Terms Used In California Codes > Government Code > Title 1 > Division 3.6 > Part 3 > Chapter 1 - General

• Adult: means an individual 18 years of age or older. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• 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.
• affordable price: means , in the case of a purchaser, other than a lower income household, the price for residential property for which the purchaser's monthly payments will not exceed that portion of the purchasing household's adjusted income as determined in accordance with the regulations of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, issued pursuant to Section 235 of the National Housing Act. See California Government Code 54236
• Aid-in-dying drug: means a drug determined and prescribed by a physician for a qualified individual, which the qualified individual may choose to self-administer to bring about their death due to a terminal disease. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• area median income: means median household income, adjusted for family size as determined in accordance with the regulations of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development issued pursuant to Section 235 of the National Housing Act, as amended (Public Law 90-448), for the standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA), in which surplus residential property to be disposed of pursuant to this article is located, or the county in which the property is located, if it is outside an SMSA. See California Government Code 54236
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attending physician: means the physician who has primary responsibility for the health care of an individual and treatment of the individual's terminal disease. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Attending physician checklist and compliance form: means a form, as described in Section 443. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Capacity to make medical decisions: means that, in the opinion of an individual's attending physician, consulting physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist, pursuant to §. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Consulting physician: means a physician who is independent from the attending physician and who is qualified by specialty or experience to make a professional diagnosis and prognosis regarding an individual's terminal disease. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• 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.
• County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
• County: includes city and county. See California Health and Safety Code 14
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the State Department of Public Health. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Department: means the Department of Food and Agriculture. See California Food and Agricultural Code 32
• Director: means "State Director of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 21
• displacement: includes , but is not limited to, persons who will have to move from surplus residential property that they occupy when it is sold by a state agency because they are unable to afford to pay the price that the state agency is asking for the residential property. See California Government Code 54236
• Dispose: means either of the following:

  California Government Code 54221

• district: as used in this article includes all districts within the state, including, but not limited to, all special districts, sewer, water, utility, and local and regional park districts, and any other political subdivision of this state that is a district, and therefore the changes in paragraph (1) made by the act adding this paragraph that specify that the provisions of this article apply to all districts, including school, sewer, water, utility, and local and regional park districts of any kind or class, are declaratory of, and not a change in, existing law. See California Government Code 54221
• 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}
• 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.
• exempt surplus land: means any of the following:

  California Government Code 54221

• 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.
• fair market value: shall mean fair market value as of the date the offer of sale is made by the selling agency pursuant to the provisions of this article and shall reflect the existing "as is" condition of the property, taking into account any repairs required to make the property safe and habitable. See California Government Code 54236
• 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.
• 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.
• Health care entity: means any clinic, health dispensary, or health facility licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200), including a general hospital, medical clinic, nursing home or hospice facility. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• 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}
• Informed decision: means a decision by an individual with a terminal disease to request and obtain a prescription for a drug that the individual may self-administer to end the individual's life, that is based on an understanding and acknowledgment of the relevant facts, and that is made after being fully informed by the attending physician of all of the following:

  California Health and Safety Code 443.1

• 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.
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local agency: means every city, whether organized under general law or by charter, county, city and county, district, including school, sewer, water, utility, and local and regional park districts of any kind or class, joint powers authority, successor agency to a former redevelopment agency, housing authority, or other political subdivision of this state and any instrumentality thereof that is empowered to acquire and hold real property. See California Government Code 54221
• lower income households: means lower income households as defined in §. See California Government Code 54236
• Medically confirmed: means the medical diagnosis and prognosis of the attending physician has been confirmed by a consulting physician who has examined the individual and the individual's relevant medical records. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Mental health specialist: means a psychiatrist or a licensed psychologist. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Mental health specialist assessment: means one or more consultations between an individual and a mental health specialist for the purpose of determining that the individual has the capacity to make medical decisions and is not suffering from impaired judgment due to a mental disorder. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• 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.
• offer: means to solicit proposals prior to sale in a manner calculated to achieve a sale under the conditions specified, and to hold the offer open for a reasonable period of time, which shall be no more than one year, unless the time is extended by the selling agency at its discretion, for a period to be specified by the selling agency. See California Government Code 54236
• 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 person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
• Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Health and Safety Code 19
• Person: means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or any organized group of persons whether incorporated or not. See California Food and Agricultural Code 38
• persons and families of low or moderate income: means persons and families who meet both of the following conditions:

  California Government Code 54236

• Physician: means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy currently licensed to practice medicine in this state. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• 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}
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Process: includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature. See California Government Code 22
• property: includes property real and personal. See California Civil Code 14
• Public place: means any street, alley, park, public building, any place of business or assembly open to or frequented by the public, and any other place that is open to the public view, or to which the public has access. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Qualified individual: means an adult who has the capacity to make medical decisions, is a resident of California, and has satisfied the requirements of this part in order to obtain a prescription for a drug to end their life. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. See California Food and Agricultural Code 35
• Self-administer: means a qualified individual's affirmative, conscious, and physical act of administering and ingesting the aid-in-dying drug to bring about their own death. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• 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.
• single-family residence: means a real property improvement used, or intended to be used, as a dwelling unit for one family. See California Government Code 54236
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Business and Professions Code 14.2
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Food and Agricultural Code 49
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Surplus land: includes land held in the Community Redevelopment Property Trust Fund pursuant to §. See California Government Code 54221
• surplus residential property: means land and structures owned by any agency of the state that is determined to be no longer necessary for the agency's use, and that is developed as single-family or multifamily housing, except property being held by the agency for the purpose of exchange. See California Government Code 54236
• Terminal disease: means an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, result in death within six months. See California Health and Safety Code 443.1
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• will: includes codicil. See California Civil Code 14
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.