Terms Used In Michigan Laws > Chapter 38 > Act 300 of 1980 > Article 4

• 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.
• 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.
• Applicable environmental requirement: means an applicable federal environmental requirement, an applicable state environmental requirement, or an environmental requirement established by a local unit of government. See Michigan Laws 324.1401
• Applicable federal environmental requirement: means any of the following:

  (i) The federal water pollution control act, 33 USC 1251 to 1387. See Michigan Laws 324.1401

• Applicable state environmental requirement: means any of the following or a rule promulgated or permit, order, or other legally binding document issued under any of the following:

  (i) Article II or chapter 1 or 3 of article III. See Michigan Laws 324.1401

• Application period: means the period beginning when an application for a permit is received by the state and ending when the application is considered to be administratively complete under section 1305 and any applicable fee has been paid. See Michigan Laws 324.1301
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Arrest card: means a paper form or an electronic format prescribed by the department that facilitates the collection and compilation of criminal and juvenile arrest history record information and biometric data. See Michigan Laws 28.241a
• Articles: means the articles of incorporation of an authority. See Michigan Laws 324.901
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Associated equipment: means any of the following that are not radio equipment:

  (i) An original system, part, or component of a personal watercraft at the time that boat was manufactured, or a similar part or component manufactured or sold for replacement. See Michigan Laws 324.80201

• Authority: means a joint city-state environmental management authority created pursuant to section 902. See Michigan Laws 324.901
• 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.
• Biometric data: means all of the following:

  (i) Fingerprint images recorded in a manner prescribed by the department. See Michigan Laws 28.241a

• Boat livery: means that term as defined in section 44501. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• Boating safety course: means a course that meets both of the following requirements:

  (i) Provides instruction on the safe operation of a personal watercraft that meets or exceeds the minimum course content for boating or personal watercraft education established by the national association of state boating law administrators education committee (October 1996). See Michigan Laws 324.80201

• Channel: means either of the following:

  (i) The deepest part of a stream, bay, or straight through which the main current flows. See Michigan Laws 324.80201

• Child: means an individual less than 17 years of age. See Michigan Laws 28.258
• Clean corporate citizen: means a facility that has demonstrated environmental stewardship and a strong environmental ethic by meeting the criteria in this part. See Michigan Laws 324.1401
• Clearinghouse: means the missing child information clearinghouse established under section 9. See Michigan Laws 28.258
• Commanding officer: means the director of the department of state police or the director's designee. See Michigan Laws 28.241a
• Commission: means the commission of natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.301
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Controlled substance: means that term as defined in section 7104 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333. See Michigan Laws 324.80101
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Conviction: means a final conviction, the payment of a fine, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere if accepted by the court, a finding of guilt, or a probate court or family division disposition on a violation of this part, regardless of whether the penalty is rebated or suspended. See Michigan Laws 324.80101
• 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.
• Criminal history record information: means name; date of birth; personal descriptions including identifying marks, scars, amputations, and tattoos; aliases and prior names; social security number, driver's license number, and other identifying numbers; and information on misdemeanor arrests and convictions and felony arrests and convictions. See Michigan Laws 28.241a
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• Department: means the department, agency, or officer authorized by this act to approve or deny an application for a particular permit. See Michigan Laws 324.1301
• Department: means the department of environmental quality. See Michigan Laws 324.1401
• Department: means the department of state police. See Michigan Laws 28.241a
• Department: means the department of state police. See Michigan Laws 28.258
• Department: means the director of the department of natural resources or his or her designee to whom the director delegates a power or duty by written instrument. See Michigan Laws 324.301
• Department of natural resources: means the principal state department created in section 501. See Michigan Laws 324.301
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the director of the department of natural resources. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• Director: means the director of the state department authorized under this act to approve or deny an application for a particular permit or the director's designee. See Michigan Laws 324.1301
• Director: means the director of the department or his or her designee. See Michigan Laws 324.1401
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Environmental management system: means the part of an overall management system that addresses environmental concerns through allocating resources, assigning responsibilities, and evaluating practices, procedures, and processes to achieve sound environmental performance. See Michigan Laws 324.1401
• Environmental policy: means a policy, signed by an authorized official of the facility, that does all of the following:

  (i) Articulates the facility's environmental mission and values. See Michigan Laws 324.1401

• 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.
• Facility: means any of the following that is situated in this state and is subject to an applicable state environmental requirement or applicable federal environmental requirement:

  (i) A source as defined in section 5501. See Michigan Laws 324.1401

• Felony: A crime carrying a penalty of more than a year in prison.
• Felony: means a violation of a penal law of this state for which the offender may be punished by imprisonment for more than 1 year or an offense expressly designated by law to be a felony. See Michigan Laws 28.241a
• 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.
• 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 writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
• initiate a service credit purchase: means to complete payment or to enter into a tax-deferred payment arrangement in a form and manner prescribed by the retirement system. See Michigan Laws 38.1379b
• 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.
• Juvenile history record information: means name; date of birth; personal descriptions including identifying marks, scars, amputations, and tattoos; aliases and prior names; social security number, driver's license number, and other identifying numbers; and information on juvenile offense arrests and adjudications or convictions. See Michigan Laws 28.241a
• Juvenile offense: means an offense committed by a juvenile that, if committed by an adult, would be a felony, a criminal contempt conviction under section 2950 or 2950a of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600. See Michigan Laws 28.241a
• Law enforcement agency: means the police department of a city, township, or village, the sheriff's department of a county, the department, or any other governmental law enforcement agency of this state. See Michigan Laws 28.241a
• Law enforcement agency: means the department; a police agency of a city, village, or township; a sheriff's department; or any other governmental law enforcement agency in this state. See Michigan Laws 28.258
• Law of another state: means a law or ordinance enacted by any of the following:

