Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 31 > Chapter 13 - Miscellaneous Provisions

• Abandoned motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle that is inoperable and is left unattended on public property for more than twenty-four hours, or is inoperable and left unattended on the shoulder or right-of-way of an interstate or a four-lane highway for more than twenty-four hours, or a motor vehicle that has remained illegally on public property for a period of more than twenty-four hours, or a motor vehicle that has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than three days. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:471
• Accessory: includes an accessory after the fact and also a principal, as those terms are defined by the Louisiana Criminal Code. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• Activity: means a distinct subset of functions or services within a program. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Agency: means any state office, department, board, commission, institution, division, officer or other person, or functional group, heretofore existing or hereafter created, that is authorized to exercise, or that does exercise, any functions of the government of the state in the executive branch, but not any governing body or officer of any local government or subdivision of the state, or any parochial officer who exercises functions coterminous with the municipality in which he performs those functions. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• 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.
• Appointing authority: means the presiding officer or similar official of any court, board, commission, authority, department, agency, legislative body or of any proceeding of any nature where a qualified interpreter/transliterator is required pursuant to this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2362
• Appropriation: means an authorization by the legislature to a budget unit for a program to expend from public funds a sum of money, for purposes designated, under the procedure prescribed in this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• 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.
• authority: means , with respect to the city of New Orleans, the police board of the city of New Orleans and in all other municipalities and parishes means the police department, sheriff or such other authority as is vested with police authority. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:471
• Automated driving system: means the hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether it is limited to a specific operational design domain. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:400.1
• Autonomous commercial motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle used in commerce and equipped with an automated driving system, including those designed to function without a driver. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:400.1
• 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.
• 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.
• Board: means the Crime Victims Reparations Board. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• Board: means the Crime Victims Reparations Board provided for by Chapter 21 of this Title. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1851
• Board: means the group of individuals named or appointed to inform and support the work of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf pursuant to La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2351
• Board of Liquidation: means the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1032
• Bonds: means and includes bonds, notes, certificates, or other written obligations for the repayment of borrowed money. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1032
• Budget unit: means any spending agency of the state which is declared to be a budget unit by the division of administration and which is identified for accounting purposes by a five-digit number code. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Capital offense: A crime punishable by death.
• Catastrophic property damage: means catastrophic property damage as defined in Chapter 21 of this Title. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1851
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Child: means an unmarried person under eighteen years of age, and includes a natural child, adopted child, stepchild, child born outside of marriage, any of the above who is a student not over twenty-three years of age, and a child conceived prior to but born after the personal injury or death of the victim. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• Child care facilities: means those facilities regulated pursuant to the Child Care Facility and Child-Placing Agency Licensing Act (R. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1442.1
• City: means the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1032
• Claimant: means a victim or a dependent of a deceased victim, or the legal representative of either, an intervenor, the healthcare provider who provides healthcare services associated with a forensic medical examination as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• 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.
• Collector: means the owner of one or more motor vehicles of historic or special interest who collects, purchases, acquires, trades, or disposes of such motor vehicles or the parts thereof for his own use in order to preserve, restore, and maintain such a motor vehicle for hobby purposes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:442
• Commercial motor vehicle: means a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle has a gross combination weight rating of twenty-six thousand one or more pounds inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than ten thousand pounds. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:400.1
• Commissioner: means the director of public safety as provided in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:442
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Council: means the council of the city of New Orleans or its successor in function. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1032
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deaf: means a condition of or person with some or complete absence of auditory sensitivity, regardless of when the hearing loss occurred, and is most often represented with a lowercase letter "d". See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2351
• DeafBlind: means a condition of or person with concomitant visual and auditory sensitivity to the extent that it causes extreme difficulty in gaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustments, or obtaining a vocation. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2351
• 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.
• Defendant: means an offender who has been convicted of a capital offense and sentenced to death in accordance with the provisions of La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1851
• Department: means the Department of Children and Family Services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1442.1
• Department: means the Department of Children and Family Services or its successor as administrator of the Child Care and Development Fund program in this state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1443.1
• Department: means the Department of Children and Family Services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1451
• Department: means the Department of Children and Family Services or the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1
• Department: means the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2351
• Department: means the Department of Transportation and Development. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• Department: means the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:471
