Terms Used In Florida Regulations > Division 60L - Personnel Management System

• Additional Evaluation: Examination and analysis by a qualified professional engineer, contractor, tradesman or service technician beyond that provided by the home inspection. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Alarm Systems: Warning devices, installed or free standing, including but not limited to: carbon monoxide detectors, flue gas and other spillage detectors, security equipment, ejector pumps and smoke alarms. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• 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
• Architectural Service: Any practice involving the art and science of building design for construction of any structure or groupings of structures and the use of space within and surrounding the structures or the design for construction, including but not specifically limited to, schematic design, design development, preparation of construction contract documents, and administration of the construction contract. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Automatic Safety Controls: Devices designed and installed to protect systems and components from unsafe conditions. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• 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}
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Component: A part of a system. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Continuing Education Course: A course related to the practice of home inspection. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Continuing Education Provider: An entity and any of its agents approved by the department to engage in providing continuing education courses as required by Fl. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Course Instructor: Any person approved by the department to conduct training for a department approved course. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decorative: Ornamental; not required for the operation of the essential systems and components of a home. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• 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.
• Describe: To distinguish a system or component by its type or other observed significant characteristics; to distinguish it from other systems or components. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Directly Supervise: To direct and exercise control over the activities of a person by being physically present at the job site. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Dismantle: To take apart or remove any component, device or piece of equipment that would not be taken apart or removed by a homeowner in the course of normal and routine homeowner maintenance. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Engineering Services: Any professional service or creative work requiring engineering education, training and experience and the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, material and engineering services to such professional service or creative work as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design and supervision of construction for the purpose of assuring compliance with the specifications and design, in conjunction with structures, buildings, machines, equipment, works or processes. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• 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.
• 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.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• 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.
• Household Appliances: Ranges, cook-tops, built-in dishwashers, food waste disposers, garage door openers, built-in ovens, built-in microwave ovens, refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, built-in trash compactors, ceiling fans or whole-house fans, if present and if not excluded in the scope of services disclosure. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Inspect: To examine readily accessible systems and components of a home in accordance with the Standards of Practice adopted by the Department in Rules 61-30. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Installed: Attached such that removal requires tools. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• 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.
• Normal operating controls: Devices such as thermostats, switches or valves intended to be operated by the homeowner. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Prelicensure Education Course: An initial course of study approved by the department which provides the educational experience required to certify an individual for licensure as a home inspector pursuant to Fl. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Prelicensure Education Provider: An entity and any of its agents approved by the department to engage in providing prelicensure education courses as required by this chapter. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Readily Accessible: Available for visual inspection without requiring dismantling or destructive means to gain access, moving of items, including but not limited to, furniture, personal property, stored items, clothing, wall or floor covering, or debris, dismantling, or any action which will likely involve risk to persons or property. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Readily Operable Access Panel: A panel provided for homeowner inspection and maintenance that is within normal reach, can be removed by one person and is not sealed in place. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Recreational Facilities: Spas, saunas, steam baths, swimming pools, exercise, entertainment, athletic, playground or other similar equipment and associated accessories. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• 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.
• Report: To communicate in writing. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Representative Number: One component per room for multiple similar interior components such as window and electric outlets; one component on each side of the home for multiple similar exterior components. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Roof Drainage Systems: Components used to carry water off a roof and away from a home. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Service Life: Service life is the expected lifetime, or the acceptable period of use in service of a particular system or component. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Shut Down: A state in which a system or component cannot be operated by normal operating controls. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Significantly Deficient: Not operating in the manner in which the system or component was designed to operate or creates a significant risk of personal injury during normal, day-to-day use. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Solid Fuel Burning Appliances: A hearth and fire chamber or similar prepared place in which a fire may be built and which is built in conjunction with a chimney; or a listed assembly of a fire chamber, its chimney and related factory-made parts designed for unit assembly without requiring field construction. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Structural Component: A component that supports non-variable forces or weights (dead loads) and variable forces or weights (live loads). See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• System: A combination of interacting or interdependent components, assembled to carry out one or more functions. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Technically Exhaustive: An investigation that involves dismantling; the extensive use of advanced techniques, measurements, instruments, testing, calculations, or other means. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Training Day: The equivalent of 8 hours (an hour being no less than 50 minutes of instruction) including breaks and lunch. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Under-floor Crawl Space: The area within the confines of the foundation and between the ground and the underside of the floor. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Unsafe: A condition in a readily accessible, installed system or component which is judged to be a significant risk of personal injury during normal, day-to-day use. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101
• Wiring Methods: Identification of electrical conductors or wires by their general type, such as ""non-metallic sheathed cable"" (""Romex""), ""armored cable"" (""bx"") or ""knob and tube"" etc. See Florida Regulations 61-30.101