Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 494 > Part I - General Provisions

• Acute and postacute hospital care at home: means acute and postacute health care services provided in a clinically qualified patient's permanent residence, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Advanced life support: means assessment or treatment by a person qualified under this part through the use of techniques such as endotracheal intubation, the administration of drugs or intravenous fluids, telemetry, cardiac monitoring, cardiac defibrillation, and other techniques described in the EMT-Paramedic National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS Education Standards, pursuant to rules of the department. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Advanced life support service: means any emergency medical transport or nontransport service which uses advanced life support techniques. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• 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 400.9905
• Agency: means the Agency for Health Care Administration. See Florida Statutes 400.9971
• agent: means a person charged by the entity with the responsibility of navigating and operating the personal delivery device. See Florida Statutes 316.003
• Air ambulance: means any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft used for, or intended to be used for, air transportation of sick or injured persons requiring or likely to require medical attention during transport. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Air ambulance service: means any publicly or privately owned service, licensed in accordance with the provisions of this part, which operates air ambulances to transport persons requiring or likely to require medical attention during transport. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Ambulance driver: means any person who meets the requirements of…. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• 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 an individual owner, corporation, partnership, firm, business, association, or other entity that owns or controls, directly or indirectly, 5 percent or more of an interest in the clinic and that applies for a clinic license. See Florida Statutes 400.9905
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Autonomous vehicle: means any vehicle equipped with an automated driving system. See Florida Statutes 316.003
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Basic life support: means the assessment or treatment by a person qualified under this part through the use of techniques described in the EMT-Basic National Standard Curriculum or the National EMS Education Standards of the United States Department of Transportation and approved by the department. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Basic life support service: means any emergency medical service which uses only basic life support techniques. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• 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.
• Borrower: means a person obligated to repay a mortgage loan and includes, but is not limited to, a coborrower or cosignor. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Branch manager: means the licensed loan originator in charge of, and responsible for, the operation of the branch office of a mortgage broker or mortgage lender. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Branch office: means a location, other than a mortgage broker's or mortgage lender's principal place of business or remote location:
  (a) The address of which appears on business cards, stationery, or advertising used by the licensee in connection with business conducted under this chapter;
  (b) At which the licensee's name, advertising or promotional materials, or signage suggests that mortgage loans are originated, negotiated, funded, or serviced; or
  (c) At which mortgage loans are originated, negotiated, funded, or serviced by a licensee. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Business purpose loan: means a mortgage loan, the proceeds of which the borrower intends to use primarily for a business purpose and not primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Certification: means any authorization issued pursuant to this part to a person to act as an emergency medical technician or a paramedic. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Chemical restraint: means a pharmacologic drug that physically limits, restricts, or deprives a person of movement or mobility, is used for client protection or safety, and is not required for the treatment of medical conditions or symptoms. See Florida Statutes 400.9971
• Chief financial officer: means an individual who has at least a minimum of a bachelor's degree from an accredited university in accounting or finance, or a related field, and who is the person responsible for the preparation of a clinic's billing. See Florida Statutes 400.9905
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Child care: means the care, protection, and supervision of a child, for a period of less than 24 hours a day on a regular basis, which supplements parental care, enrichment, and health supervision for the child, in accordance with his or her individual needs, and for which a payment, fee, or grant is made for care. See Florida Statutes 402.302
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Clinic: means an entity where health care services are provided to individuals and which tenders charges for reimbursement for such services, including a mobile clinic and a portable equipment provider. See Florida Statutes 400.9905
• Commission: means the Financial Services Commission. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• commitment: means a statement by the lender setting forth the terms and conditions upon which the lender is willing to make a particular mortgage loan to a particular borrower. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• 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.