• Dependent: means a spouse or any person who is a dependent of a victim within the meaning of Section 152 of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 U. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• 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:
• Driver: means every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• Dynamic driving task: means all of the real-time operational and tactical functions required to operate a vehicle in on-road traffic excluding strategic functions such as trip scheduling and selection of destinations and waypoints. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:400.1
• Efficiency: means cost-effectiveness or productivity relative to achievement of an objective. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Enrolled bill: The final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed both chambers in identical form. It is printed on parchment paper, signed by appropriate officials, and submitted to the President/Governor for signature.
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Executive budget: means the document submitted to the legislature at each regular session, pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter and La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Expenses: means amounts represented by cash paid out or by obligations to pay cash or partly by each for maintaining and operating government services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• 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}
• 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}
• Functions: means duties, jurisdiction, powers, rights, and obligations, conferred or imposed upon, or vested in, any agency by law, or exercised, performed, or discharged by any agency without contravention of any provision of law. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Fund: means an independent fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash or other resources together with all related liabilities, obligations, reserves, and equities which are segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in accordance with regulations, restrictions, and limitations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Goal: means a general purpose toward which the efforts of an agency are directed. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Hard of hearing: means a condition of or person with total or partial inability to hear sound, but not to the extent that the person must rely primarily on visual communication. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2351
• Healthcare provider: means a physician or other healthcare practitioner licensed, certified, registered, or otherwise authorized to perform specified healthcare services consistent with state law. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• Healthcare services: means services, items, supplies, or drugs for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, cure, or relief of a health condition, illness, injury, or disease ancillary to a sexually oriented offense. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• Hearing: means any person who has average to above hearing levels. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2351
• Homeless: means lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1443.1
• 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.
• Indigent: means any person who meets the state definition of indigent who would have qualified for indigent care in any general hospital owned and operated by the state of Louisiana prior to arrest and who is housed in any parish or municipal jail or detention facility or state prison, shall be treated in the nearest general hospital owned and operated by the state of Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:17
• Input: means any resource used to implement a policy, program, or specific service. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• 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}
• Interpreter: means an individual involved in the process of interpreting or transliterating between the English language and American Sign Language or any communication modes used by d/Deaf, DeafBlind, or hard of hearing persons. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2351
• Intervenor: means a person who goes to the aid of another and is killed or injured in the good faith effort to prevent a crime covered by this Chapter, to apprehend a person reasonably suspected of having engaged in such a crime, or to aid a peace officer. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• 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.
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Liability: means a debt arising out of a transaction where goods or services have been received or rendered which must be liquidated, renewed, or refunded at some future date. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Louisiana resident: means a person who maintained a place of permanent abode in this state at the time the crime was committed for which reparations are sought. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• Minor: means a person under the age of eighteen years. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1851
• 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.
• Motor vehicle: means every vehicle which is self-propelled, and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails, but excluding a motorized bicycle and an electric-assisted bicycle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• Motor vehicle of historic or special interest: means a motor vehicle, including a motorcycle as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:442
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Objective: is a specific and measurable target for achievement which describes the exact results sought, which is expressed in an outcome-oriented statement that may reflect effectiveness, efficiency, or quality of work, and which may be either numeric or non-numeric. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Obligation: means an amount which a government may be required legally to meet out of its resources. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Office: means the office of children and family services, Department of Children and Family Services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1442.1
• Operator: means every person, other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• Owner: means a person who holds a legal title to a vehicle or in the event a vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale, lease, or transfer of possession thereof with the right of purchase upon the performance of the conditions stated in the agreement, with the right of immediate possession in the vendee, lessee, possessor, or in the event such similar transaction is had by means of mortgage and the mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee, lessee, possessor, or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purposes of this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• 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.
• Parts car: means a motor vehicle of historic or special interest which is generally in inoperable condition and which is owned by a collector to furnish parts that are usually not obtainable from normal sources, thus enabling a collector to preserve, restore or maintain a motor vehicle of historic or special interest. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:442
• Peace officer: shall include commissioned police officers, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, marshals, deputy marshals, correctional officers, constables, wildlife enforcement agents, and probation and parole officers. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• Pecuniary loss: means the amount of expense reasonably and necessarily incurred by reason of personal injury, as a consequence of death, or a catastrophic property loss, and includes:

