Terms Used In New York Laws > Public Authorities > Article 5 > Title 1 - Power Authority of the State of New York

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• 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.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• 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.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: shall mean the department of state. See N.Y. Executive Law 159-E
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Districts: shall mean fire districts created pursuant to Article 11 of the town law. See N.Y. Executive Law 155-A
• Eligible entity: shall mean any organization
  
  (a) officially designated as a community action agency or a community action program under the provisions of section two hundred ten of the economic opportunity act of 1964 for fiscal year 1981, unless such community action agency or a community action program lost its designation under section two hundred ten of such act as a result of a failure to comply with the provisions of such act; or
  
  (b) designated by the process described in section one hundred fifty-nine-m of this article (including an organization serving migrant or seasonal farmworkers that is so described or designated). See N.Y. Executive Law 159-E
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fire companies: shall mean fire companies governed by the not-for-profit corporation law. See N.Y. Executive Law 155-A
• 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.
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Municipal corporations: shall mean a county, city, town and village. See N.Y. Executive Law 155-A
• municipalities: shall include public corporations as defined in subdivision one of § 66 of the general construction law and special districts as defined in subdivision sixteen of § 102 of the real property tax law. See N.Y. Executive Law 151
• Municipalities: shall mean municipal corporations. See N.Y. Executive Law 155-A
• 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.
• 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.
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• 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.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• real property: as used in this title is defined to include lands, structures, franchises and interests in land, including lands under water and riparian rights, and any and all other things and rights usually included within the said term, and includes also any and all interests in such property less than full title, such as easements, rights of way, uses, leases, licenses and all other incorporeal hereditaments and every estate, interest or right, legal or equitable, including terms for years and liens thereon by way of judgments, mortgages or otherwise, and also all claims for damages for such real estate. See N.Y. Public Authorities Law 1007
• 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.
• Secretary: shall mean the secretary of state. See N.Y. Executive Law 159-E
• 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.
• Sprinkler system: shall mean a system of piping and appurtenances designed and installed in accordance with generally accepted standards so that heat from a fire will automatically cause water to be discharged over the fire area to extinguish it or prevent its further spread. See N.Y. Executive Law 155-A
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• tribal organizations: shall mean those tribes, bands or other organized groups of Indians recognized in the state or considered by the federal secretary of the interior to be an Indian tribe or an Indian organization for any purpose. See N.Y. Executive Law 159-E
• Tripartite board: shall mean
  
  (a) the governing board of a private nonprofit entity selected by the entity and composed so as to assure that
  
  (1) one-third of the members of the board are elected public officials, holding office on the date of selection, or their representatives, except that if the number of such elected officials reasonably available and willing to serve on the board is less than one-third of the membership of the board, membership on the board of appointive public officials or their representatives may be counted in meeting such one-third requirement;
  
  (2) (A) not fewer than one-third of the members are persons chosen in accordance with democratic selection procedures adequate to assure that these members are representative of low-income individuals and families in the neighborhood served; and
  
  (B) each representative of low-income individuals and families selected to represent a specific neighborhood within a community under clause (A) of this subparagraph resides in the neighborhood represented by the member; and
  
  (3) the remainder of the members are officials or members of business, industry, labor, religious, law enforcement, education, or other major groups and interests in the community served; or
  
  (b) the governing board of a public organization, which shall have members selected by the organization and shall be composed so as to assure that not fewer than one-third of the members are persons chosen in accordance with democratic selection procedures adequate to assure that these members
  
  (1) are representative of low-income individuals and families in the neighborhood served;
  
  (2) reside in the neighborhood served; and
  
  (3) are able to participate actively in the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs funded under this article. See N.Y. Executive Law 159-E
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}