Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 16 > Chapter 87 - Grants, Scholarships, and Education Loan Programs

• Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all the amounts deducted for Municipal Employees' Retirement System purposes from the compensation of a member with interest thereon, as provided in subsection 5063(b) of this title. See
• Actuarial equivalent: means a benefit of equal value under actuarial assumptions last adopted by the Retirement Board under subsection 5063a(h) of this title. See
• Adjusted gross income: means an individual's adjusted gross income under the laws of the United States relating to federal income taxes for the tax year next preceding the school year for which a grant or loan is sought. See
• Adult education and literacy: means a program of public education adapted to the needs of persons who are beyond compulsory school age, and who have not completed high school education. 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.
• Agency of Education: means the Secretary and staff necessary to carry out the functions of the Agency. See
• 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.
• Annual meeting: when applied to towns shall mean the annual town meeting in March or an adjournment thereof. 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.
• Annuity: means annual payments for life actuarially derived from the accumulated contributions of a member. See
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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
• Approved independent school: means an independent school that is approved under section 166 of this title. See
• Approved postsecondary education institution: means any institution of postsecondary education that is:

• Approved postsecondary education institution: means a postsecondary education institution as defined in section 2822 of this title. See
• Approved postsecondary education institution: means any institution of postsecondary education that is:

• Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• 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.
• Bailiff: a court officer who enforces the rules of behavior in courtrooms.
• 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}
• Beneficiary: means any individual designated by a participation agreement to benefit from payments for qualified postsecondary education costs. See
• Benefits: means the payment of qualified postsecondary education costs on behalf of a beneficiary from a participant's investment plan account. See
• 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
• biennially: shall mean the year in which a regular session of the General Assembly is held. See
• Board: means the board established or designated as the housing board of review. See
• Board: means the Board of Trustees of the System provided for in section 5062 of this title to administer the System. See
• Board: means the Board of Directors of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. See
• Bond: means any bond or note issued by the municipal corporation and payable out of the net revenues from the operation of a public utility project. See
• Bullying: means any overt act or combination of acts, including an act conducted by electronic means, directed against a student by another student or group of students and that:

• Commercial operation: means the operation of a snowmobile on the SSTS by an individual participating in a guided tour or who has rented a snowmobile from an individual or corporate entity charging a fee for the tour or rental. See
• Commissioner: means Commissioner of Motor Vehicles unless otherwise stated. See
• Committed: means pledged and appropriated for the purpose of the current and future payment of tax increment financing incurred in accordance with section 1894 of this subchapter and related costs as defined in this section. See
• Committee: means the Vermont Universal Children's Higher Education Savings Account Program Fund Advisory Committee. 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
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• comprehensive health education: means a systematic and extensive elementary and secondary educational program designed to provide a variety of learning experiences based upon knowledge of the human organism as it functions within its environment. See
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Continuous service: means those periods of service as an employee with all employers, provided all of the following conditions are met:

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Corporation: means the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. See
• Corporation: means Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. See
• Corporation: means Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. See
• Cost of operation and maintenance: shall mean the expenses for operation, maintenance, repairs, and ordinary replacements properly and directly attributable to the operation or ordinary maintenance of the public utility project. See
• Creditable service: means that period of continuous service subsequent to an employee joining the System and prior to his or her termination of service, during which an employee makes contributions. See
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dealer: means a person, partnership, corporation, or other entity engaged in the business of selling or exchanging new or used motor vehicles, snowmobiles, motorboats, or all-terrain vehicles. See
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means Department of Motor Vehicles unless otherwise stated. See
• Direct supervision: means sufficiently close and able to control, by communicating visually or orally, the operation of a snowmobile by an operator under 16 years of age, taking into account the noise created by snowmobiles and protective headgear worn by the operator. 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:
• 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
• Dwelling: means any building or structure or part thereof, including hotels and rooming houses, that is used, occupied, or intended to be used or occupied for human habitation, and includes dwelling premises, appurtenances, and facilities belonging to the dwelling or usually enjoyed therewith. See
• Dwelling premises: means the land and auxiliary buildings thereon used or intended to be used in connection with the dwelling. See
• Earnable compensation: means the total amounts paid to an employee for his or her position. See
• Eligible child: means a minor who is a Vermont resident at the time the Corporation deposits or allocates funds pursuant to this subchapter for his or her benefit. See
• Employee: means the following persons employed on a regular basis by a school district or by a supervisory union for no fewer than 1,040 hours in a year and for no fewer than 30 hours a week for the school year, as defined in 16 V. See
• Employer: means a municipality, a library at least one-half of whose operating expenses are paid from municipal funds, or a supervisory union. See
• Enforcement officers: shall include :

