Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 20 > Chapter 17 - Tennessee Public Participation Act

• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Communication: means the making or submitting of a statement or document in any form or medium, including oral, written, audiovisual, or electronic. See Tennessee Code 20-17-103
• 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.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• County mayor: means and includes "county executive" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• 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.
• Exercise of the right of free speech: means a communication made in connection with a matter of public concern or religious expression that falls within the protection of the United States Constitution or the Tennessee Constitution. See Tennessee Code 20-17-103
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the body in which the general legislative powers of a municipality are vested, and in the case of counties means the legislative body of any county. See Tennessee Code 7-90-103
• 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}
• Legal action: means a claim, cause of action, petition, cross-claim, or counterclaim or any request for legal or equitable relief initiated against a private party. See Tennessee Code 20-17-103
• Matter of public concern: includes an issue related to:
  (A) Health or safety. See Tennessee Code 20-17-103
• Medical education program: means a program of study that is a biomedical research program, dental program, nursing program, medical program, including graduate medical education, or allied health program. See Tennessee Code 7-90-103
• Medical school: means an educational facility created and operated as part of a program that grants the degree of doctor of medicine to the graduates of such educational facility or provides graduate medical education. See Tennessee Code 7-90-103
• medical school authority: means any public corporation organized pursuant to this chapter. See Tennessee Code 7-90-103
• Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Municipality: means any county, metropolitan government or incorporated city or town in this state located in a county having a population of not less than ninety-one thousand eight hundred (91,800), according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census. See Tennessee Code 7-90-103
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Project: means any facilities or group of facilities to be used for a medical school, dental school, biomedical research, graduate medical education, nursing degree programs, or allied health profession degree programs. See Tennessee Code 7-90-103
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• State: means the state of Tennessee and, unless otherwise indicated by the context, any agency, authority, branch, bureau, commission, corporation, department or instrumentality of the state, now or hereafter existing. See Tennessee Code 7-90-103
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• THEC: means the Tennessee higher education commission. See Tennessee Code 7-90-103
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105