Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 489 - Contracting

• Abortion: means the termination of human pregnancy with an intention other than to produce a live birth or to remove a dead fetus. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Access center: means a facility that has medical, mental health, and substance abuse professionals to provide emergency screening and evaluation for mental health or substance abuse disorders and may provide transportation to an appropriate facility if an individual is in need of more intensive services. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Active tuberculosis: means tuberculosis disease that is demonstrated to be contagious by clinical or bacteriological evidence, or by other means as determined by rule of the department. See Florida Statutes 392.52
• Addictions receiving facility: is a secure, acute care facility that, at a minimum, provides emergency screening, evaluation, detoxification, and stabilization services; is operated 24 hours per day, 7 days per week; and is designated by the department to serve individuals found to have substance abuse impairment who qualify for services under this part. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Administrative Procedures Committee: means a committee designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Administrator: means the chief administrative officer of a receiving or treatment facility or his or her designee. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Adult: means an individual who is 18 years of age or older or who has had the disability of nonage removed under chapter 743. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• 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.
• Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Alarm system: means any electrical device, signaling device, or combination of electrical devices used to signal or detect a burglary, fire, robbery, or medical emergency. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Alarm system contractor: means a person whose business includes the execution of contracts requiring the ability, experience, science, knowledge, and skill to lay out, fabricate, install, maintain, alter, repair, monitor, inspect, replace, or service alarm systems for compensation, including, but not limited to, all types of alarm systems for all purposes. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• 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
• Arbitration: means a process whereby a neutral third person or panel, called an arbitrator or arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision which is binding on the parties. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Arthropod: means those insects of public health or nuisance importance, including all mosquitoes, midges, sand flies, dog flies, yellow flies, and house flies. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• 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.
• 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.
• Board: means the Construction Industry Licensing Board. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Board of commissioners: means the governing body of any mosquito control district, and may include boards of county commissioners when context so indicates. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• Born alive: means the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of a human infant, at any stage of development, who, after such expulsion or extraction, breathes or has a beating heart, or definite and voluntary movement of muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, caesarean section, induced abortion, or other method. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Building contractor: means a contractor whose services are limited to construction of commercial buildings and single-dwelling or multiple-dwelling residential buildings, which do not exceed three stories in height, and accessory use structures in connection therewith or a contractor whose services are limited to remodeling, repair, or improvement of any size building if the services do not affect the structural members of the building. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Burglar alarm system agent: means a person:
  (a) Who is employed by a licensed alarm system contractor or licensed electrical contractor;
  (b) Who is performing duties which are an element of an activity which constitutes alarm system contracting requiring licensure under this part; and
  (c) Whose specific duties include any of the following: altering, installing, maintaining, moving, repairing, replacing, servicing, selling, or monitoring an intrusion or burglar alarm system for compensation. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Business organization: means any partnership, corporation, business trust, joint venture, or other legal entity which engages or offers to engage in the business of contracting or acts as a contractor as defined in this section. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Certificate: means a certificate of competency issued by the department as provided in this part. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Certificate: means a geographically unlimited certificate of competency issued by the department as provided in this part. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Certificateholder: means a contractor who has obtained a certificate of competency. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Certification: means the act of obtaining or holding a certificate of competency from the department as provided in this part. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Certification: means the act of obtaining or holding a certificate of competency from the department as provided in this part. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Certified alarm system contractor: means an alarm system contractor who possesses a certificate of competency issued by the department. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Certified contractor: means any contractor who possesses a certificate of competency issued by the department and who shall be allowed to contract in any jurisdiction in the state without being required to fulfill the competency requirements of that jurisdiction. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Certified electrical contractor: means an electrical contractor who possesses a certificate of competency issued by the department. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Class A air-conditioning contractor: means a contractor whose services are unlimited in the execution of contracts requiring the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating, and ventilating systems, including duct work in connection with a complete system if such duct work is performed by the contractor as necessary to complete an air-distribution system, boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems, and all appurtenances, apparatus, or equipment used in connection therewith, and any duct cleaning and equipment sanitizing that requires at least a partial disassembling of the system; to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, piping, insulation of pipes, vessels and ducts, pressure and process piping, and pneumatic control piping; to replace, disconnect, or reconnect power wiring on the load side of the dedicated existing electrical disconnect switch; to install, disconnect, and reconnect low voltage heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning control wiring; and to install a condensate drain from an air-conditioning unit to an existing safe waste or other approved disposal other than a direct connection to a sanitary system. