Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 21 > Chapter 17 > Subchapter 1 - General Benefits

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• agricultural labor: means any service performed prior to January 1, 1972 that was agricultural labor as defined in this subdivision prior to such date and remunerated service performed after December 31, 1971:

• 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.
• American vessel: means any vessel documented or numbered under the laws of the United States; and includes any vessel that is neither documented or numbered under the laws of the United States nor documented under the laws of any foreign country, if its crew performs services solely for one or more citizens or residents of the United States or corporations organized under the laws of the United States or of any state. See
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• 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
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• ATV: means any nonhighway recreational vehicle, except snowmobiles, having not less than two low pressure tires (10 pounds per square inch, or less); not wider than 64 inches, with two-wheel ATVs having permanent, full-time power to both wheels; and having a dry weight of less than 2,500 pounds, when used for cross-country travel on trails or on any one of the following or a combination thereof: land, water, snow, ice, marsh, swampland, and natural terrain. See
• 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.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• biennially: shall mean the year in which a regular session of the General Assembly is held. See
• Calendar quarter: means a period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31, or the equivalent thereof as the Board may by regulation prescribe. See
• child: include an individual's biological child, foster child, adoptive child, stepchild, a child for whom the individual is listed as a parent on the child's birth certificate, a legal ward of the individual, a child of the individual's spouse, or a child that the individual has day-to-day responsibilities to care for and financially support. See
• Commissioner: shall mean in this title only the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles or any officer or employee of the Department duly authorized by him or her to perform the functions mentioned or described in this chapter. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Labor established by this chapter, or his or her authorized representative. See
• 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.
• compensation: means payment in any form except reimbursement for mileage or the normal salary paid to a person otherwise employed by the school. See
• compensation: means the money payments payable to an individual, as provided in this chapter, with respect to his or her unemployment. See
• 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.
• Contributions: means the money payments to the State Unemployment Compensation Fund required by this chapter. See
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Conviction: means an unvacated final adjudication of guilt, or a final determination that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law in a court of original jurisdiction or an authorized administrative tribunal, an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, the payment of a fine or court cost, or violation of a condition of release without bail, regardless of whether or not the penalty is rebated, suspended, or probated. See
• 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.
• crew leader: means an individual who:

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dealer: means any person who sells or delivers fuel into the fuel supply tanks of motor vehicles owned or operated by others. See
• Dealer: means any person who engages in whole or in part in the business of buying, selling, or exchanging new and unused vessels, snowmobiles, or all-terrain vehicles, or used vessels, snowmobiles, or all-terrain vehicles, or any combination, either outright or on conditional sale, bailment, lease, chattel mortgage, or otherwise, and who has an established place of business for sale, trade, and display of vessels, snowmobiles, or all-terrain vehicles. See
• Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles unless otherwise stated. See
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Direct supervision: means that the supervisor shall be sufficiently close and able to control, by communicating visually or orally, the operation of an ATV by an operator under 16 years of age, taking into account the noise created by an ATV and protective headgear worn by the operator. See
• Distributor: means any person who sells or delivers fuel into bulk storage tanks of a dealer or user. See
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• 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
• domestic partner: means another individual with whom an individual has an enduring domestic relationship of a spousal nature, provided that the individual and the individual's domestic partner:

• Electric bicycle: means a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals, a saddle or seat for the rider, and an electric motor of less than 750 watts that meets the requirements of one of the following three classes:

• 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}
• Employer: includes :

• Employing unit: means any individual or type of organization, including any partnership, association, labor organization as defined in section 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act, trust, estate, joint stock company, insurance company, or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, trustee, or successor thereof, or the legal representative of a deceased person, any federal, state, or local governmental entity, which has had in its employ since January 1, 1936, one or more individuals performing services for it within this State. See
• employment: shall include an individual's entire service, performed within, or both within and without, this State if the service is localized in this State. See
• Employment office: means a free public employment office, or branch thereof, of the Vermont Employment Service Division, or an office maintained by another state as a part of a state-controlled system of free public employment offices, or by a federal agency or any agency of a foreign government charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation program or free public employment offices; or such other agencies as the Secretary of Labor may approve. See
• Enforcement officers: shall include :

