Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 367 - Water and Wastewater Systems

• 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.
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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.
• Board: means the Board of Respiratory Care. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• Certificate of authorization: means a document issued by the commission authorizing a utility to provide service in a specific service area. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• Certified respiratory therapist: means any person licensed pursuant to this part who is certified by the National Board for Respiratory Care or its successor; who is employed to deliver respiratory care services, under the order of a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter 459, in accordance with protocols established by a hospital or other health care provider or the board; and who functions in situations of unsupervised patient contact requiring individual judgment. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• Commission: means the Florida Public Service Commission. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contribution-in-aid-of-construction: means any amount or item of money, services, or property received by a utility, from any person or governmental authority, any portion of which is provided at no cost to the utility, which represents a donation or contribution to the capital of the utility, and which is used to offset the acquisition, improvement, or construction costs of the utility property, facilities, or equipment used to provide utility services. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• Corporate undertaking: means the unqualified guarantee of a utility to pay a refund and pay interest connected therewith which may be ordered by the commission at such time as the obligation becomes fixed and final. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• 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.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• Direct supervision: means practicing under the direction of a licensed, registered, or certified respiratory therapist who is physically on the premises and readily available, as defined by the board. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Domestic wastewater: means wastewater principally from dwellings, business buildings, institutions, and sanitary wastewater or sewage treatment plants. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Governmental authority: means a political subdivision, as defined by…. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• Industrial wastewater: means wastewater not otherwise defined as domestic wastewater, including runoff and leachate from areas that receive pollutants associated with industrial or commercial storage, handling, or processing. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• 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.
• oath: includes affirmations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Official date of filing: means the date upon which it has been determined, pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• 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 individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Physician supervision: means supervision and control by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who assumes the legal liability for the services rendered by the personnel employed in his or her office. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• 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.
• political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Registered respiratory therapist: means any person licensed under this part who is registered by the National Board for Respiratory Care or its successor, and who is employed to deliver respiratory care services under the order of a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, in accordance with protocols established by a hospital or other health care provider or the board, and who functions in situations of unsupervised patient contact requiring individual judgment. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• Respiratory care practitioner: means any person licensed under this part who is employed to deliver respiratory care services, under direct supervision, pursuant to the order of a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• Respiratory care services: includes :
  (a) Evaluation and disease management. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• respiratory therapy: means the allied health specialty associated with the cardiopulmonary system that is practiced under the orders of a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 and in accordance with protocols, policies, and procedures established by a hospital or other health care provider or the board, including the assessment, diagnostic evaluation, treatment, management, control, rehabilitation, education, and care of patients in all care settings. See Florida Statutes 468.352
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Service area: means the geographical area described in a certificate of authorization, which may be within or without the boundaries of an incorporated municipality and may include areas in more than one county. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• 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.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• System: means facilities and land used or useful in providing service and, upon a finding by the commission, may include a combination of functionally related facilities and land. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• 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.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• 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}
• Utility: means a water or wastewater utility and, except as provided in…. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• Wastewater: means the combination of the liquid and water-carried pollutants from a residence, commercial building, industrial plant, or institution, together with any groundwater, surface runoff, or leachate that may be present. See Florida Statutes 367.021
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01