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Class B air-conditioning contractor: means a contractor whose services are limited to 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu of heating in any one system in the execution of contracts requiring the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating, and ventilating systems, including duct work in connection with a complete system only to the extent such duct work is performed by the contractor as necessary to complete an air-distribution system being installed under this classification, and any duct cleaning and equipment sanitizing that requires at least a partial disassembling of the system; to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, piping and insulation of pipes, vessels, and ducts; to replace, disconnect, or reconnect power wiring on the load side of the dedicated existing electrical disconnect switch; to install, disconnect, and reconnect low voltage heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning control wiring; and to install a condensate drain from an air-conditioning unit to an existing safe waste or other approved disposal other than a direct connection to a sanitary system. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Class C air-conditioning contractor: means a contractor whose business is limited to the servicing of air-conditioning, heating, or refrigeration systems, including any duct cleaning and equipment sanitizing that requires at least a partial disassembling of the system, and whose certification or registration, issued pursuant to this part, was valid on October 1, 1988. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• clinic: means any facility in which abortions are performed. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Clinical psychologist: means a psychologist as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Clinical record: means all parts of the record required to be maintained and includes all medical records, progress notes, charts, and admission and discharge data, and all other information recorded by facility staff which pertains to the patient's hospitalization or treatment. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Clinical social worker: means a person licensed as a clinical social worker under…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Community facility: means a community service provider that contracts with the department to furnish substance abuse or mental health services under part IV of this chapter. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Community mental health center or clinic: means a publicly funded, not-for-profit center that contracts with the department for the provision of inpatient, outpatient, day treatment, or emergency services. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• 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.
• Contracting: means , except as exempted in this part, engaging in business as a contractor and includes, but is not limited to, performance of any of the acts as set forth in subsection (3) which define types of contractors. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Contracting: means , except where exempted in this part, engaging in business as a contractor or performing electrical or alarm work for compensation and includes, but is not limited to, performance of any of the acts found in subsections (2) and (12), which define the services which a contractor is allowed to perform. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Contractor: means the person who is qualified for, and is only responsible for, the project contracted for and means, except as exempted in this part, the person who, for compensation, undertakes to, submits a bid to, or does himself or herself or by others construct, repair, alter, remodel, add to, demolish, subtract from, or improve any building or structure, including related improvements to real estate, for others or for resale to others; and whose job scope is substantially similar to the job scope described in one of the paragraphs of this subsection. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Contractor: means a person who is qualified to engage in the business of electrical or alarm system contracting pursuant to a certificate or registration issued by the department. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• 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: means a political subdivision of the state administered by a board of county commissioners. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• County health department: means an agency or entity designated as such in chapter 154. See Florida Statutes 392.52
• Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. ^{Source: OCC}
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 392.52
• Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Department: means the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Department: means the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Department: means the Florida Department of State. See Florida Statutes 607.01401
• Department: means the Department of Environmental Protection. See Florida Statutes 489.551
• Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Designated receiving facility: means a facility approved by the department which may be a public or private hospital, crisis stabilization unit, or addictions receiving facility; which provides, at a minimum, emergency screening, evaluation, and short-term stabilization for mental health or substance abuse disorders; and which may have an agreement with a corresponding facility for transportation and services. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Detoxification facility: means a facility licensed to provide detoxification services under chapter 397. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Directly observed therapy: means treatment in which a patient ingests medications under the observation of a health care provider or other responsible party. See Florida Statutes 392.52
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• District: means any mosquito control district established in this state by law for the express purpose of controlling arthropods within boundaries of said districts. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Electronic means: means a form of telecommunication which requires all parties to maintain visual as well as audio communication when being used to conduct an examination by a qualified professional. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Entity: includes corporation and foreign corporation; unincorporated association; business trust, estate, limited liability company, partnership, trust, and two or more persons having a joint or common economic interest; and state, United States, and foreign governments. See Florida Statutes 607.01401
• 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}
• Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Express and informed consent: means consent voluntarily given in writing, by a competent person, after sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable the person to make a knowing and willful decision without any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, or other form of constraint or coercion. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Facility: means any hospital, community facility, public or private facility, or receiving or treatment facility providing for the evaluation, diagnosis, care, treatment, training, or hospitalization of persons who appear to have or who have been diagnosed as having a mental illness or substance abuse impairment. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• 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.