  (i) Another state. See Michigan Laws 324.80102

• 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}
• LEIN: means law enforcement information network regulated under the C. See Michigan Laws 28.258
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Local unit of government: means a municipality or county. See Michigan Laws 324.301
• Manufacturer: means a person engaged in any of the following:

  (i) The manufacture, construction, or assembly of personal watercraft or associated equipment. See Michigan Laws 324.80201

• Marine safety act: means former Act No. See Michigan Laws 324.80103
• mental disability: includes Alzheimer's disease and dementia. See Michigan Laws 28.258
• Michigan vehicle code: means Act No. See Michigan Laws 324.80103
• Misdemeanor: means either of the following:

  (i) A violation of a penal law of this state that is not a felony or a violation of an order, rule, or regulation of a state agency that is punishable by imprisonment or a fine that is not a civil fine. See Michigan Laws 28.241a

• Misdemeanor: Usually a petty offense, a less serious crime than a felony, punishable by less than a year of confinement.
• month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Motorboat: means a vessel propelled wholly or in part by machinery. See Michigan Laws 324.80103
• Municipality: means a city, village, or township. See Michigan Laws 324.301
• 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.
• 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.
• Operate: means to be in control of a vessel while the vessel is under way and is not secured in some manner such as being docked or at anchor. See Michigan Laws 324.80103
• Operate: means to be in control of a personal watercraft while the personal watercraft is under way and is not docked or at anchor or secured in another way. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means a person who claims or is entitled to lawful possession of a vessel by virtue of that person's legal title or equitable interest in a vessel. See Michigan Laws 324.80103
• Owner: means a person who claims or is entitled to lawful possession of a personal watercraft by virtue of that person's legal title or equitable interest in a personal watercraft. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• 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.
• Peace officer: means any of the following:

  (i) A sheriff. See Michigan Laws 324.80104

• Permit: means a permit or operating license required by any of the following sections or by rules promulgated thereunder, or, in the case of section 9112, by an ordinance adopted thereunder:

  (i) Section 3104, floodplain alteration permit. See Michigan Laws 324.1301

• Person: means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. See Michigan Laws 8.3l
• Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.301
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal watercraft: means a vessel that meets all of the following requirements:

  (i) Uses a motor-driven propeller or an internal combustion engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion. See Michigan Laws 324.80201

• 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: means a county, metropolitan authority, municipality, or combination of those entities in this state. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• Pollution prevention: means eliminating or minimizing the initial generation of waste at the source, reuse of waste, or utilizing environmentally sound on-site or off-site recycling. See Michigan Laws 324.1403
• Prior conviction: means a conviction for any of the following, whether under a law of this state, a local ordinance substantially corresponding to a law of this state, a law of the United States substantially corresponding to a law of this state, or a law of another state substantially corresponding to a law of this state:

  (i) A violation or an attempted violation of section 80176(1), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7), except that only 1 violation or attempted violation of section 80176(6), a local ordinance substantially corresponding to section 80176(6), or a law of another state substantially corresponding to section 80176(6), or a law of the United States substantially corresponding to section 80176(6) may be used as a prior conviction other than for enhancement purposes as provided in section 80178a(1)(b). See Michigan Laws 324.80104

• Probate: Proving a will
• Processing deadline: means the last day of the processing period. See Michigan Laws 324.1301
• Processing period: means the following time period after the close of the application period, for the following permit, as applicable:

  (i) Twenty days for a permit under section 61525 or 62509. See Michigan Laws 324.1301

• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Registrar: means the state registrar as defined in section 2805 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333. See Michigan Laws 28.258
• 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.
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Rule: means a rule promulgated pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24. See Michigan Laws 324.301
• 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.
• shall not apply: means that the pertinent provision is not operative as to certain persons or things or in conjunction with a particular date or dates. See Michigan Laws 8.4c
• Slow--no wake speed: means the use of a vessel at a very slow speed so that the resulting wake or wash is minimal. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• Solid waste: means solid waste as defined in part 115. See Michigan Laws 324.901
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
• State agency: means either the department or the governing body of the state park that is participating in an authority. See Michigan Laws 324.901
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
• Use: means operate, navigate, or employ. See Michigan Laws 324.80104
• Use: means operate, navigate, or employ. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Vessel: means every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Michigan Laws 324.80104
• Vessel: means every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Michigan Laws 324.80201
• Violation notice: means a written notice or formal enforcement action by the department, the United States environmental protection agency, or the enforcing agency of a local unit of government in response to a violation of an applicable environmental requirement. See Michigan Laws 324.1403
• Waste: means any environmental pollutant, waste, discharge, or emission, regardless of how it is regulated and regardless of whether it is released to the general environment or the workplace environment. See Michigan Laws 324.1403
• Waters of this state: means any waters within the territorial limits of this state, and includes those waters of the Great Lakes that are under the jurisdiction of this state. See Michigan Laws 324.80104
• Waters of this state: means any waters within the territorial limits of this state, and includes those waters of the Great Lakes that are under the jurisdiction of this state. See Michigan Laws 324.80201