Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 44 > Chapter 31 - Records Management by Federal Agencies

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
• 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.
• 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.
• Indian tribe: as used in this subchapter shall include such other authorized Indian tribe, inter-tribal consortium, or tribal organization. See 25 USC 5381
• individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
• inherent Federal functions: means those Federal functions which cannot legally be delegated to Indian tribes. See 25 USC 5381
• 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.
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. See 25 USC 5381
• self-governance: means the program of self-governance established under section 5382 of this title. See 25 USC 5381
• 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.
• State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• 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.
• tribal share: means an Indian tribe's portion of all funds and resources that support secretarial programs, services, functions, and activities (or portions thereof) that are not required by the Secretary for performance of inherent Federal functions. See 25 USC 5381
• writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1