• Fatal fetal abnormality: means a terminal condition that, in reasonable medical judgment, regardless of the provision of life-saving medical treatment, is incompatible with life outside the womb and will result in death upon birth or imminently thereafter. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Financially responsible officer: means a person other than the primary qualifying agent who with the approval of the board assumes personal responsibility for all financial aspects of the business organization. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Fire alarm system agent: means a person:
  (a) Who is employed by a licensed fire alarm contractor or certified unlimited electrical contractor;
  (b) Who is performing duties which are an element of an activity that constitutes fire alarm system contracting requiring certification under this part; and
  (c) Whose specific duties include any of the following: altering, installing, maintaining, moving, repairing, replacing, servicing, selling, or monitoring a fire alarm system for compensation. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• 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}
• Foreign: means , with respect to an entity, an entity governed as to its internal affairs by the organic law of a jurisdiction other than this state. See Florida Statutes 607.01401
• Foreign corporation: means an entity incorporated or organized under laws other than the laws of this state which would be a corporation for profit if incorporated under the laws of this state. See Florida Statutes 607.01401
• 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.
• General contractor: means a contractor whose services are unlimited as to the type of work which he or she may do, who may contract for any activity requiring licensure under this part, and who may perform any work requiring licensure under this part, except as otherwise expressly provided in…. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Gestation: means the development of a human embryo or fetus as calculated from the first day of the pregnant woman's last menstrual period. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: means the natural guardian of a minor, or a person appointed by a court to act on behalf of a ward's person if the ward is a minor or has been adjudicated incapacitated. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• 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.
• Guardian advocate: means a person appointed by a court to make decisions regarding mental health treatment on behalf of a patient who has been found incompetent to consent to treatment pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Hospital: means a facility as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Hospital: means a hospital licensed under chapter 395 and part II of chapter 408. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Incapacitated: means that a person has been adjudicated incapacitated pursuant to part V of chapter 744 and a guardian of the person has been appointed. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Incompetent to consent to treatment: means a state in which a person's judgment is so affected by a mental illness or a substance abuse impairment that he or she lacks the capacity to make a well-reasoned, willful, and knowing decision concerning his or her medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Initial issuance: means the first time a certificate or registration is granted to an individual or business organization, including the first time an individual becomes a qualifying agent for that business organization and the first time a business organization is qualified by that individual. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Involuntary examination: means an examination performed under…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Involuntary services: means court-ordered outpatient services or inpatient placement for mental health treatment pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• 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 management agency: means the agency charged with managing publicly owned lands. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• 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.
• Licensure: means any type of certification or registration provided for in this part. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Local arthropod control agency: means the county, city, or district charged with arthropod control over publicly owned lands. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• local board: means the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board created by this part. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Local construction regulation board: means a board, composed of not fewer than three residents of a county or municipality, which the governing body of that county or municipality may create and appoint to maintain the proper standard of construction of that county or municipality. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Marriage and family therapist: means a person licensed to practice marriage and family therapy under…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Master septic tank contractor: means a septic tank contractor whose services are unlimited in the septic tank trade who has had at least 3 years' experience as a Florida-registered septic tank contractor or a plumbing contractor certified under part I of this chapter who has provided septic tank contracting services for at least 3 years and who has the experience, knowledge, and skills to install, maintain, repair, close repairs of, and alter all types of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, to design onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, where not prohibited by law, to perform and submit soil evaluations, when determined to meet site-evaluation expertise established by rule, and to use materials and items used in the installation and maintenance of all types of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. See Florida Statutes 489.551
• Mechanical contractor: means a contractor whose services are unlimited in the execution of contracts requiring the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, central air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating, and ventilating systems, including duct work in connection with a complete system if such duct work is performed by the contractor as necessary to complete an air-distribution system, boiler and unfired pressure vessel systems, lift station equipment and piping, and all appurtenances, apparatus, or equipment used in connection therewith, and any duct cleaning and equipment sanitizing that requires at least a partial disassembling of the system; to install, maintain, repair, fabricate, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, piping, insulation of pipes, vessels and ducts, pressure and process piping, pneumatic control piping, gasoline tanks and pump installations and piping for same, standpipes, air piping, vacuum line piping, oxygen lines, nitrous oxide piping, ink and chemical lines, fuel transmission lines, liquefied petroleum gas lines within buildings, and natural gas fuel lines within buildings; to replace, disconnect, or reconnect power wiring on the load side of the dedicated existing electrical disconnect switch; to install, disconnect, and reconnect low voltage heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning control wiring; and to install a condensate drain from an air-conditioning unit to an existing safe waste or other approved disposal other than a direct connection to a sanitary system. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Mediation: means a process whereby a neutral third party acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute without prescribing what it should be. