Terms Used In California Codes > Insurance Code > Division 2 > Part 3 > Chapter 1 - General Regulations

• Agency: means the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. See California Labor Code 18.5
• 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.
• auxiliary dolly: is a vehicle, not designed for carrying persons or property on its own structure, which is so constructed and used in conjunction with a semitrailer as to support a portion of the weight of the semitrailer and any load thereon, but not permanently attached to the semitrailer, although a part of the weight of such dolly may rest on another vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 225
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• bus: is a ny vehicle, including a trailer bus, designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 15 persons including the driver. See California Vehicle Code 233
• business: includes a proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and any other form of commercial enterprise. See California Vehicle Code 234
• California state preschool program: means those programs that offer part-day or full-day, or both, educational programs for eligible three- and four-year-old children. See California Education Code 8205
• City: means any city whether general law or charter, including a city and county, and including any city the name of which includes the word "town. See California Health and Safety Code 13802
• City: includes "city and county. See California Insurance Code 15
• City: includes city and county and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Public Utilities Code 19
• Commission: means the Public Utilities Commission created by §. See California Public Utilities Code 20
• Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. See California Insurance Code 20
• compensation: means workers' compensation insurance. See California Insurance Code 11551
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• 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.
• Cost: includes , but is not limited to, expenditures that are related to the operation of preschool programs. See California Education Code 8205
• County: includes every county and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 270
• County: includes "city and county. See California Labor Code 14
• County: includes "city and county. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• County: includes city and county. See California Public Utilities Code 18
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Day: means a calendar day. See California Health and Safety Code 13802
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles except, when used in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2100) of Division 2 and in Divisions 11 (commencing with Section 21000), 12 (commencing with Section 24000), 13 (commencing with Section 29000), 14 (commencing with Section 31600), 14. See California Vehicle Code 290
• Department: means Department of Industrial Relations. See California Labor Code 19
• 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.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means "State Director of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 21
• Director: means Director of Industrial Relations. See California Labor Code 20
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• District: means a fire protection district created pursuant to this part or created pursuant to any law which this part supersedes. See California Health and Safety Code 13802
• District board: means the board of directors of a district. See California Health and Safety Code 13802
• Domestic work: means services related to the care of persons in private households or maintenance of private households or their premises. See California Labor Code 1451
• Domestic work employee: means an individual who performs domestic work and includes live-in domestic work employees and personal attendants. See California Labor Code 1451
• Domestic work employer: means a person, including corporate officers or executives, who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary service, or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of a domestic work employee. See California Labor Code 1451
• driver: is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 305
• driving school: is a business which, for compensation, conducts or offers to conduct instruction in the operation of motor vehicles. See California Vehicle Code 310.6
• driving school owner: is a ny person licensed by the department to engage in the business of giving instruction for compensation in the driving of motor vehicles or in the preparation of an applicant for examination for a driver's license issued by the department. See California Vehicle Code 311
• electric bicycle: is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts. See California Vehicle Code 312.5
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• expressway: is a portion of highway that is part of either of the following:

  California Vehicle Code 314

• Fee: shall mean (1) the difference between the amount received by a labor contractor and the amount paid out by him or her to persons employed to render personal services to, for or under the direction of a third person. See California Labor Code 1682
• 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.
• for hire: means that the entity providing transportation services is compensated for the transportation under contract or agreement. See California Vehicle Code 462
• Foreign: means not organized under the laws of this State, whether or not admitted. See California Insurance Code 27
• Four-year-old children: means children who will have their fourth birthday on or before December 1 of the fiscal year in which they are enrolled in a California state preschool program, or a child whose fifth birthday occurs after September 1 of the fiscal year in which they are enrolled in a California state preschool and whose parent or guardian has opted to retain or enroll them in a California state preschool program. See California Education Code 8205
• General public paratransit vehicle: means any motor vehicle designed for carrying no more than 24 persons and the driver, that provides local transportation to the general public, including transportation of pupils at or below the 12th-grade level to or from a public or private school or school activity, under the exclusive jurisdiction of a publicly owned and operated transit system through one of the following modes: dial-a-ride, subscription service, or route-deviated bus service. See California Vehicle Code 336
• 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.
• High-rise structure: means every building of any type of construction or occupancy having floors used for human occupancy located more than 75 feet above the lowest floor level having building access, except buildings used as hospitals, as defined in Section 1250. See California Health and Safety Code 13210
• Highway: is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See California Vehicle Code 360
• 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}
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• instruction: includes classroom driver education, in-vehicle driver training, and correspondence study. See California Vehicle Code 310.6
• Insurance agent: means a person authorized, by and on behalf of an insurer, to transact all classes of insurance other than life, disability, or health insurance, on behalf of an admitted insurance company. See California Insurance Code 31
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• 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.
• Jury instructions: A judge's directions to the jury before it begins deliberations regarding the factual questions it must answer and the legal rules that it must apply. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Labor Commissioner: means Chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. See California Labor Code 21
• 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.
• liability: means liability and common carrier liability insurance. See California Insurance Code 11550
• License: means a license issued by the Labor Commissioner to carry on the business, activities, or operations of a farm labor contractor under this chapter. See California Labor Code 1682
• Licensee: means a farm labor contractor who holds a valid and unrevoked license under this chapter. See California Labor Code 1682
• licensee: means an insurer, agent, broker, or any other person who is required to be licensed by the department. See California Insurance Code 38.6
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• motor vehicle: includes a recreational vehicle as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of §. See California Vehicle Code 415
• motorcycle: is a motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground. See California Vehicle Code 400
• motorized quadricycle: is a four-wheeled device, and a "motorized tricycle" is a three-wheeled device, designed to carry not more than two persons, including the driver, and having either an electric motor or a motor with an automatic transmission developing less than two gross brake horsepower and capable of propelling the device at a maximum speed of not more than 30 miles per hour on level ground. See California Vehicle Code 407
• motortruck: is a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See California Vehicle Code 410
• no significant amount of work: means work other than the foregoing did not exceed 20 percent of the total weekly hours worked. See California Labor Code 1451
• 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.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• owner: is a person having all the incidents of ownership, including the legal title of a vehicle whether or not such person lends, rents, or creates a security interest in the vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 460
• 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.
• passenger vehicle: is a ny motor vehicle, other than a motortruck, truck tractor, or a bus, as defined in Section 233, and used or maintained for the transportation of persons. See California Vehicle Code 465
• Pedestrian: includes a person who is operating a self-propelled wheelchair, motorized tricycle, or motorized quadricycle and, by reason of physical disability, is otherwise unable to move about as a pedestrian, as specified in subdivision (a). See California Vehicle Code 467
• Pedicab: means any of the following:

  California Vehicle Code 467.5

• Person: includes any individual, firm, partnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Labor Code 1682
• Person: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Labor Code 18
• Person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
• Personal attendant: means any person employed by a private householder or by any third-party employer recognized in the health care industry to work in a private household, to supervise, feed, or dress a child, or a person who by reason of advanced age, physical disability, or mental deficiency needs supervision. See California Labor Code 1451
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• 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.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Proprietary agency: means an organization or facility providing preschool, which is operated for profit. See California Education Code 8205
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Resident: means residing in this State, "nonresident" means not residing in this State. See California Insurance Code 30
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• school pupil activity bus: is a ny motor vehicle, other than a schoolbus, operated by a common carrier, or by and under the exclusive jurisdiction of a publicly owned or operated transit system, or by a passenger charter-party carrier, used under a contractual agreement between a school and carrier to transport school pupils at or below the 12th-grade level to or from a public or private school activity, or used to transport pupils to or from residential schools, when the pupils are received and discharged at off-highway locations where a parent or adult designated by the parent is present to accept the pupil or place the pupil on the bus. See California Vehicle Code 546
• schoolbus: is a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained for the transportation of any school pupil at or below the 12th grade level to or from a public or private school or to or from public or private school activities, except the following:

  California Vehicle Code 545

• Secretary: means the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development. See California Labor Code 19.5
• 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.
• social service transportation: means transportation services provided by private nonprofit organizations or individuals to either individuals who are senior citizens or individuals or groups of individuals who have special transportation needs because of physical or mental conditions and supported in whole or in part by funding from private or public agencies. See California Insurance Code 11580.1
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Labor Code 12.2
• Standard reimbursement rate: means the reimbursement rate applicable to California state preschool programs pursuant to Section 8242. See California Education Code 8205
• State: includes the District of Columbia and the territories when applied to the different parts of the United States, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Public Utilities Code 17
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• 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.
• tow dolly: is a vehicle towed by a motor vehicle and designed and used exclusively to transport another motor vehicle and upon which the front or rear wheels of the towed motor vehicle are mounted, while the other wheels of the towed motor vehicle remain in contact with the ground. See California Vehicle Code 617
• trailer: includes a semitrailer when used in conjunction with an auxiliary dolly, if the auxiliary dolly is of a type constructed to replace the function of the drawbar and the front axle or axles of a trailer. See California Vehicle Code 630
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• truck tractor: is a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load, other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and the load so drawn. See California Vehicle Code 655
• vehicle: is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See California Vehicle Code 670
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Violation: includes a failure to comply with any requirement of the code. See California Labor Code 22
• Will: includes codicil. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• youth bus: is a ny bus, other than a schoolbus, designed for and when actually carrying not more than 16 persons and the driver, used to transport children at or below the 12th-grade level directly from a public or private school to an organized nonschool-related youth activity within 25 miles of the school or directly from a location which provides the organized nonschool-related youth activity to a public or private school within 25 miles of that location. See California Vehicle Code 680
• Zone: means a service zone formed pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 13950). See California Health and Safety Code 13802