Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes > Chapter 16 - Department of administration

• Adult: means a person who has attained the age of 18 years, except that for purposes of investigating or prosecuting a person who is alleged to have violated any state or federal criminal law or any civil law or municipal ordinance, "adult" means a person who has attained the age of 17 years. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Alcoholic: means a person who is suffering from alcoholism. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Alcoholism: is a disease which is characterized by the dependency of a person on the drug alcohol, to the extent that the person's health is substantially impaired or endangered or his or her social or economic functioning is substantially disrupted. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• 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.
• 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 treatment facility: means any publicly or privately operated treatment facility or unit thereof approved by the department for treatment of alcoholic, drug dependent, mentally ill or developmentally disabled persons. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Approved tribal treatment facility: means a treatment agency that operates under the direction and control of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state and meets the standards prescribed for approved treatment facilities under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• 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.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• Bequest: includes a devise; "bequeath" includes devise. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Brain injury: includes any injury to the brain under par. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Center for the developmentally disabled: means any facility which is operated by the department and which provides services including, but not limited to, 24-hour treatment, consultation, training and education for developmentally disabled persons. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• 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.
• Communicable disease: means any disease that the department of health services determines, by rule, to be communicable in fact. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Community mental health program: means a program to provide community-based outpatient mental health services that is operated by or under contract with a county department of community programs or that requests payment for the services under the medical assistance program or under benefits required under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Community support program: means a coordinated care and treatment system that provides a network of services through an identified treatment program and staff to ensure ongoing therapeutic involvement and individualized treatment in the community for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Conditional transfer: means a transfer of a patient or resident to a less restrictive environment for treatment which is made subject to conditions imposed for the benefit of the patient or resident. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Corporation: means a private corporation organized under the laws of this state. See Wisconsin Statutes 31.01
• County of residence: means the county that is determined under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Degenerative brain disorder: means the loss or dysfunction of brain cells to the extent that the individual is substantially impaired in his or her ability to provide adequately for his or her own care or custody or to manage adequately his or her property or financial affairs. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Department: when used in this chapter without other words of description or qualification means the department of natural resources. See Wisconsin Statutes 28.005
• Department: means the department of natural resources. See Wisconsin Statutes 31.01
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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.
• Developmental disability: means a disability attributable to brain injury, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, Prader-Willi syndrome, intellectual disability, or another neurological condition closely related to an intellectual disability or requiring treatment similar to that required for individuals with an intellectual disability, which has continued or can be expected to continue indefinitely and constitutes a substantial handicap to the afflicted individual. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Director: means the person in charge of a state treatment facility, state or local treatment center, or approved private facility. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• 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.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Drug dependence: means a disease that is characterized by a person's use of one or more drugs that is beyond the person's ability to control to the extent that the person's physical health is substantially impaired or his or her social or economic functioning is substantially disrupted. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Drug dependent: means suffering from drug dependence. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• 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}
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. ^{Source: OCC}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• 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.
• 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}
• Fire department: includes a department under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Fire fighter: includes a person serving under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• 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}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Freeway: means a highway with full control of access and with all crossroads separated in grade from the pavements for through traffic. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Governmental body: means a state or local agency, board, commission, committee, council, department or public body corporate and politic created by constitution, statute, ordinance, rule or order; a governmental or quasi-governmental corporation except for the Bradley center sports and entertainment corporation; a local exposition district under subch. See Wisconsin Statutes 19.82
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Grantee: means the person, firm, corporation or municipality to whom a permit is granted, and all subsequent owners of the grant. See Wisconsin Statutes 31.01
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• homestead: means the dwelling and so much of the land surrounding it as is reasonably necessary for use of the dwelling as a home, but not less than one-fourth acre, if available, and not exceeding 40 acres. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Hospital: has the meaning given under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Inpatient facility: means a public or private hospital or unit of a hospital which has as its primary purpose the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of mental illness, developmental disability, alcoholism or drug abuse and which provides 24-hour care. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• 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}
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Joint session: When both chambers of a legislature adopt a concurrent resolution to meet together.
• Juvenile correctional facility: has the meaning given in…. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Law enforcement officer: means any person who by virtue of the person's office or public employment is vested by law with the duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crimes while acting within the scope of the person's authority. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. ^{Source: U.S. Mint}
• Licensed mental health professional: has the meaning given in…. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Licensed practical nurse: includes a licensed practical/vocational nurse who holds a multistate license, as defined in…. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
• Meeting: means the convening of members of a governmental body for the purpose of exercising the responsibilities, authority, power or duties delegated to or vested in the body. See Wisconsin Statutes 19.82
• Mental health institute: means any institution operated by the department for specialized psychiatric services, research, education, and which is responsible for consultation with community programs for education and quality of care. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Mental illness: means mental disease to such extent that a person so afflicted requires care and treatment for his or her own welfare, or the welfare of others, or of the community. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Motorcycle: has the meaning given in…. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Municipality: means any town, village, city or county in the state. See Wisconsin Statutes 31.01
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Navigable waters: means all waters declared navigable by ch. See Wisconsin Statutes 31.01
• Oath: includes affirmation in all cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Open session: means a meeting which is held in a place reasonably accessible to members of the public and open to all citizens at all times. See Wisconsin Statutes 19.82
• Optical disc: means a rotating circular plate on which information or images are placed in storage, and which is recorded and read by laser beams focused on the plate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Optical imaging: means transferring to a format employing an optical disc. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Physician assistant: means a person licensed as a physician assistant under subch. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Police department: includes a department under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Police officer: includes a person serving under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• 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.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Psychologist: means a psychologist who is licensed under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Public debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The public debt does not include agency debt (amounts borrowed by other agencies of the Federal Government). The total public debt is subject to a statutory limit.
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Registered nurse: includes a registered nurse who holds a multistate license, as defined in…. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Residence: has the meaning given under…. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Secured residential care center for children and youth: has the meaning given in…. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Serious and persistent mental illness: includes schizophrenia as well as a wide spectrum of psychotic and other severely disabling psychiatric diagnostic categories, but does not include degenerative brain disorder or a primary diagnosis of a developmental disability or of alcohol or drug dependence. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• State treatment facility: means any of the institutions operated by the department for the purpose of providing diagnosis, care or treatment for mental or emotional disturbance, developmental disability, alcoholism or drug dependency and includes but is not limited to mental health institutes. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Supplemental appropriation: Budget authority provided in an appropriations act in addition to regular or continuing appropriations already provided. Supplemental appropriations generally are made to cover emergencies, such as disaster relief, or other needs deemed too urgent to be postponed until the enactment of next year's regular appropriations act.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• Transfer: means the movement of a patient or resident between approved treatment facilities or to or from an approved treatment facility and the community. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Treatment: means those psychological, educational, social, chemical, medical or somatic techniques designed to bring about rehabilitation of a mentally ill, alcoholic, drug dependent or developmentally disabled person. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Treatment director: means the person who has primary responsibility for the treatment provided by a treatment facility. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Treatment facility: means any publicly or privately operated facility or unit thereof providing treatment of alcoholic, drug dependent, mentally ill or developmentally disabled persons, including but not limited to inpatient and outpatient treatment programs, community support programs and rehabilitation programs. See Wisconsin Statutes 51.01
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• 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.
• Week: means 7 consecutive days. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.