• engaged in the business: means having sold or exchanged at least 12 cars or motor trucks, or a combination thereof, in the immediately preceding year, or 24 in the two immediately preceding years. See
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• 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.
• Farm: means a parcel or parcels of land owned, leased, or managed by a person and devoted primarily to farming. See
• farm: includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animal, and truck farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouses or other similar structures used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural commodities, and orchards. See
• Farm truck: means a motor truck that, at the option of the owner, may be registered under the provisions of subsection 367(f) of this title or may be unregistered when used in accordance with subsection 370(b) of this title. See
• 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.
• Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
  • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
  • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
  • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• 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}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fuel: means clear diesel fuel that has not been dyed in accordance with 26 U. See
• Fund: means the Unemployment Compensation Fund established by this chapter, to which all contributions required and from which all benefits provided under this chapter shall be paid. 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.
• Hospital: means an institution that has been licensed, certified, or approved by the Department of Health as a hospital or an institution that is operated by the State of Vermont or any of its instrumentalities as a hospital. See
• Identification number: means the numbers and letters, if any, on a vessel designated by the Commissioner for the purpose of identifying the vessel. See
• Institution of higher education: means an educational institution that (A) admits as regular students only individuals having a certificate of graduation from a high school, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate; (B) is legally authorized in this State to provide a program of education beyond high school; (C) provides an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's or higher degree, or provides a program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree, a program of post-graduate or post-doctoral studies, or a program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation; and (D) is a public or other nonprofit institution. See
• Joint session: When both chambers of a legislature adopt a concurrent resolution to meet together.
• Junior operator: shall include only such persons as are 16 and 17 years of age. 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.
• 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
• 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}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lienholder: means a person holding a security interest in a vessel, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle. See
• Manufacturer: means any person engaged in the business of manufacturing or importing new and unused vessels, snowmobiles, or all-terrain vehicles for the purpose of sale or trade. See
• Month: means 30 days and "year" means 365 days. See
• Month: shall mean a calendar month and "year" shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Motor truck: means a motor vehicle designed primarily for the transportation of property and goods, and not primarily for the transportation of passengers. See
• Motor vehicle: includes all vehicles propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power, except farm tractors, vehicles running only upon stationary rails or tracks, motorized highway building equipment, road making appliances, snowmobiles, tracked vehicles, motor-assisted bicycles, electric bicycles, or electric personal assistive mobility devices. See
• Motor vehicle: means any self-propelled vehicle using fuel on the public highways and registered or required to be registered for operation thereon. See
• Motor-assisted bicycle: means any bicycle or tricycle with fully operable pedals and equipped with a motor that in itself is capable of producing a top speed of not more than 20 miles per hour on a paved level surface when ridden by an operator who weighs 170 pounds and either:

  (I) has an internal combustion motor with a power output of not more than 1,000 watts or 1. See

• Moving violation: means any violation of any provision of this title, while the motor vehicle is being operated on a public highway, over which operation the operator has discretion as to commission of the act, except for offenses pertaining to:

• Municipality: shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units. See
• Nonresident: shall include any person who does not come under the definition of a resident. See
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: shall include affirmation where by law an affirmation may be substituted. See
• 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.
• Operate: means to navigate or otherwise use a vessel, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle. See
• Operator: shall include all persons 18 years of age or over properly licensed to operate motor vehicles. See
• Owner: shall include any person, corporation, co-partnership, or association holding legal title to a motor vehicle or having exclusive right to the use or control thereof for a period of 30 days or more. See
• Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having property in or title to a vessel, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle. 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.
• Pedestrian: means any person afoot and shall also include any person 16 years of age or older operating an electric personal assistive mobility device. See
• Person: includes any natural person, corporation, association, co-partnership, company, firm, or other aggregation of individuals. 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
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Pleasure car: shall include all motor vehicles not otherwise defined in this title. See
• Portable electronic device: means a portable electronic or computing device, including a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or laptop computer. 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.
• Privilege to operate: includes the privilege of a nonresident to operate a motor vehicle within the State and includes the privilege of a resident to obtain a license. See
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Railroad fuel: means diesel fuel and any blend of diesel and other fuel used or suitable for use for the generation of power to propel a railroad train. See
• Rate year: means the period beginning on July 1 of a year and ending on June 30 of the following year. See
• real estate: shall include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein, and pews or slips in places of public worship shall be treated as real estate. See
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative 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.
• Resident: as used in this title only, means any person living in the State who intends to make the State his or her principal place of domicile either permanently or for an indefinite number of years. See
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• road: shall include bridges thereon and their approaches. See
• said: when used by way of reference to a person or thing shall apply to the same person or thing last mentioned. See
• School bus: means any motor vehicle used to transport children to or from school or in connection with school activities, except:

• seal: shall include an impression of the official seal made upon paper alone or by means of a wafer or wax affixed thereto. See
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Natural Resources. See
• Security agreement: means a written agreement that reserves or creates a security interest. See
• Security interest: means an interest in a vessel, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle reserved or created by agreement and that secures payment or performance of an obligation. See
• Self-employment:

• Serial number: means the numbers and letters designated by the snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle manufacturer for the purpose of identifying a snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle. See
• Snowmobile: means a self-propelled vehicle intended for off-road travel primarily on snow, having a curb weight of not more than 453. See
• Spouse: includes an individual's domestic partner or civil union partner. See
• State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a province of the Dominion of Canada. See
• State: means the states of the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and after December 31, 1977, the Virgin Islands. 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 lands: means land owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the State. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• sworn: shall include affirmed. See
• 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
• traffic violation: means :

• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unemployment Compensation Administration Fund: means the Unemployment Compensation Administration Fund established by this chapter, from which administrative expenses under this chapter shall be paid. See
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Use: means the consumption of fuel by a user to propel motor vehicles on the highways of the State. See
• Use: means to operate, navigate, or employ a vessel, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle. See
• User: means any person who uses fuel to propel a motor vehicle, owned or operated by him or her, upon the highways of this State. See
• Valid claim: means a claim for benefits filed by an individual who, at the time of filing the claim, has had sufficient wages in employment with an employer or employers to qualify for benefits pursuant to section 1338 of this title. See
• VASA: means the Vermont ATV Sportsman's Association, a statewide association of ATV clubs. See
• Vessel: means every description of watercraft capable of being used as a means of transportation on water that is equipped with machinery capable of propelling the watercraft, whether or not such machinery is the principal source of propulsion, but shall not include a watercraft that has a valid marine document issued by U. See
• wages: as used in this chapter shall not include:

• Week: means such period or periods of seven consecutive days, as the Board may by regulation prescribe. See