Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 6 > Article 3 > Part 1 - General Provisions and Definitions

• 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: includes every board, department, bureau, commission, person or group of persons or other authority created and now existing or hereafter to be created to execute, supervise, control and/or administer governmental functions under the laws of this State or to perform such other duties as may be prescribed or to whom any moneys are appropriated under any budget appropriation act or supplemental appropriation act or any other act which authorizes and requires any department to collect and/or use any taxes, fees, licenses, permits or other receipts for services or otherwise for the performance of any function of or related to or supported in whole or in part by the laws of this State, and/or created to administer any laws providing for the collection of taxes, fees, permits, licenses or other forms of receipts from any sources whatsoever for the use of the State or any agency of the State, except the judiciary and the courts of the State. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 6301
• Agency: means any state agency, authority, or any political subdivision of state or local government, including, but not limited to, county, city, township, village or municipal government, local school districts, and institutions of higher education, any state-supported institution, or a joint action agency composed of political subdivisions. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 6972
• 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.
• Applicant: means any person or family who applies for assistance or welfare services or on whose behalf such application is made under the terms of this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502
• 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
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Assistance: means assistance to or on behalf of eligible needy persons or eligible families to enable them to improve their standard of living, including money payments, child care, job training, education, other support services, medical or surgical care, dental care, nursing, burial, board and care in a private institution, adult foster care, rest residential facility for adults, public medical institution as a patient, or such other aid as may be deemed necessary. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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.
• 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.
• Budget: includes the complete financial plan of the State as evidenced by all appropriations and allowances made and estimates of revenue approved by the General Assembly, including, in addition to the general budget of appropriations adopted by the General Assembly and approved by the Governor, all other appropriations and allowances authorized by law which have been or shall be made to any agency of this State which is supported in whole or in part out of the revenues, taxes, licenses, fees, permits, fines and from other sources including any agency which is empowered by statute to collect and expend revenues by the use of special funds by whatever name known whether or not specifically appropriated by the General Assembly, and includes the budgets and the revenues and expenditures of all agencies to which moneys are appropriated by supplementary appropriations or otherwise. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 6301
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Child: means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• 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.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Congregate housing facility: means a facility housing 8 or more homeless adults and children on a temporary basis. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7960
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contribution: means any cash, property, services rendered or a promissory note or other obligation to contribute cash or property or to perform services, which a partner contributes to a limited partnership in the capacity as a partner. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
• 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.
• Credit Score: A number, roughly between 300 and 800, that measures an individual's credit worthiness. The most well-known type of credit score is the FICO score. This score represents the answer from a mathematical formula that assigns numerical values to various pieces of information in your credit report. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Dental care: means payment of all or part of the costs on behalf of an eligible recipient for preventive and restorative treatment which the Department of Health and Social Services authorizes by regulation. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502
• Department: means the Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7972
• Department: shall mean the Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 1002
• Department: means the Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 2101
• Department: shall mean the Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3703
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the Director of the State Division of Public Health. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7990
• Director: means Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 101
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Division: means the State Division of Public Health within the Department of Health and Social Services of the State. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7990
• Division: means the Division for the Visually Impaired under § 7929 of Title 29, a division of the Department of Health and Social Services. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 2101
• Division: shall mean the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3703
• dollars: means lawful money of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Employable: refers to any person who:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502

• Employer: means a person or other legal entity that employs individuals to work in long-term care facility, home care agency, or for a prescribed pediatric extended care center. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7972
• Energy and operational cost savings: means a measured reduction in the cost of fuel, energy consumption, and stipulated operation and maintenance created from the implementation of 1 or more energy conservation measures when compared with an established baseline for the previous cost of fuel, energy consumption, and stipulated operation and maintenance. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 6972
• 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.
• Facility: shall mean any facility required to be licensed under Chapters 10 and 11 of Title 16, including any such facility operated by or for the State. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 1002
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guaranteed energy performance contract: means a contract between the agency and a qualified provider for the evaluation, recommendation, and implementation of energy conservation measures, which, at minimum, shall include:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 6972

• 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.
• HIV: means the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7990
• Home care agency: means all programs or agencies licensed under § 122(3)m. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7972
• 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.
• Infant: means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• 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}
• Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
• 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.
• Long-term care facility: means any facility licensed under Chapter 11 of Title 16. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7972
• Matched Housing Program: shall mean shared housing arrangements. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3703
• Medical advisory committee: means a committee appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services, composed of representatives from the field of medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, hospital services and such other fields concerned with health as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services may deem appropriate, to provide to the board advice, recommendations and assistance in the formulation and administration of programs of medical and health care. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502
• Medical assistance: means medical or dental care furnished on behalf of recipients who are eligible for assistance in any of the categories in § 505 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502
• Medical care: means payment of all or part of the costs on behalf of eligible recipients; provided, that such payments are within the limitations of the funds appropriated by the General Assembly and the United States Congress for this purpose, for:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502

• Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• 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.
• Participant: means an injection drug user who exchanges a sterile needle and syringe unit pursuant to the program established in § 7991 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7990
• 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: shall mean a human being and, where appropriate, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a government or a governmental instrumentality. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 1002
• Person: means a natural person, partnership (whether general or limited), limited liability company, trust (including a common law trust, business trust, statutory trust, voting trust or any other form of trust), estate, association (including any group, organization, co-tenancy, plan, board, council or committee), corporation, government (including a country, state, county or any other governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality), custodian, nominee or any other individual or entity (or series thereof) in its own or any representative capacity, in each case, whether domestic or foreign. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
• Person with blindness: means an individual with total blindness or visual acuity of not more than 20/200 in the better-seeing eye with best conventional correction or whose vision is limited in field so that the widest diameter subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 2101
• Person with visual impairment: means an individual who has a visual acuity of not more than 20/70 to 20/200 in the better-seeing eye with the best conventional correction. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 2101
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• Prescribed pediatric extended care center: means any facility licensed under § 122(3)q. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7972
• 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.
• 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.
• Private residence: means the domicile of the individual in need of care, either personally owned by that individual or considered the place of residence of that individual. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7972
• Program: shall mean the Housing Counseling Program. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3703
• Provider: shall mean a person who is enrolled and who renders goods or services for which payment is made, in whole or in part, under a public assistance program. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 1002
• Public assistance program: shall mean the medical assistance program of the State. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 1002
• Qualified provider: means a person or business with a record of established projects that is experienced in the analysis, design, implementation, or installation of energy conservation measures through guaranteed energy performance contracts. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 6972
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• real property: is synonymous with the phrase "lands, tenements and hereditaments. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recipient: means any person or family to whom or for whom assistance is paid under this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502
• 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.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Senior citizen: shall mean any Delaware resident 60 years of age or older. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3703
• 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 the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• State: means the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any state, territory, possession, or other jurisdiction of the United States other than the State of Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Supplemental appropriation: Budget authority provided in an appropriations act in addition to regular or continuing appropriations already provided. Supplemental appropriations generally are made to cover emergencies, such as disaster relief, or other needs deemed too urgent to be postponed until the enactment of next year's regular appropriations act.
• Task Force: shall mean the Task Force on Housing for Senior Citizens. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3703
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• 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.
• Unemployable: means not employable. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502
• unemployment: means as defined under regulations of the Department of Health and Social Services in consultation with the Department of Labor. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 502
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• United States: includes its territories and possessions and the District of Columbia. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• 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.
• Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302