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Mental health counselor: means a person licensed to practice mental health counseling under…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Mental health overlay program: means a mobile service that provides an independent examination for voluntary admission and a range of supplemental onsite services to persons with a mental illness in a residential setting such as a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or an adult family-care home or a nonresidential setting such as an adult day care center. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Mental illness: means an impairment of the mental or emotional processes that exercise conscious control of one's actions or of the ability to perceive or understand reality, which impairment substantially interferes with the person's ability to meet the ordinary demands of living. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Minor: means an individual who is 17 years of age or younger and who has not had the disability of nonage removed pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Mobile crisis response service: means a nonresidential crisis service available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week which provides immediate intensive assessments and interventions, including screening for admission into a mental health receiving facility, an addictions receiving facility, or a detoxification facility, for the purpose of identifying appropriate treatment services. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Monitoring: means to receive electrical or electronic signals originating from any structure within the state or outside the state, regardless of whether those signals are relayed through a jurisdiction outside the state, where such signals are produced by any security, medical, fire, or burglar alarm, closed-circuit television camera, access-control system, or related or similar protective system and are intended by design to initiate a response thereto. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nationally recognized testing laboratory: means an organization that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has legally recognized to be in compliance with 29 C. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• 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.
• Nuisance: means a condition in which pestiferous arthropods occur in such numbers as to be annoying, obnoxious, or inimical to human comfort. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• 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.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partial-birth abortion: means a termination of pregnancy in which the physician performing the termination of pregnancy partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the fetus and completing the delivery. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• 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.
• Patient: means any person, with or without a co-occurring substance abuse disorder, who is held or accepted for mental health treatment. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• 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 emergency response system: means any device which is simply plugged into a telephone jack or electrical receptacle and which is designed to initiate a telephone call to a person who responds to, or has a responsibility to determine the proper response to, personal emergencies, but does not include hard-wired or wireless alarm systems designed to detect intrusion or fire. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Physical restraint: includes the physical holding of a person during a procedure to forcibly administer psychotropic medication. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Physician: means a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 or a physician practicing medicine or osteopathic medicine in the employment of the United States. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Physician: means a medical practitioner licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who has experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness or a physician employed by a facility operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Department of Defense. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Physician assistant: means a person licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who has experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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.
• 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.
• Plumbing contractor: means a contractor whose services are unlimited in the plumbing trade and includes contracting business consisting of the execution of contracts requiring the experience, financial means, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, alter, extend, or, if not prohibited by law, design plumbing. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• 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
• Pollutant storage systems contractor: means a contractor whose services are limited to, and who has the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, and use materials and items used in the installation, maintenance, extension, and alteration of, pollutant storage tanks. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Pollutant storage tank: means a tank, together with associated piping or dispensing facilities, which is or could be used for the storage or supply of pollutants as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• 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 qualifying agent: means a person who possesses the requisite skill, knowledge, and experience, and has the responsibility, to supervise, direct, manage, and control the contracting activities of the business organization with which he or she is connected; who has the responsibility to supervise, direct, manage, and control construction activities on a job for which he or she has obtained the building permit; and whose technical and personal qualifications have been determined by investigation and examination as provided in this part, as attested by the department. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Primary qualifying agent: means a person who possesses the requisite skill, knowledge, and experience, and has the responsibility, to supervise, direct, manage, and control the electrical or alarm system contracting activities of the business organization with which he or she is connected; and whose technical and personal qualifications have been determined by investigation and examination as provided in this part by the department, as attested to by the board; and who has been issued a certificate of competency by the department. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Private facility: means a hospital or facility operated by a for-profit or not-for-profit corporation or association which provides mental health or substance abuse services and is not a public facility. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• 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.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Psychiatric nurse: means an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Psychiatrist: means a medical practitioner licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 for at least 3 years, inclusive of psychiatric residency. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Public facility: means a facility that has contracted with the department to provide mental health services to all persons, regardless of ability to pay, and is receiving state funds for such purpose. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Qualified professional: means a physician or a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a psychiatrist licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a psychologist as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• 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.
