually returned, where persons are admitted on payment of cash, entry fees, advance subscriptions, or donations, or any thing of value. See
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• between: as used in this title in respect to a specified age of a student, shall mean the period of time commencing on the birthday of the child when he or she becomes the age first specified and ending on the day next preceding the birthday of the child when he or she becomes the age last specified. See
• Blind: means the visual impairment of an individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with corrective lenses or whose visual acuity, if better than 20/200, is accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the better eye to such a degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle of no greater than 20 degrees. See
• Board: means the Emergency Personnel Survivors Benefit Review Board. See
• Child: means a natural or legally adopted child, regardless of age. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Public Safety. See
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• 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.
• Covered multifamily dwelling: means a residential unit for sale or rent in a public building consisting of four or more residential units if the building has one or more elevators; and a ground floor residential unit for sale or rent in a public building consisting of four or more residential units, if the building has no elevator. See
• damage or destroy the historic architectural integrity of the historic building or structure: means to have an undue adverse impact on historically significant features of the historic architectural integrity of the building. See
• 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
• Domestic: when applied to a corporation, company, association, or copartnership shall mean organized under the laws of this State; "foreign" when so applied, shall mean organized under the laws of another state, government, or country. See
• Emergency personnel: means :

• Employee: means a person employed by the Department. 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• 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.
• farming: means :

• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• 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.
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• Historic building: means any structure that is listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or included in the State Register of Historic Places. See
• Home study program: means an educational program offered through home study that provides a minimum course of study and that is offered to not more than:

• Independent school: means a school other than a public school, which provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both. See
• 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.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• 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.
• Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Line of duty: means :

• Magistrate: shall mean any Supreme Court Justice, Superior judge, District judge, or Probate judge. See
• Maximum extent feasible: means the situation in which the nature of an existing building or facility makes it virtually impossible to comply fully with accessibility standards. See
• Municipality: shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units. See
• Oath: shall include affirmation where by law an affirmation may be substituted. See
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Occupation-related illness: means a disease that directly arises out of, and in the course of, service, including a heart injury or disease symptomatic within 72 hours from the date of last service in the line of duty, which shall be presumed to be incurred in the line of duty. See
• Parent: means a natural or adoptive parent. See
• 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.
• Permit: means a written statement, issued by the Commissioner of Public Safety or his or her designee, authorizing the holding of a commercial public assembly under stated conditions as to time, place, and manner. See
• Permit officer: means the Commissioner of Public Safety or officer designated by him or her to issue permits. See
• 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
• Person: means an individual, corporation, government, governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See
• Political subdivision: means a city, town, village, gore, or other incorporated place. See
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Primary function: means a major activity for which the facility is intended. See
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Promotional activity: means purchasing paid advertisements in any media of communication or circulation of printed material advertising the assembly. See
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• public building: includes , in addition to the definition in subdivision (8) of this section, a cooperative or condominium if the building otherwise meets the definition of "covered multifamily dwelling. See
• public building: means :

• Public place: means an open area where patrons cannot be accommodated inside a permanent building, other than a stadium used for sporting events, or a fairground having permanent seats for patrons, with respect to which a private person permits use by the general public. See
• Public school: means an elementary school or secondary school operated by a school district. See
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• rental housing: means :

• residential construction: means new construction of one family or multifamily dwellings. See
• School board: means the board of school directors elected to manage the schools of a school district, the prudential committee of an incorporated school district, the supervisory union board of directors, and the supervisors of unorganized towns and gores. See
• 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
• 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
• State Police: means the sworn law enforcement officers who are employees of the Department. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Superintendent: means the chief executive officer of a supervisory union and each school board within it. See
• Survivor: means a spouse, child, or parent of emergency personnel. See
• sworn: shall include affirmed. See
• Technically infeasible: means that an alteration of a building or a facility has little likelihood of being made accessible because compliance with accessibility standards would require removal or alteration of a load-bearing member that is an essential part of the existing structural frame, or because other existing physical or site constraints prohibit modification or addition of elements, spaces, or features that are in full and strict compliance with the minimum requirements for new construction and are necessary to provide accessibility. See
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Unit: means a self-contained portion of a public building under the control of the owner or lessee of the public building, such as a retail store in a shopping complex or a restaurant in an office building. See
• Unlawful firearms: means firearms the possession of which constitutes a violation of federal or State law and firearms carried or used in violation of any federal or State law or in the commission of any federal or State felony. See
• Unlawful per se: means firearms the possession of which is unlawful under any circumstances under State or federal law. See
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Village: shall mean an incorporated village. See
• working farm or farms: means farms with fewer than the equivalent of 10 full-time employees who are not family members and who do not work more than 26 weeks a year. See
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.