Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 27A > Article 1 - General Provisions

• 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.
• Architect: means a person who is licensed to practice architecture under this chapter. See
• Barbering: means engaging in the continuing performance, for compensation, of any of the following activities: cutting, shampooing, or styling hair; shaving the face, shaving around the vicinity of the ears and neckline, or trimming facial hair; facials, skin care, or scalp massages, and bleaching, coloring, straightening, or permanent-waving hair, or similar work by any means, with hands or mechanical or electrical apparatus or appliances. See
• 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}
• Board: means the "Vermont Board of Architecture. See
• Board: means the Board of Public Accountancy. 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.
• 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.
• Cosmetology: means engaging in the continuing performance, for compensation, of any of the following activities:

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Director: means the Director of the Office of Professional Regulation. 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}
• Esthetics: means massaging, cleansing, stimulating, manipulating, beautifying, or otherwise working on the scalp, face, or neck by using cosmetic preparations, antiseptics, tonics, lotions, or creams. 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.
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• Firm: means a sole proprietorship, a corporation, a partnership, association, or any other entity that practices public accountancy. See
• 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.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• 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.
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Peer review: means a systemwide study, appraisal, or review of one or more aspects of the professional work of a person or firm in the practice of public accounting that performs attest services by a person or persons who are licensed under this chapter and who are not affiliated with the person or firm being reviewed. 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.
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Practice of public accounting: means the performance or the offering to perform by a person or firm holding itself out to the public as being licensed, registered, or otherwise authorized under this chapter, for a client or potential client, of one or more kinds of services involving the use of accounting or auditing skills, including the issuance of reports on financial statements, or of one or more kinds of management advisory, financial advisory, or consulting services, or the preparation of tax returns or the furnishing of advice on tax matters. See
• Public accountant: means a certified public accountant or a registered public accountant until July 1, 2003, after which the title of registered public accountant will still exist for those licensed as registered public accountants or having received conditional credit toward licensure as a registered public accountant by that date, but will no longer be a title granted by the Board. 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.
• 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.
• report: includes any form of language that disclaims an opinion when the form of language is conventionally understood to imply any positive assurance as to the reliability of the attested information or compiled financial statements referred to or special competence on the part of the person or firm issuing the language; and it includes any other form of language that is conventionally understood to imply such assurance or such special knowledge or competence. See
• Responsible control: means that amount of control over and detailed knowledge of the content of technical submissions during their preparation as is ordinarily exercised by licensed architects applying the required professional standard of care. See
• School of barbering or cosmetology: means a facility or facilities regularly used to train or instruct persons in the practice of barbering or cosmetology. 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
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Shop: means a facility or facilities regularly used to offer or provide barbering or cosmetology. See
• State: includes the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U. 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
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Supervision: means work prepared under the regular, personal review of a licensed architect's control and as to which the architect has detailed professional knowledge. See
• Technical submissions: means designs, drawings, specifications, studies, and other technical reports prepared in the course of executing a portion of a construction project. See
• 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
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.