• Control person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, trust, or other organization that possesses the power, directly or indirectly, to direct the management or policies of a company, whether through ownership of securities, by contract, or otherwise. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• 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 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}
• Credit report: means any written, oral, or other information obtained from a consumer reporting agency as described in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which bears on an individual's credit worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• 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 401.23
• Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 402.302
• Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 400.9971
• Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 401.107
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• 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:
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Emergency medical services: means the activities or services to prevent or treat a sudden critical illness or injury and to provide emergency medical care and prehospital emergency medical transportation to sick, injured, or otherwise incapacitated persons in this state. See Florida Statutes 401.107
• Emergency medical services organizations: means public or private entities involved in emergency medical services systems. See Florida Statutes 401.107
• emergency medical services vehicle: means any privately or publicly owned land or water vehicle that is designed, constructed, reconstructed, maintained, equipped, or operated for, and is used for, or intended to be used for, land or water transportation of sick or injured persons requiring or likely to require medical attention during transport. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Emergency medical technician: means a person who is certified by the department to perform basic life support pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Fully autonomous vehicle: means a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system designed to function without a human operator. See Florida Statutes 316.003
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• 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.
• In-house loan processor: means an individual who is an employee of a mortgage broker or a mortgage lender who engages only in loan processing. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• 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.
• Indirect owner: means , with respect to direct owners and other indirect owners in a multilayered organization:
  (a) For an owner that is a corporation, each of its shareholders that beneficially owns, has the right to vote, or has the power to sell or direct the sale of, 25 percent or more of voting security of the corporation. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Institutional investor: means a depository institution, real estate investment trust, insurance company, real estate company, accredited investor as defined in 17 C. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Interfacility transfer: means the transportation by ambulance of a patient between two facilities licensed under chapter 393, chapter 395, chapter 400, or chapter 429, pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• 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}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensee: means any basic life support service, advanced life support service, or air ambulance service licensed pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Loan modification: means a modification to an existing loan. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Loan originator: means an individual who, directly or indirectly, solicits or offers to solicit a mortgage loan, accepts or offers to accept an application for a mortgage loan, negotiates or offers to negotiate the terms or conditions of a new or existing mortgage loan on behalf of a borrower or lender, or negotiates or offers to negotiate the sale of an existing mortgage loan to a noninstitutional investor for compensation or gain. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Loan processing: means :
  (a) Receiving, collecting, distributing, and analyzing information common for the processing of a mortgage loan; or
  (b) Communicating with a consumer to obtain information necessary for the processing of a mortgage loan if such communication does not include offering or negotiating loan rates or terms, or counseling consumers about residential mortgage loan rates or terms. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Making a mortgage loan: means closing a mortgage loan in a person's name, advancing funds, offering to advance funds, or making a commitment to advance funds to an applicant for a mortgage loan. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Medical direction: means direct supervision by a physician through two-way voice communication or, when such voice communication is unavailable, through established standing orders, pursuant to rules of the department. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Medical director: means a physician who is employed or contracted by a licensee and who provides medical supervision, including appropriate quality assurance but not including administrative and managerial functions, for daily operations and training pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Medical director: means a physician who is employed or under contract with a clinic and who maintains a full and unencumbered physician license in accordance with chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, or chapter 461. See Florida Statutes 400.9905
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Mobile clinic: means a movable or detached self-contained health care unit within or from which direct health care services are provided to individuals and which otherwise meets the definition of a clinic in subsection (4). See Florida Statutes 400.9905
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage broker: means a person conducting loan originator activities through one or more licensed loan originators employed by the mortgage broker or as independent contractors to the mortgage broker. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Mortgage lender: means a person making a mortgage loan or servicing a mortgage loan for others, or, for compensation or gain, directly or indirectly, selling or offering to sell a mortgage loan to a noninstitutional investor. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Mortgage loan: means any:
  (a) Residential loan primarily for personal, family, or household use which is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual security interest on a dwelling, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• nighttime: means at any other hour. See Florida Statutes 316.003
• 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.
• Noninstitutional investor: means an investor other than an institutional investor. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• 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.