• Reasonable medical judgment: means a medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• Receiving facility: means a public or private facility or hospital designated by the department to receive and hold or refer, as appropriate, involuntary patients under emergency conditions for mental health or substance abuse evaluation and to provide treatment or transportation to the appropriate service provider. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Registered contractor: means any contractor who has registered with the department pursuant to fulfilling the competency requirements in the jurisdiction for which the registration is issued. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Registered electrical contractor: means an electrical contractor who has registered with the department pursuant to fulfilling the competency requirements in the jurisdiction for which the registration is issued. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Registered internal pollutant storage tank lining applicator: means any person who has registered with the department pursuant to subsection (3). See Florida Statutes 489.133
• Registered precision tank tester: means any person who has registered with the department pursuant to subsection (2). See Florida Statutes 489.133
• Registered residential alarm system contractor: means an alarm system contractor whose business is limited to burglar alarm systems in single-family residential, quadruplex housing, and mobile homes of a residential occupancy class and who is registered with the department pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Registrant: means a person who has registered with the department pursuant to the requirements of this part. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Registration: means registration with the department as provided in this part. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Registration: means registration with the department as provided in this part. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• 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.
• Representative: means a person selected to receive notice of proceedings during the time a patient is held in or admitted to a receiving or treatment facility. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Residential contractor: means a contractor whose services are limited to construction, remodeling, repair, or improvement of one-family, two-family, or three-family residences not exceeding two habitable stories above no more than one uninhabitable story and accessory use structures in connection therewith. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Restraint: means :
  (a) A physical restraint, including any manual method or physical or mechanical device, material, or equipment attached or adjacent to an individual's body so that he or she cannot easily remove the restraint and which restricts freedom of movement or normal access to one's body. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Roofing contractor: means a contractor whose services are unlimited in the roofing trade and who has the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, alter, extend, or design, if not prohibited by law, and use materials and items used in the installation, maintenance, extension, and alteration of all kinds of roofing, waterproofing, and coating, except when coating is not represented to protect, repair, waterproof, stop leaks, or extend the life of the roof. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Seclusion: means the physical segregation or involuntary isolation of a person in a room or area from which the person is prevented from leaving. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Secondary qualifying agent: means a person who possesses the requisite skill, knowledge, and experience, and has the responsibility to supervise, direct, manage, and control construction activities on a job for which he or she has obtained a permit, and whose technical and personal qualifications have been determined by investigation and examination as provided in this part, as attested by the department. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Secondary qualifying agent: means a person who possesses the requisite skill, knowledge, and experience, and has the responsibility to supervise, direct, manage, and control the electrical or alarm system contracting activities on a job for which he or she has obtained a permit; and whose technical and personal qualifications have been determined by investigation and examination as provided in this part by the department, as attested to by the board; and who has been issued a certificate of competency by the department. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Septic tank contractor: means a contractor who has the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, alter, perform site evaluations for repairs, when determined to meet site-evaluation expertise established by rule, and use material and items used in the installation and maintenance of all kinds of onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. See Florida Statutes 489.551
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Service provider: means a receiving facility, a facility licensed under chapter 397, a treatment facility, an entity under contract with the department to provide mental health or substance abuse services, a community mental health center or clinic, a psychologist, a clinical social worker, a marriage and family therapist, a mental health counselor, a physician, a psychiatrist, an advanced practice registered nurse, a psychiatric nurse, or a qualified professional as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• 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.
