Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes > Chapter 103 > Part I - General Provisions

• 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 any agency, board, commission, department, or officer of a county government or the state government, including the authority as defined in part II. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Agency: means any department, office or board or commission of the state or county government which is a part of the executive branch of that government. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• agricultural activities: means the activities described in paragraphs (1) to (3);
  (22) Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under § 182-1;
  (23) Hydroelectric facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production and transmission of hydroelectric energy, subject to § 205-2; provided that the hydroelectric facilities and their appurtenances:

  (A) Shall consist of a small hydropower facility as defined by the United States Department of Energy, including:

  (i) Impoundment facilities using a dam to store water in a reservoir;

  (ii) A diversion or run-of-river facility that channels a portion of a river through a canal or channel; and

  (iii) Pumped storage facilities that store energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir at higher elevation from a reservoir at a lower elevation to be released to turn a turbine to generate electricity;

  (B) Comply with the state water code, chapter 174C;

  (C) Shall, if over five hundred kilowatts in hydroelectric generating capacity, have the approval of the commission on water resource management, including a new instream flow standard established for any new hydroelectric facility; and

  (D) Do not impact or impede the use of agricultural land or the availability of surface or ground water for all uses on all parcels that are served by the ground water sources or streams for which hydroelectric facilities are considered; or
  (24) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205-4.5
• Agricultural activity: means any activity described in paragraphs (1) to (3) of this subsection. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205-4.5
• agricultural education programs: means activities or events designed to promote knowledge and understanding of agricultural activities and practices conducted on a farming operation as defined in § 165-2;
  (20) Solar energy facilities that do not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser or for which a special use permit is granted pursuant to § 205-6; provided that this use shall not be permitted on lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A;
  (21) Solar energy facilities on lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating B or C for which a special use permit is granted pursuant to § 205-6; provided that:

  (A) The area occupied by the solar energy facilities is also made available for compatible agricultural activities at a lease rate that is at least fifty per cent below the fair market rent for comparable properties;

  (B) Proof of financial security to decommission the facility is provided to the satisfaction of the appropriate county planning commission prior to date of commencement of commercial generation; and

  (C) Solar energy facilities shall be decommissioned at the owner's expense according to the following requirements:

  (i) Removal of all equipment related to the solar energy facility within twelve months of the conclusion of operation or useful life; and

