Terms Used In New York Laws > Public Health > Article 21 - Control of Acute Communicable Diseases

• 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.
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• 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
• Approved project: shall mean a project approved as provided by this article. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• 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}
• Board of supervisors: shall mean the elective governing body of a county, by whatever name designated. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Bridge: shall mean any structure whether of single or multiple span construction with a clear span in excess of five feet with measurements to be made in the manner set forth in subdivision two of section two hundred thirty of this chapter. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Bridge: means a structure including supports erected over a depression or an obstruction such as water, highway, or railway, having a track or passageway for carrying traffic or other moving loads and having an opening measured along the center of the track or roadway of more than twenty feet between under croppings of abutments or spring lines or arches, or extreme ends of openings for multiple boxes and may include multiple pipes where the clear distance between openings is less than half of the smaller contiguous opening. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Case individual: means an individual with a confirmed or probable diagnosis of COVID-19. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• Commissioner: shall mean the commissioner of transportation of the state of New York. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contact individual: means an individual who has or may have come in contact with a case individual or who has or may have been exposed to and possibly infected with COVID-19. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• Contact tracing: means COVID-19 case investigation and identification of case individuals and contact individuals. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• contact tracing entity: means an individual or entity employed by or under contract with the state, a local government, a state or local governmental entity, or an agent thereof, to conduct contact tracing, engage in contact tracing, or receive contact tracing information. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• Contact tracing information: means any information that includes or can reveal the identity of any case individual or contact individual, and any COVID-19-related information or test results, received or collected for the purpose or in the course of contact tracing. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• 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.
• County superintendent: shall mean the county superintendent of highways. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Covered entity: means a governmental entity or a place of public accommodation, resort or amusement, as defined in § 292 of the executive law. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• Culvert: shall mean any structure whether of single or multiple span construction with an interior width of five feet or less with measurements to be made in the manner set forth in subdivision two of section two hundred thirty of this chapter. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Culvert: means a structure whether of single or multiple span construction within an interior width of twenty feet or less when measurement is made horizontally along the center line of roadway from face to face of abutments or sidewalls immediately below the copings or fillets; or, if there are no copings or fillets at points six inches below the bridge seats or immediately under the top slab in the case of frame structures. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• De-identified: means , in relation to contact tracing information, that the information cannot identify or be made to identify or be associated with a particular individual, directly or indirectly and is subject to technical safeguards and policies and procedures that prevent re-identification, whether intentionally or unintentionally, of any individual. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• 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.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• 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.
• Highway: shall include necessary sluices, drains, ditches, waterways, embankments, retaining walls, bridges on such highway and under the jurisdiction and control of the town and culverts, and the approaches of any such bridge or culvert beginning at the back of the abutments. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Immigration authority: means any entity, officer, employee, or government employee or agent thereof charged with or engaged in enforcement of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, including the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Department of Homeland Security, or United States Customs and Border Protection, or agent, contractor or employee thereof, or any successor legislation or entity. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• 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.
• Law enforcement agent or entity: means any governmental entity or public servant, or agent, contractor or employee thereof, authorized to investigate, prosecute, or make an arrest for a criminal or civil offense (except a designated civil offense), or engaged in any such activity, but shall not mean the department, the commissioner, a health district, a county department of health, a county health commissioner, a local board of health, a local health officer, the department of health and mental hygiene of the city of New York, or the commissioner of the department of health and mental hygiene of the city of New York. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• 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.
• 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.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Permitted purpose: means :
  
  (a) disclosure to appropriate health care providers or their personnel for the purpose of the clinical diagnosis, care or treatment of the case individual or contact individual who is the subject of the information, where an emergency exists and the individual is in immediate need of medical attention and an attempt to secure consent would result in delay of treatment which would increase the risk to the individual's life or health;
  
  (b) facilitating a legally-authorized public health-related action, where and only to the extent necessary to protect the public health in relation to COVID-19; or
  
  (c) use or disclosure of contact tracing information to pursue a legal action in relation to a violation of this title; provided that disclosure shall be subject to in camera review and approval by the court, and, if the use is initiated by a party other than the case individual or contact individual who is the subject of the contact tracing information, the information must be highly material and relevant for the purpose. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plan: shall mean a map and specifications showing (a) the location of a project, (b) the estimated cost of such project, (c) the proposed width, thickness and type of highway, (d) a statement of necessity for such project relied upon by the town, and (e) the projects to be completed in each year of the period of the duration of this article. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Project: shall mean a town highway improvement, repair or reconstruction. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public entity: means any department, board, bureau, commission or agency of the state or its political subdivisions, public benefit corporation or any public authority including the port authority of New York and New Jersey. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Railroad: means a private or public railroad operating in the state of New York carrying either freight, passengers or freight and passengers including, but not limited to, those operated by the metropolitan transportation authority and its subsidiaries, the Long Island Rail Road, the metro-north railroad, the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority, the New York city transit authority or any other public authority or local government and shall include tourist excursion operations and railrides on standard gauge tracks. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Railroad bridge: means a structure including supports erected over a depression or an obstruction such as water, highway, or railway, having a track or tracks for carrying freight or passengers or other moving loads and having an opening measured along the center of the track or roadway of more than twenty feet between under croppings of abutments or spring lines or arches, or extreme ends of openings for multiple boxes and may include multiple pipes where the clear distance between openings is less than half of the smaller contiguous opening whether privately or publicly owned. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Roadbed: shall mean the portion of the highway, improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Substantial structural alteration: means any work that modifies the load capacity, loan distribution or load paths or structural behavior of the bridge. See N.Y. Highway Law 230
• Support: means resources or services provided to an individual to enable such individual to safely quarantine or isolate, including grocery, meal or pharmacy delivery, laundry services, child or elder care, pet walking, assistance with telephone, internet, or other communication services or devices, health and mental health services, legal services, provision of appropriate living space for individuals who cannot isolate or quarantine at home, and income replacement. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2180
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Town highway: shall mean highways constructed, improved or maintained by the town with the aid of the state or county, under the provisions of the highway law, including all highways in towns, outside of incorporated villages constituting separate road districts, except state highways, county roads, parkways, state thruways and controlled access highways as defined by the highway law. See N.Y. Highway Law 219
• Town superintendent: shall mean the town superintendent of highways. See N.Y. Highway Law 219