Terms Used In California Codes > Government Code > Title 2 > Division 5 > Part 3 > Chapter 1 > Article 2 - Definitions

• Accessible: means that the information provided on the paper cast vote record from the voter verified paper audit trail mechanism is provided or conveyed to voters via both a visual and a nonvisual method, such as through an audio component. See California Elections Code 19271
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Ballot label: means :

  California Elections Code 303

• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• 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}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• board: means the State Public Works Board, and "director" means Director of General Services. See California Government Code 15752
• Board: means the Voting Modernization Board, established pursuant to Section 19256. See California Elections Code 19252
• Board: means the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• Bond: means a state general obligation bond issued pursuant to this article adopting the provisions of the State General Obligation Bond Law. See California Elections Code 19252
• candidate: includes any officeholder who is subject to a recall election. See California Elections Code 305
• City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Government Code 20
• Clerk: means the county elections official, registrar of voters, city clerk, or other officer or board charged with the duty of conducting any election. See California Elections Code 307
• Committee: means the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Finance Committee created by Section 80162. See California Public Resources Code 80002
• Committee: means the Voting Modernization Finance Committee, established pursuant to Section 19253. See California Elections Code 19252
• 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 the remuneration paid out of funds controlled by the employer in payment for the member's services performed during normal working hours or for time during which the member is excused from work because of any of the following:

  California Government Code 20630

• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Construction: includes the extension, enlargement, repair, renovation, restoration, improvement, furnishing, and equipping of any public building. See California Government Code 15802
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• 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.
• County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
• County: includes "city and county. See California Public Resources 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 Department of Parks and Recreation and "director" means the Director of Parks and Recreation. See California Public Resources Code 5001.1
• Department: means the Department of Parks and Recreation. See California Public Resources Code 80002
• Department: means the Department of Parks and Recreation. See California Public Resources Code 5078
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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.
• Direct recording electronic voting system: means a voting system that records a vote electronically and does not require or permit the voter to record his or her vote directly onto a tangible ballot. See California Elections Code 19271
• Director: means the Director of Fish and Game. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• Disability: means a medical condition, mental disability, or physical disability, as those terms are defined in subdivisions (i), (j), and (l) of §. See California Elections Code 354.5
• Disadvantaged community: means a community with a median household income less than 80 percent of the statewide average. See California Public Resources Code 80002
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Election: means any election including a primary that is provided for under this code. See California Elections Code 318
• Election board: means the board of supervisors of each county, the city council or other governing body of a city, or any board or officer to whom similar powers and duties are given by any charter. See California Elections Code 319
• Elections official: means any of the following:

  California Elections Code 320

• Elector: means a person who is a United States citizen 18 years of age or older and, except as specified in subdivision (b), is a resident of an election precinct in this state on or before the day of an election. See California Elections Code 321
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• 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.
• 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.
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Free-flowing: means existing or flowing without artificial impoundment, diversion, or other modification of the river. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• Fund: means the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Fund, created by Section 80032. See California Public Resources Code 80002
• Fund: means the Voting Modernization Fund, created pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 19254. See California Elections Code 19252
• Fund: means the Heritage Network Decal Fund created pursuant to §. See California Public Resources Code 5078
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• 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.
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• Immediate environments: means the land immediately adjacent to the segments of the rivers designated in Section 5093. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Inspector: means the supervisor of the precinct board of which he or she is a member. See California Elections Code 325
• 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}
• 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.
• Land use regulation: means the regulation by any state or local governmental entity, agency, or official of any activities that take place other than directly on the waters of the segments of the rivers designated in Section 5093. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• 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.
• Local election: is a municipal, county, or district election. See California Elections Code 328
• Measure: means any constitutional amendment or other proposition submitted to a popular vote at any election. See California Elections Code 329
• Minimum management requirements: means the minimum wilderness management actions that are necessary to administer a wilderness area for the purpose of this chapter. See California Public Resources Code 5093.32
• Minimum tool: means the least intrusive tool, equipment, device, regulation, action, or practice that will achieve the minimum management requirements. See California Public Resources Code 5093.32
• 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.
• 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.
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Paper cast vote record: means an auditable document that corresponds to the selection made on the voter's ballot and lists the contests on the ballot and the voter's selections for those contests. See California Elections Code 19271
• Parallel monitoring: means the testing of a randomly selected sampling of voting equipment on election day designed to simulate actual election conditions to confirm that the system is registering votes accurately. See California Elections Code 19271
• 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.
• Party: means a political party or organization that has qualified for participation in any primary or presidential general election. See California Elections Code 338
• party-nominated office: means any of the following offices:

  California Elections Code 337

• Payrate: means the normal monthly rate of pay or base pay of the member paid in cash to similarly situated members of the same group or class of employment for services rendered on a full-time basis during normal working hours, pursuant to publicly available pay schedules. See California Government Code 20636
• Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Polling place: means a location where a voter casts a ballot and includes the following terms, as applicable: poll, polling location, and vote center. See California Elections Code 338.5
• Precinct: means a geographical area within a county that is made up of voters and is formed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 12200) of Division 12. See California Elections Code 338.6
• precinct board: means the board appointed by the elections official to serve at a vote center. See California Elections Code 339
• Precinct board member: is a member of the precinct board and includes an election officer. See California Elections Code 339
• Preservation: means rehabilitation, stabilization, restoration, conservation, development, and reconstruction, or any combination of those activities. See California Public Resources Code 80002
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Primary election: includes all primary nominating elections provided for by this code. See California Elections Code 341
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• 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
• Program: means the State Heritage Network Plan and Grants Program. See California Public Resources Code 5078
• Protection: means those actions necessary to prevent harm or damage to persons, property, or natural, cultural, and historic resources, actions to improve access to public open-space areas, or actions to allow the continued use and enjoyment of property or natural, cultural, and historic resources, and includes site monitoring, acquisition, development, restoration, preservation, and interpretation. See California Public Resources Code 80002
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Rebuttable presumption: shall be deemed a presumption which affects the burden of producing evidence. See California Elections Code 346
• 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.
• 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).
• Resources Agency: means the Secretary of the Resources Agency and any constituent units of the Resources Agency that the secretary determines to be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Restoration: means the improvement of physical structures or facilities and, in the case of natural systems and landscape features, includes, but is not limited to, projects for the control of erosion, stormwater capture and storage or to otherwise reduce stormwater pollution, the control and elimination of invasive species, the planting of native species, the removal of waste and debris, prescribed burning, fuel hazard reduction, fencing out threats to existing or restored natural resources, road elimination, improving instream, riparian, or managed wetland habitat conditions, and other plant and wildlife habitat improvement to increase the natural system value of the property or coastal or ocean resource. See California Public Resources Code 80002
• River: means the water, bed, and shoreline of rivers, streams, channels, lakes, bays, estuaries, marshes, wetlands, and lagoons, up to the first line of permanently established riparian vegetation. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• Roster: means the official list of voters for an election, which may be in paper or electronic form. See California Elections Code 349.5
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Resources Agency. See California Public Resources Code 5093.32
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Resources Agency. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• 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.
• Signature: includes either of the following:

  California Elections Code 354.5

• Special treatment areas: means , for purposes of this chapter, those areas defined as special treatment areas in Section 895. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Elections Code 356.5
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Government Code 12.2
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
• state agency: includes every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, and commission. See California Government Code 11000
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
• System: means the California wilderness preservation system. See California Public Resources Code 5093.32
• System: means the California Wild and Scenic Rivers System. See California Public Resources Code 5093.52
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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: means a State Heritage Network Trust organized pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 5078. See California Public Resources Code 5078
• visually impaired: means a person having central visual acuity not to exceed 20-200 in the better eye, with corrected lenses, or visual acuity greater than 20-200, but with a limitation in the field of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends at an angle of not greater than 20 degrees. See California Elections Code 2051
• Voter: means any elector who is registered under this code. See California Elections Code 359
• Voter verified paper audit trail: means a paper cast vote record containing a copy of each of the voter's selections that allows each voter to confirm his or her selections before the voter casts his or her ballot for systems that do not contain a paper ballot. See California Elections Code 19271
• Voter-nominated office: means a congressional or state elective office for which a candidate may choose to have his or her party preference or lack of party preference indicated upon the ballot. See California Elections Code 359.5
• Voting device: means any device used in conjunction with a ballot card or cards to indicate the choice of the voter by marking, punching, or slotting the ballot card. See California Elections Code 360
• Voting machine: means any electronic device, including, but not limited to, a precinct optical scanner and a direct recording voting system, into which a voter may enter his or her votes, and which, by means of electronic tabulation and generation of printouts or other tangible, human-readable records, furnishes a total of the number of votes cast for each candidate and for or against each measure. See California Elections Code 361
• Voting system: means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software, or any combination of these used for casting a ballot, tabulating votes, or both. See California Elections Code 362
• Wilderness areas: means component areas of the system as described in Section 5093. See California Public Resources Code 5093.32
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.