• Sheet metal contractor: means a contractor whose services are unlimited in the sheet metal trade and who has the experience, knowledge, and skill necessary for the manufacture, fabrication, assembling, handling, erection, installation, dismantling, conditioning, adjustment, insulation, alteration, repair, servicing, or design, if not prohibited by law, of ferrous or nonferrous metal work of U. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Solar contractor: means a contractor whose services consist of the installation, alteration, repair, maintenance, relocation, or replacement of solar panels for potable solar water heating systems, swimming pool solar heating systems, and photovoltaic systems and any appurtenances, apparatus, or equipment used in connection therewith, whether public, private, or otherwise, regardless of use. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Source reduction: means the physical land or water management of arthropod breeding areas to reduce the area's suitability for arthropod breeding. See Florida Statutes 388.011
• Specialty contractor: means a contractor whose scope of work and responsibility is limited to a particular phase of construction established in a category adopted by board rule and whose scope is limited to a subset of the activities described in one of the paragraphs of this subsection. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Specialty contractor: means a contractor whose scope of practice is limited to a specific segment of electrical or alarm system contracting established in a category adopted by board rule, including, but not limited to, residential electrical contracting, maintenance of electrical fixtures, and fabrication, erection, installation, and maintenance of electrical advertising signs together with the interrelated parts and supports thereof. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Structural component: means any vertical or horizontal load-bearing member of a structure which supports dead or live loads in addition to its own weight and includes, but is not limited to, a foundation, an exterior or interior load-bearing wall, a column, a column beam, a floor, and a roof structure. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Substance abuse impairment: means a condition involving the use of alcoholic beverages or any psychoactive or mood-altering substance in such a manner that a person has lost the power of self-control and has inflicted or is likely to inflict physical harm on himself, herself, or another. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Tank: means any container other than one which is aboveground and either elevated or situated upon an impermeable surface, or which is located in an accessible underground area and either elevated or situated upon an impermeable surface therein, in such manner that any leak in such container may be readily detected. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Threat to the public health: means a rebuttable presumption that a person has active tuberculosis and:
  (a) Is not taking medications as prescribed;
  (b) Is not following the recommendations of the treating physician;
  (c) Is not seeking treatment for signs and symptoms compatible with tuberculosis; or
  (d) Evidences a disregard for the health of the public. See Florida Statutes 392.52
• 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.
• Transfer evaluation: means the process by which a person who is being considered for placement in a state treatment facility is evaluated for appropriateness of admission to such facility. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Treatment facility: means a state-owned, state-operated, or state-supported hospital, center, or clinic designated by the department for extended treatment and hospitalization, beyond that provided for by a receiving facility, of persons who have a mental illness, including facilities of the United States Government, and any private facility designated by the department when rendering such services to a person pursuant to the provisions of this part. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• treatment to cure: means the completion of a course of antituberculosis treatment. See Florida Statutes 392.52
• Triage center: means a facility that has medical, mental health, and substance abuse professionals present or on call to provide emergency screening and evaluation for mental health or substance abuse disorders for individuals transported to the center by a law enforcement officer. See Florida Statutes 394.455
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trimester: means one of the following three distinct periods of time in the duration of a pregnancy:
  (a) "First trimester" which is the period of time from fertilization through the end of the 11th week of gestation. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• 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.
• Tuberculosis: means a disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium bovis, or mycobacterium africanum. See Florida Statutes 392.52
• Underground utility and excavation contractor: means a contractor whose services are limited to the construction, installation, and repair, on public or private property, whether accomplished through open excavations or through other means, including, but not limited to, directional drilling, auger boring, jacking and boring, trenchless technologies, wet and dry taps, grouting, and slip lining, of main sanitary sewer collection systems, main water distribution systems, storm sewer collection systems, and the continuation of utility lines from the main systems to a point of termination up to and including the meter location for the individual occupancy, sewer collection systems at property line on residential or single-occupancy commercial properties, or on multioccupancy properties at manhole or wye lateral extended to an invert elevation as engineered to accommodate future building sewers, water distribution systems, or storm sewer collection systems at storm sewer structures. See Florida Statutes 489.105
• unlimited electrical contractor: means a person who conducts business in the electrical trade field and who has the experience, knowledge, and skill to install, repair, alter, add to, or design, in compliance with law, electrical wiring, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways, conduit, or any part thereof, which generates, transmits, transforms, or utilizes electrical energy in any form, including the electrical installations and systems within plants and substations, all in compliance with applicable plans, specifications, codes, laws, and regulations. See Florida Statutes 489.505
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• veteran: means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under honorable conditions only or who later received an upgraded discharge under honorable conditions, notwithstanding any action by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on individuals discharged or released with other than honorable discharges. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• viability: means the stage of fetal development when the life of a fetus is sustainable outside the womb through standard medical measures. See Florida Statutes 390.011
• 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