Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 23 > Chapter 21 > Subchapter 1 - General Provisions

• Addition: means any new construction that increases the height or floor area of an existing building or facility. See
• 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.
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• 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.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• 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
• Art selection panel: means a Council-appointed group of individuals consisting of the Department of Buildings and General Services project manager, the project architect, a representative or representatives from the occupant agency or agencies, the community, and arts professionals who forward recommendations of artwork to the Advisory Committee for final approval. See
• 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.
• 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
• Board: means the Natural Resources Board. See
• Board: means the Board of Medical Practice established under section 1351 of this title. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. 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.
• Contracting agency: means the administrative unit of State government responsible for securing the preparation of plans and specifications of a State building or facility for the purpose of negotiating or advertising for bids for the construction of such building or facility. See
• 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.
• Council: means the Vermont Council on the Arts, Inc. See
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dealer: means a person as defined in subdivision 4(8) of this title. See
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Environmental Conservation. See
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Director: means the Director of the Office of Professional Regulation. See
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Disposition facility: means a business registered with the Office conducted at a specific street address or location devoted to the disposition of human remains by means of cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, or natural organic reduction. 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
• Encroach: means to place or cause to be placed any material or structure in any lakes and ponds that are public waters or to alter, or cause to be altered, the lands underlying any waters, or to place or cause to be placed any bridge, dock, boathouse, cable, pipeline, or similar structure beyond the shoreline as established by the mean water level of any lakes and ponds that are public waters under the jurisdiction of the Board. See
• 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}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• 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.
• 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
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Funeral director: means a licensed person who is the owner, co-owner, employee, or manager of a licensed funeral establishment and who, for compensation, engages in the practice of funeral service. See
• Funeral establishment: means a business registered with the Office conducted at a specific street address or location devoted to the practice of funeral service, and includes a limited services establishment. See
• gender identity: means an individual's actual or perceived gender identity, or gender-related characteristics intrinsically related to an individual's gender or gender-identity, regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth. See
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Identification number: means the numbers and letters, if any, on a vehicle designated by the Commissioner for the purpose of identifying the vehicle. See
• 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.
• 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
• 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.
• License: means license to practice medicine and surgery in the State as defined in subchapter 3 of this chapter. See
• Licensee: includes any individual licensed or certified by the Board. See
• Lienholder: means a person holding a security interest in a vehicle. See
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Medical director: means , for purposes of this chapter, a physician who is Board-certified or Board-eligible in his or her field of specialty, as determined by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), and who is charged by a health maintenance organization with responsibility for overseeing all clinical activities of the plan in this State, or his or her designee. See
• Members: means members of the Board. See
• Mixed media: means any combination of two or more types of materials used to create a single work of art in two or three dimensions. 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 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
• Municipality: shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units. See
• navigable waters: means those waters as defined in 10 V. See
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• 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.
• Occupant agency: means that public entity that has or will have principal authority to use or occupy a public building. See
• Office: means the Office of Professional Regulation. See
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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 any natural person, corporation, association, co-partnership, company, firm, or other aggregation of individuals. See
• Person: means any individual; partnership; company; corporation; association; joint venture; trust; municipality; the State of Vermont or any agency, department, or subdivision of the State; any federal agency; or any other legal or commercial entity. 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.
• 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.
• Practice of funeral service: means arranging, directing, or providing for the care, preparation, or disposition of dead human bodies for a fee or other compensation. See
• Practice of medicine: means :

• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Project cost: means the budgeted cost of a construction or renovation project, which may include an addition, excluding the cost of design and of land acquisition or land improvement. See
• Project site: means any State building or facility undergoing new construction or renovation, which may include an addition, with a total project cost of $1,000,000. See
• Public good: means that which shall be for the greatest benefit of the people of the State of Vermont. See
• Public waters: means navigable waters excepting those waters in private ponds and private preserves as set forth in 10 V. See
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• 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.
• Removal: means the removal of dead human bodies from places of death, hospitals, institutions, or other locations, for a fee or other compensation. See
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• 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
• Salvage certificate of title: means a title that is stamped or otherwise branded to indicate that the vehicle described thereon is a salvaged motor vehicle. See
• Salvaged motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle that has been purchased or otherwise acquired as salvage; scrapped, dismantled, or destroyed; or declared a total loss by an insurance company. See
• 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 the Board. See
• Security interest: means an interest in a vehicle reserved or created by agreement and which secures payment or performance of an obligation. See
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• sexual orientation: means female or male homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 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: 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 building or facility: means any State building, facility, permanent structure, park, or appurtenant structure thereof, wholly or partially enclosed, owned or leased by State government, that is to be constructed or renovated, which may include an addition, in part or totally with funds from any appropriation from the capital construction act. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• sworn: shall include affirmed. See
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• 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
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Vehicle: means a motor vehicle as defined by section 4 of this title. See
• Village: shall mean an incorporated village. See
• Work of art: means an original creation of visual art in sculpture, paintings, graphic arts, mosaics, photography, crafts, calligraphy, mixed media, or any other creation that the Advisory Committee deems a visual art. See