              (a) For personal injury:

              (i) Medical, hospital, nursing, or psychiatric care or counseling, and physical therapy. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802

• person who is deaf or hard of hearing: means a person who, because of hearing loss, has difficulty understanding the communication occurring. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2362
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• 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.
• Presentence report: A report prepared by a court's probation officer, after a person has been convicted of an offense, summarizing for the court the background information needed to determine the appropriate sentence. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Program: means the continuum of care program established and provided for in this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1451
• Program: means a grouping of activities directed toward the accomplishment of a clearly defined objective or set of objectives. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Public assistance: means subsidized child care assistance. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1442.1
• Public entities: means the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, and all of the agencies, boards, authorities, and commissions of the City (except the Sewerage and Water Board) collectively. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1032
• public entities: as used in this Part shall not include school boards that are subject to the terms of La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1051
• Public entity: means the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, and any agency, board, authority, or commission of the City except the Sewerage and Water Board. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1032
• 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 properties or facilities: means properties or facilities owned or leased by a public entity or public benefit corporation. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1051
• Public purposes: means the public purpose or purposes for which a particular piece of public property or a public facility is being used or is intended to be used by a public entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1051
• Quality: means degree or grade of excellence. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• Quasi-judicial proceeding: means any proceeding of a public administrative office or body which is required to investigate facts, ascertain the existence of facts, hold hearings, and draw conclusions from them as a basis for their official action, and to exercise discretion of a judicial nature. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2362
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Railroad: means a carrier of persons or property upon cars, other than streetcars, operated upon stationary rails. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• 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 driver: means a natural person who is not seated in an autonomous commercial motor vehicle, but is able to perform the entire dynamic driving task. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:400.1
• Reparations: means payment of compensation in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter for pecuniary loss resulting from physical injury, death, or catastrophic property loss by reason of a crime enumerated in this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Right of rescission: Right to cancel, within three business days, a contract that uses the home of a person as collateral, except in the case of a first mortgage loan. There is no fee to the borrower, who receives a full refund of all fees paid. The right of rescission is guaranteed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). ^{Source: OCC}
• Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services or the Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1
• Secretary: means the secretary of Louisiana Department of Health. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:2351
• 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.
• State: means the state of Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1032
• Stop: means , when required, the complete cessation from movement. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• Strategy: means the method used to accomplish the objectives of an agency. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• street cruiser: means any automobile or truck twenty-five years or older, and which has undergone some type of modernizing, to include modernizing of the engine, transmission, drive train, and interior refinements, and any other modifications the builder desires, which vehicle is to be driven to events under its own power and to be used as a safe, nonracing vehicle for total family enjoyment. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:455
• street rod: means any antique automobile or truck produced in 1948 or earlier, which is an automobile or truck that is recognized as a street rod by the National Street Rod Association, and which has undergone some type of modernizing, to include modernizing of engine, transmission, drivetrain, interior refinements, and any other modifications the builder desires, which vehicle is to be driven to events under its own power and to be used as a safe, nonracing vehicle for total family enjoyment. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:452
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Surplus: means the excess for any fiscal year of the actual monies received and any monies or balances carried forward over the actual expenditures paid by warrant or transfer for any fund at the close of the fiscal year as such are reported by the office of statewide reporting within the division of administration. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:2
• TANF: means the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant program established pursuant to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, P. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1451
• Teleoperation system: means hardware and software installed on a motor vehicle that allow a remote driver to operate the vehicle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:400.1
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• 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.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• 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}
• two-thirds of the members: when used in connection with a vote by the respective members of the council, the Board of Liquidation, or the governing authority of any public entity, shall mean a majority or two-thirds of the members of the respective bodies holding office at the time such a vote is taken, as the case may be. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1032
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• Vehicle: means every device by which persons or things may be transported upon a public highway or bridge, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
• Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
• Victim: means :

              (a) Any person who suffers personal injury, death, or catastrophic property loss as a result of a crime committed in this state and covered by this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1802

• Victim: means any person who suffers death, injury, or catastrophic property damage as a result of the defendant's crime, or any person who is otherwise eligible to have a judgment or reparations award satisfied from a defendant's escrow account as provided for by this Chapter, or any legal representative thereof, but does not include any person denied eligibility for a reparations award by Chapter 21 of this Title. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1851
• Victim advocate: work with prosecutors and assist the victims of a crime.
• Victim Impact Statement: A written or spoken statement by the victim or his or her representative about the physical, emotional, and financial impact of a crime on the victim. The statement is given to the court before sentencing.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.