  (ii) Restoration of the disturbed earth to substantially the same physical condition as existed prior to the development of the solar energy facility. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205-4.5
• Agricultural solid waste: means the solid waste that results from the rearing of animals and the harvesting of crops. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Agricultural-energy enterprise: means an enterprise that integrally incorporates an agricultural activity with an agricultural-energy facility. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205-4.5
• Agricultural-energy facility: means a facility that generates, stores, or distributes renewable energy as defined in § 269-91 or renewable fuel including electrical or thermal energy or liquid or gaseous fuels from products of agricultural activities from agricultural lands located in the State. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205-4.5
• 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.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• 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.
• 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
• Appurtenances: means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for economic commercial storage and distribution, and other similar handling of feedstock, fuels, and other products of biofuel processing facilities. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205-4.5
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association of boards of certification for operating personnel in water and wastewater utilities: means that organization which serves as an information center for certification activities, recommends minimum standards and guidelines for the classification of potable water supply and wastewater systems and facilities and for certification of operators, facilitates reciprocity between state programs, and assists authorities in establishing new certification programs and upgrading existing programs. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340F-1
• Association of boards of certification for operating personnel in water and wastewater utilities: means that organization which serves as an information center for certification activities, recommends minimum standards and guidelines for the classification of potable water supply and wastewater systems and facilities and for certification of operators, facilitates reciprocity between state programs, and assists authorities in establishing new certification programs and upgrading existing programs. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340B-1
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Authority: means the county planning commission, except in counties where the county planning commission is advisory only, in which case "authority" means the county council or such body as the council may by ordinance designate. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• 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.
• Beach: includes sand deposits in nearshore submerged areas, or sand dunes or upland beach deposits landward of the shoreline, that provide benefits for public use and recreation, for coastal ecosystems, and as a natural buffer against coastal hazards. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Board: means the board of certification established by § 340F-4. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340F-1
• Board: means the board of education. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• Board: means the board of certification established by § 340B-4. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340B-1
• Board approval: means approval by the board of land and natural resources pursuant to chapter 183C. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-41
• bona fide agricultural activity: means a farming operation as defined in § 165-2;
  (15) Wind energy facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production and transmission of wind generated energy; provided that the wind energy facilities and appurtenances are compatible with agriculture uses and cause minimal adverse impact on agricultural land;
  (16) Biofuel processing facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production and refining of biofuels that is normally considered directly accessory and secondary to the growing of the energy feedstock; provided that biofuel processing facilities and appurtenances do not adversely impact agricultural land and other agricultural uses in the vicinity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205-4.5
• Coastal hazards: means any tsunami, hurricane, wind, wave, storm surges, high tide, flooding, erosion, sea level rise, subsidence, or point and nonpoint source pollution. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Coastal zone management area: means all lands of the State and the area extending seaward from the shoreline to the limit of the State's police power and management authority, including the United States territorial sea. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Coastal zone management program: means the comprehensive statement in words, maps, or other permanent media of communication, prepared, approved for submission, and amended by the State and approved by the United States government pursuant to Public Law No. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Collector: means any person or governmental agency which has been licensed to remove refuse in accordance with applicable ordinances and regulations. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Complex: means the high school and those elementary, middle, and intermediate schools that feed into the high school as designated by the department. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• Complex area: means the administrative unit that includes one or more complexes as designated by the department. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Council: means the environmental advisory council established in this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 341-2
• county: includes the city and county of Honolulu. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 1-22
• County: shall include each county of the State, including the city and county of Honolulu. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• 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.
• Department: means the planning department of the counties of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii and the department of planning and permitting of the city and county of Honolulu, or other appropriate agency as designated by the county councils. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-22
• Department: means the department of education. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• Department: means the planning department of the counties of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii and the department of planning and permitting of the city and county of Honolulu, or other appropriate agency as designated by the county councils. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-41
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the director of health. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340F-1
• Director: means the director of the office of planning and sustainable development. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 341-2
• Director: means the director of the department of health. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Director: means the director of health. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340B-1
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Educational officers: includes principals, vice-principals, and professional employees of the state and district offices of the department, except those employees in the classified service. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• 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}
• 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 market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{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}
• 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.
• Generator: means any person or governmental agency which generates solid waste. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• gross premiums: as used in this part shall not include consideration paid for annuities. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 431:7-201
• 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.
• important agricultural lands: means those lands, identified pursuant to this part, that:
  (1) Are capable of producing sustained high agricultural yields when treated and managed according to accepted farming methods and technology;
  (2) Contribute to the State's economic base and produce agricultural commodities for export or local consumption; or
  (3) Are needed to promote the expansion of agricultural activities and income for the future, even if currently not in production. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205-42
• Incinerator: means an engineered combustion device specifically designed for volume reduction by controlled burning of combustible solid waste. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• 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}
• Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
• 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: means the earth, water, and air above, below, or on the surface. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Landfill: means a land area used for the disposal of solid waste. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Lead agency: means the office of planning and sustainable development. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• 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.
• License: means the recognition granted by the Hawaii teacher standards board to an individual to practice the profession of teaching. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• month: means a calendar month; and the word "year" a calendar year. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 1-20
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• 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.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Ocean waters: means all waters seaward of the shoreline within the jurisdiction of the State. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Office: means the office of planning and sustainable development. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 341-2
• Operator: means any individual who operates a public water system or a major segment of a public water system such as a water treatment plant or distribution system. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340F-1
• Operator: means any person or governmental agency which accepts solid waste for processing, disposing, or transferring at an incinerator, landfill site, resource recovery facility or transfer station. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Operator: means any individual who operates a wastewater treatment plant, or a major segment of a wastewater treatment plant. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340B-1
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means any person or governmental agency which shall have title to solid waste. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• 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: means any individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, municipality, or any other private, county, state, or federal legal entity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340F-1
• Person: means an individual, corporation, or partnership, and an organization or association, whether or not incorporated. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, municipality, or any other legal entity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340B-1
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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}
• 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.
• Public advisory body: means the advisory body established in section 205A-3. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Public schools: means all academic and noncollege type schools established and maintained by the department and charter schools governed by chapter 302D. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• Resource recovery facility: means a facility in which solid waste is reprocessed into new products in such manner that original products lose their identity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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.
• Shoreline: means the upper reaches of the wash of the waves, other than storm and seismic waves, at high tide during the season of the year in which the highest wash of the waves occurs, usually evidenced by the edge of vegetation growth, or the upper limit of debris left by the wash of the waves. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-1
• Shoreline area: shall include all of the land area between the shoreline and the shoreline setback line and may include the area between mean sea level and the shoreline; provided that if the highest annual wash of the waves is fixed or significantly affected by a structure that has not received all permits and approvals required by law or if any part of any structure in violation of this part extends seaward of the shoreline, then the term "shoreline area" shall include the entire structure. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-41
• Shoreline setback line: means that line established in this part or by the county running inland from the shoreline at a horizontal plane. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-41
• Solid waste: means garbage, refuse and other discarded solid materials, including solid waste materials resulting from industrial and commercial operations, and from community activities. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Source separated waste: means recyclable waste materials which are set aside at their point of generation for segregated collection and transport to specialized waste processing sites or final manufacturing markets. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• Special management area: means the land extending inland from the shoreline as delineated on the maps filed with the authority as of June 8, 1977, or as amended pursuant to § 205A-23. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-22
• Special management area minor permit: means an action by the authority authorizing development the valuation of which is not in excess of $500,000 and which has no substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect, taking into account potential cumulative effects. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-22
• Special management area use permit: means an action by the authority authorizing development the valuation of which exceeds $500,000 or which may have a substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect, taking into account potential cumulative effects. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-22
• State: includes states, territories, districts, and insular and other possessions of the United States. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 337-1
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Structure: includes but is not limited to any building, road, pipe, flume, conduit, siphon, aqueduct, telephone line, and electrical power transmission and distribution line. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-22
• Structure: includes , but is not limited to, any portion of any building, pavement, road, pipe, flume, utility line, fence, groin, wall, or revetment. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-41
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Superintendent: means the superintendent of education. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• Supervisor: means , where shift operation is not required, any individual who has direct responsibility for the operation of a wastewater treatment plant or who supervises operators of such a plant. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340B-1
• Teacher: means a person whose duties in the public educational system are primarily teaching or instruction of students or related activities centered primarily on students and who is in close and continuous contact with students, and shall include but not be limited to classroom teachers, school librarians, counselors, registrars, and special education teachers. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-101
• 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.
• Transfer station: means a supplemental transportation facility used as an adjunct to solid waste route collection vehicles, which facility may be fixed or mobile and may include recompaction of solid waste. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340A-1
• 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.
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Wastewater treatment plant: means the various facilities used in the treatment of wastewater, including a wastewater reclamation plant, but excluding a private sewage treatment plant with actual flows greater than 2. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 340B-1