• Office: means the Office of Financial Regulation. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Paramedic: means a person who is certified by the department to perform basic and advanced life support pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• 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.
• Permit: means any authorization issued pursuant to this part for a vehicle to be operated as a basic life support or advanced life support transport vehicle or an advanced life support nontransport vehicle providing basic or advanced life support. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Person: means any individual, firm, company, agency, organization, partnership, corporation, association, trust, or other business entity of any kind whatsoever. See Florida Statutes 316.193
• 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.
• Physical restraint: means a manual method to restrict freedom of movement of or normal access to a person's body, or a physical or mechanical device, material, or equipment attached or adjacent to the person's body that the person cannot easily remove and that restricts freedom of movement of or normal access to the person's body, including, but not limited to, a half-bed rail, a full-bed rail, a geriatric chair, or a Posey restraint. See Florida Statutes 400.9971
• Physician: means a practitioner who is licensed under the provisions of chapter 458 or chapter 459. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• 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
• Portable equipment provider: means an entity that contracts with or employs persons to provide portable equipment to multiple locations performing treatment or diagnostic testing of individuals, that bills third-party payors for those services, and that otherwise meets the definition of a clinic in subsection (4). See Florida Statutes 400.9905
• 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.
• Principal loan originator: means the licensed loan originator in charge of, and responsible for, the operation of a mortgage lender or mortgage broker, including all of the activities of the mortgage lender's or mortgage broker's loan originators, in-house loan processors, and branch managers, whether employees or independent contractors. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Principal place of business: means a mortgage broker's or mortgage lender's primary business office, the street address, or physical location that is designated on the application for licensure or any amendment to such application. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• 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.
• 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 loan originator: means a loan originator who is employed by a depository institution, by a subsidiary that is owned and controlled by a depository institution and regulated by a federal banking agency, or by an institution regulated by the Farm Credit Administration, and who is registered with and maintains a unique identifier through the registry. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Registered nurse: means a practitioner who is licensed to practice professional nursing pursuant to part I of chapter 464. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Registry: means the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, which is the mortgage licensing system developed and maintained by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators for the licensing and registration of loan originators. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Relative: means any of the following, whether by the full or half blood or by adoption:
  (a) A person's spouse, father, mother, children, brothers, and sisters. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• 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.
• Remote location: means a location, other than a principal place of business or a branch office, at which a loan originator of a licensee may conduct business. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• roadway: refers to any such roadway separately, but not to all such roadways collectively. See Florida Statutes 316.003
• Rural emergency medical services: means emergency medical services in a county with a total population of 100,000 or fewer people and density of less than 100 people per square mile. See Florida Statutes 401.107
• school: includes all preelementary, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools. See Florida Statutes 316.003
• Seclusion: means the physical segregation of a person in any fashion or the involuntary isolation of a person in a room or area from which the person is prevented from leaving. See Florida Statutes 400.9971
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 402.302
• Service location: means any permanent location in or from which a licensee solicits, accepts, or conducts business under this part. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• Servicing a mortgage loan: means to receive, cause to be received, or transferred for another, installment payments of principal, interest, or other payments pursuant to a mortgage loan. See Florida Statutes 494.001
• 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.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transitional living facility: means a site where specialized health care services are provided to persons who have brain or spinal cord injuries, including, but not limited to, rehabilitative services, behavior modification, community reentry training, aids for independent living, and counseling. See Florida Statutes 400.9971
• 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.
• Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on ^{Source: OCC}
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• 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
• Volunteer ambulance service: means a faith-based, not-for-profit charitable corporation registered under chapter 617 which is licensed under this part as a basic life support service or an advanced life support service; which is not a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of, or related to, any for-profit entity; and which uses only unpaid volunteers to provide basic life support services or advanced life support services free of charge, is not operating for pecuniary profit or financial gain, and does not distribute to or inure to the benefit of its directors, volunteers, members, or officers any part of its assets or income. See Florida Statutes 401.23
• 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