• Enforcing officer: means the head, or his or her duly authorized representative, of the division, bureau, office, department, or agency responsible for enforcing and administering any ordinance or regulation adopted under this chapter. See
• 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.
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Financing: means debt incurred, including principal, interest, and any fees or charges directly related to that debt, or other instruments or borrowing used by a municipality to pay for improvements in a tax increment financing district, only if authorized by the legal voters of the municipality in accordance with section 1894 of this subchapter. 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.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• 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.
• Group A member: means a person employed by a participating municipality who does not elect to become a Group B, C, or D member under section 5068 of this title or does not become a Group B or C member pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. See
• Group B member: means a person employed by a municipality who elects to become a Group B member under section 5068 of this title or becomes a Group B member pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. See
• Group C member: means a person employed by a municipality who elects to become a Group C member under section 5068 of this title or becomes a Group C member pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. See
• Group D member: means a person employed by a participating municipality who elects to become a Group D member under section 5068 of this title. See
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Hazing: means any act committed by a person, whether individually or in concert with others, against a student in connection with pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization that is affiliated with an educational institution; and that is intended to have the effect of, or should reasonably be expected to have the effect of, humiliating, intimidating, or demeaning the student or endangering the mental or physical health of a student. See
• Higher Education Act: means the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, Pub. See
• Holding tank: means a container or device designed to provide for the retention of wastes on board a vessel and to prevent the discharge of wastes into the waters of this State. See
• Improvement: shall include , apart from its ordinary signification:

