2006 Utah Code - 68-3-12 — Rules of construction.

     68-3-12.   Rules of construction.
     (1) (a) In the construction of these statutes, the general rules listed in this Subsection (1) shall be observed, unless the construction would be:
     (i) inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Legislature; or
     (ii) repugnant to the context of the statute.
     (b) The singular number includes the plural, and the plural the singular.
     (c) Words used in one gender comprehend the other gender.
     (d) Words used in the present tense include the future tense.
     (e) In accordance with Title 46, Chapter 4, Part 5, Electronic Records in Government Agencies, words related to the medium used in the provision of government services may include electronic or other mediums.
     (2) In the construction of these statutes, the definitions listed in this Subsection (2) shall be observed, unless the definition would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Legislature, or repugnant to the context of the statute.
     (a) "Adjudicative proceeding" means:
     (i) all actions by a board, commission, department, officer, or other administrative unit of the state that determine the legal rights, duties, privileges, immunities, or other legal interests of one or more identifiable persons, including all actions to grant, deny, revoke, suspend, modify, annul, withdraw, or amend an authority, right, or license; and
     (ii) judicial review of all such actions.
     (b) "Advisory board," "advisory commission," and "advisory council" means a board, commission, or council that:
     (i) provides advice and makes recommendations to another person or entity who makes policy for the benefit of the general public;
     (ii) is created by and whose duties are provided by statute or by executive order; and
     (iii) performs its duties only under the supervision of another person as provided by statute.
     (c) "Councilman" includes a town trustee or a city commissioner, and "city commissioner" includes a councilman.
     (d) "County executive" means:
     (i) the county commission in the county commission or expanded county commission form of government established under Title 17, Chapter 52, Forms of County Government;
     (ii) the county executive in the "county executive-council" optional form of government authorized by Section 17-52-504; and
     (iii) the county manager in the "council-manager" optional form of government authorized by Section 17-52-505.
     (e) "County legislative body" means:
     (i) the county commission in the county commission or expanded county commission form of government established under Title 17, Chapter 52, Forms of County Government;
     (ii) the county council in the "county executive-council" optional form of government authorized by Section 17-52-504; and
     (iii) the county council in the "council-manager" optional form of government authorized by Section 17-52-505.
     (f) "Executor" includes administrator, and the term "administrator" includes executor, when the subject matter justifies such use.

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     (g) "Guardian" includes a person who has qualified as a guardian of a minor or incapacitated person pursuant to testamentary or court appointment and a person who is appointed by a court to manage the estate of a minor or incapacitated person.
     (h) "Highway" and "road" include public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way," "county road," "common road," and "state road."
     (i) "Him," "his," and other masculine pronouns include "her," "hers," and similar feminine pronouns unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intent or the subject matter relates clearly and necessarily to the male sex only.
     (j) "Insane person" include idiots, lunatics, distracted persons, and persons of unsound mind.
     (k) "Land," "real estate," and "real property" include land, tenements, hereditaments, water rights, possessory rights, and claims.
     (l) "Man" or "men" when used alone or in conjunction with other syllables as in "workman," includes "woman" or "women" unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intent or the subject matter relates clearly and necessarily to the male sex only.
     (m) "Month" means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed, and the word "year," or the abbreviation "A.D." is equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord."
     (n) "Oath" includes "affirmation," and the word "swear" includes "affirm." Every oral statement under oath or affirmation is embraced in the term "testify," and every written one, in the term "depose."
     (o) "Person" includes individuals, bodies politic and corporate, partnerships, associations, and companies.
     (p) "Personal property" includes every description of money, goods, chattels, effects, evidences of rights in action, and all written instruments by which any pecuniary obligation, right, or title to property is created, acknowledged, transferred, increased, defeated, discharged, or diminished, and every right or interest therein.
     (q) "Personal representative," "executor," and "administrator" includes an executor, administrator, successor personal representative, special administrator, and persons who perform substantially the same function under the law governing their status.
     (r) "Policy board," "policy commission," or "policy council" means a board, commission, or council that:
     (i) possesses a portion of the sovereign power of the state to enable it to make policy for the benefit of the general public;
     (ii) is created by and whose duties are provided by the constitution or by statute;
     (iii) performs its duties according to its own rules without supervision other than under the general control of another person as provided by statute; and
     (iv) is permanent and continuous and not temporary and occasional.
     (s) "Population" shall be as shown by the last preceding state or national census, unless otherwise specially provided.
     (t) "Property" includes both real and personal property.
     (u) "Review board," "review commission," or "review council" means a board, commission, or council that:
     (i) possesses a portion of the sovereign power of the state only to the extent to enable it to approve policy made for the benefit of the general public by another body or person;
     (ii) is created by and whose duties are provided by statute;

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     (iii) performs its duties according to its own rules without supervision other than under the general control of another person as provided by statute; and
     (iv) is permanent and continuous and not temporary and occasional.
     (v) "Sheriff," "county attorney," "district attorney," "clerk," or other words used to denote an executive or ministerial officer, may include any deputy, or other person performing the duties of such officer, either generally or in special cases; and the words "county clerk" may be held to include "clerk of the district court."
     (w) "Signature" includes any name, mark, or sign written with the intent to authenticate any instrument or writing.
     (x) "State," when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories; and the words "United States" may include the District and the territories.
     (y) "Town" may mean incorporated town and may include city, and the word "city" may mean incorporated town.
     (z) "Vessel," when used with reference to shipping, includes steamboats, canal boats, and every structure adapted to be navigated from place to place.
     (aa) "Will" includes codicils.
     (bb) "Writ" means an order or precept in writing, issued in the name of the state or of a court or judicial officer; and "process" means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings.
     (cc) "Writing" includes:
     (i) printing;
     (ii) handwriting; and
     (iii) information stored in an electronic or other medium if the information is retrievable in a perceivable format.

Amended by Chapter 20, 2003 General Session