• Improvements: means the installation, new construction, or reconstruction of infrastructure that will serve a public purpose and fulfill the purpose of tax increment financing districts as stated in section 1893 of this subchapter, including utilities, transportation, public facilities and amenities, land and property acquisition and demolition, and site preparation. See
• Improvements: means the installation, new construction, or reconstruction of infrastructure to benefit a municipal tax increment financing district, including utilities, transportation, public facilities and amenities, land and property acquisition and demolition, and site preparation. See
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Independent school: means a school other than a public school, which provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both. See
• independent school meeting education quality standards: means an independent school in Vermont that undergoes the education quality standards process and meets the requirements of subsection 165(b) of this title. 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.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Internal Revenue Code: means the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, together with the regulations promulgated pursuant to that Code. See
• Investment Plan: means one or more plans created pursuant to this subchapter. See
• Investment Plan: means the plan created pursuant to subchapter 7 of this chapter. 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.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• 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
• Kindergarten: means an educational program for children of one year adapted to the needs of students who will attend first grade the following year. See
• Law enforcement officer: means a person designated in subdivision 4(11) of this title and includes deputy State game wardens and auxiliary State Police officers. 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}
• Legislative body: means the mayor and alderboard, the city council, the selectboard, and the president and trustees of an incorporated village, as appropriate. See
• Legislative body: means the mayor and alderboard, the city council, the selectboard, or the president and trustees of an incorporated village, as appropriate. See
• Legislative body: means the legislative body of a town, city, or incorporated village. See
• Legislative body: means the board of supervisors, board of commissioners, or other governing board of a solid waste management district. See
• Legislative branch: shall mean the mayor and board of aldermen of a city, the selectboard of a town, the trustees of a village, the board of school directors of a school district, the trustees or prudential committee of a graded school or fire district, and the Board of Governors of the unified towns and gores of Essex County, and, with respect to other municipal corporations, the governing body designated by statute. See
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Marine toilet: means any toilet on or within any vessel except those that have been permanently sealed and made inoperative. See
• Masthead light: means a white light placed over the fore and aft centerline of the vessel showing an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of 225 degrees and so fixed as to show the light from right ahead to 22. See
• Member: means any employee included in the membership of the Retirement System under section 5053 of this title. 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
• Month: means 30 days and "year" means 365 days. See
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Motorboat: means any vessel equipped with machinery capable of propelling the vessel, whether or not such machinery is the principal source of propulsion. See
• Municipal corporation: shall include a city, town, village, town school district, graded school district, or other incorporated, union, or unified school district or any entity providing educational services which is eligible to receive State aid under 16 Vt. 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
• Municipality: means a city, town, or incorporated village. See
• Municipality: means a city, town, county, incorporated village, fire district, consolidated water district, housing authority, union municipal district, school district, incorporated school district, union school district, or any of their instrumentalities. See
• Municipality: means a city, town, or incorporated village. See
• Municipality: means a city, town, or incorporated village. See
• Necessity: means a reasonable need which considers the greatest public good and the least inconvenience and expense to the condemning party and to the property owner. See
• Net revenues: shall mean revenues less cost of operation and maintenance. See
• Nonresident: shall include any person who does not come under the definition of a resident. 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.
• Operate: includes an attempt to operate and shall be construed to cover all matters and things connected with the presence and use of snowmobiles whether they be at motion or rest. See
• Operator: shall include all persons 18 years of age or over properly licensed to operate motor vehicles. See
• Original taxable value: means the total valuation as determined in accordance with 32 Vt. See
• Original taxable value: means the total valuation as determined in accordance with 32 Vt. See
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having the property in or title to a vessel. See
• Parents: means a student's parent or parents as determined by the Corporation consistently with the requirements of the federal financial assistance programs established under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. See
• Participant: means a person who has entered into a participation agreement pursuant to this subchapter intended for the payment of qualified postsecondary education costs on behalf of a beneficiary. See
• Participation agreement: means an agreement between a participant and the Corporation, pursuant to and conforming with the requirements of this subchapter. 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.
• Pension: means annual payments for life derived from contributions by the State and municipality. 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, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or other entity. See
• Personal estate: shall include all property other than real estate. See
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal watercraft: means a class A vessel that uses an inboard engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motive power and that is designed to be operated by an individual or individuals sitting, standing, or kneeling on or being towed behind the motorboat rather than in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel. See
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Portable electronic device: means a portable electronic or computing device, including a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or laptop computer. See
• Postsecondary education costs: means the qualified costs of tuition, fees, and other expenses for attendance at an institution of postsecondary education, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, together with the regulations promulgated under that Code. 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.
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
• Private law: A private bill enacted into law. Private laws have restricted applicability, often addressing immigration and naturalization issues affecting individuals.
• 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
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Program: means the Vermont Universal Children's Higher Education Savings Account Program. See
• Program beneficiary: means an individual who is or who was at one time an eligible child for whom the Corporation deposited or allocated funds pursuant to this subchapter and who has not yet attained 29 years of age or, for national service program participants, the extended maturity date. See
• Program Fund: means the Vermont Universal Children's Higher Education Savings Account Program Fund. See
• Project: shall mean an undertaking for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement, financing, enlargement, extension, or betterment of any of the following public utility systems:

• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Psychiatric disability: means an impairment of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory that limits one or more major life activities but does not include intellectual disability. See
• Public land: means all land that is either owned or controlled by a local, State, or federal governmental body. See
• Public school: means an elementary school or secondary school operated by a school district. See
• Qualified postsecondary education costs: means the costs of tuition and fees for attendance at an approved postsecondary education institution, and other qualified higher education expenses as provided under 26 U. See
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Racing shell or rowing scull: means a manually propelled vessel that is recognized by national or international racing associations for use in competitive racing, and one in which all occupants row or scull, with the exception of a coxswain, if one is provided, and is not designed to carry and does not carry any equipment not solely for competitive racing. 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.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Regular interest: means interest at such rate or rates as may be established from time to time by the Board as provided in subsection 5063(b) of this title. See
• Related costs: means expenses incurred and paid by the municipality, exclusive of the actual cost of constructing and financing improvements, that are directly related to the creation and implementation of the tax increment financing district, including reimbursement of sums previously advanced by the municipality for those purposes. See
• Related costs: means expenses incurred and paid by the municipality, exclusive of the actual cost of constructing and financing improvements, that are directly related to the creation and implementation of a municipal tax increment financing district, including reimbursement of sums previously advanced by the municipality for those purposes, direct municipal expenses such as departmental or personnel costs related to creating or administering the project, and audit costs allocable to the district. 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.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• 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
• Resident: means , with respect to a student, a student who has been domiciled in Vermont for the year preceding the date of commencement of the relevant semester or academic program. See
• Respondent: means a person alleged to have violated a solid waste ordinance. See
• Retirement: means withdrawal from active service with a retirement allowance granted under the provisions of this chapter. See
• 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
• Sailboard: means a sailboat whose unsupported mast is attached to a surfboard-like hull by a flexible joint. See
• Sailing vessel: means any vessel under sail, provided that propelling machinery, if fitted, is not being used. See
• School: means a public postsecondary school operating in the State. 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
• School year: means the year beginning July 1 and ending the next June 30. 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 Agency of Natural Resources. See
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Education. See
• selectboard: as used in this chapter , shall include the mayor and board of aldermen of a city and the president and trustees of an incorporated village. See
• Service: means service as an employee for which compensation is paid by an employer as defined in subdivision (11) of this section, service recognized under section 5054 of this title, or service prior to the effective date of the plan. 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
• Snowmobile: means a self-propelled vehicle intended for off-road travel primarily on snow, having a curb weight of not more than 793. See
• Solid waste ordinance: means an ordinance adopted pursuant to subdivision 2291(12) of this title. 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 Board: means the State Board of Education established by chapter 3 of this title. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Sternlight: means a white light placed as nearly as practicable at the stern, showing an unbroken light over an arc of the horizon of 135 degrees and so fixed as to show the light 67. See
• Student: means any person who:

• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Supervisory union: means an administrative, planning, and educational service unit created by the State Board under section 261 of this title, that consists of two or more school districts; if the context clearly allows, the term also means a supervisory district. See
• sworn: shall include affirmed. See
• System: means the Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Vermont, as defined in section 5052 of this title. See
• Taxable: when used in reference to a note, bond, or other obligation means that the interest on that obligation is includable in the gross income of the holder under the laws of the United States relating to federal income taxes. See
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• TIF: means a tax increment financing district. 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.
• Tour: means a snowmobile ride led by a guide or leader over a defined route or routes lasting anywhere from one-half hour to less than a day and participated in by one or more individuals that have paid a fee to an individual or corporate entity for the privilege of riding a snowmobile. 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
• town: shall mean village or city. See
• 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.
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• VAST: means the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers. See
• Vermont resident: means an individual who is domiciled in Vermont as evidenced by the individual's intent to maintain a principal dwelling place in Vermont indefinitely and to return there if temporarily absent, coupled with an act or acts consistent with that intent. See
• Vessel: means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water or a racing shell or rowing scull occupied exclusively by individuals over 12 years of age, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See
• Village: shall mean an incorporated village. See
• Waste: means effluent, sewage, or any substance or material, liquid, gaseous, solid, or radioactive, including heated liquids, whether or not harmful or deleterious to waters of this State. See
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.