Utah Code Title 68, Chapter 3
Construction of Statutes
Utah Code Title 68, Chapter 3
68-3-1. Common law adopted.
The common law of England so far as it is not repugnant to,
or in conflict with, the constitution or laws of the United States, or the
constitution or laws of this state, and so far only as it is consistent with
and adapted to the natural and physical conditions of this state and the
necessities of the people hereof, is hereby adopted, and shall be the rule of
decision in all courts of this state.
68-3-2. Statutes in derogation of
common law not strictly construed -- Rules of equity prevail.
(1) The rule of the common law that a statute in derogation
of the common law is to be strictly construed does not apply to the Utah Code.
(2) A statute of the Utah Code establishes the law of this
state respecting the subjects to which the statute relates.
(3) Each provision of, and each proceeding under, the Utah
Code shall be construed with a view to effect the objects of the provision and
to promote justice.
(4) When there is a conflict between the rules of equity and
the rules of common law in reference to the same matter, the rules of equity
prevail.
Amended by Chapter 254, 2010 General Session
68-3-3. Retroactive effect.
A provision of the Utah Code is not retroactive, unless the
provision is expressly declared to be retroactive.
Amended by Chapter 254, 2010 General Session
68-3-7. Time, how computed.
(1) A person shall compute the period of time provided by law
to perform an act by:
(a) excluding the first day; and
(b) except as provided in Subsection (2), including
the last day.
(2) If the last day is a legal holiday, a Saturday, or a
Sunday, then a person shall:
(a) exclude the day described in this Subsection (2)
from the time computation described in Subsection (1); and
(b) compute the period of time to include the end of
the next day that is not a legal holiday, a Saturday, or a Sunday.
Amended by Chapter 236, 2012 General Session
68-3-8. When a day appointed is a
holiday.
Whenever any act of a secular nature, other than a work of
necessity or mercy, is appointed by law or contract to be performed upon a
particular day, which day falls upon a legal holiday, such act may be performed
upon the next succeeding business day with the same effect as if it had been
performed upon the day appointed.
Amended by Chapter 236, 2012 General Session
68-3-10. Joint authority is
authority to majority.
Words giving a joint authority to three or more public
officers, or other persons, are to be construed as giving such authority to a
majority of them, unless it is otherwise expressed in the act giving the
authority.
No Change Since 1953
68-3-11. Rules of construction as
to words and phrases.
Words and phrases are to be construed according to the
context and the approved usage of the language; but technical words and
phrases, and such others as have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in
law, or are defined by statute, are to be construed according to such peculiar
and appropriate meaning or definition.
No Change Since 1953
68-3-12. Rules of construction.
(1) (a) In the construction of a statute in the Utah Code,
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 includes the plural, and the plural
includes the singular.
(c) A word used in one gender includes the other
gender.
(d) A word used in the present tense includes the
future tense.
(e) In accordance with Title 46, Chapter 4, Part 5,
Electronic Records in Government Agencies, a word related to the medium used in
the provision of a government service may include an electronic or other
medium.
(f) "Include," "includes," or
"including" means that the items listed are not an exclusive list,
unless the word "only" or similar language is used to expressly
indicate that the list is an exclusive list.
(g) "May" means that an action is authorized
or permissive.
(h) "May not" means that an action is not
authorized and is prohibited.
(i) "Must" means, depending on the context
in which it is used, that:
(i) an
action is required or mandatory;
(ii) an
action or result is compelled by necessity;
(iii) an
item is indispensable; or
(iv) an
action or event is a condition precedent to:
(A)
the authority to act;
(B)
a prohibition;
(C)
the accrual or loss of a right; or
(D)
the imposition or removal of an obligation.
(j) "Shall" means that an action is required
or mandatory.
(2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b) or (c), the
use of the following terms in the Utah Code is strongly discouraged:
(i)
"shall not";
(ii)
"should not";
(iii)
"must not"; or
(iv)
"but not limited to" after "include," "includes,"
or "including."
(b) A term described in Subsection (2)(a) may be used
when unusual circumstances exist that require the use of the term, including
the use of the term:
(i) in an
interstate compact; or
(ii) to
ensure consistency with a federal law or rule.
(c) (i) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(c)(ii),
the use of the word "should" is strongly discouraged.
(ii) The
word "should" may be used to:
(A)
refer to a recommended action, including a provision that a person shall or may
recommend whether an action "should" be taken;
(B)
indicate an expected standard of knowledge, including a provision that a person
"should" know:
(I)
whether a fact exists; or
(II)
that an action is likely to cause a specified result; or
(C)
refer to a determination as to whether an action "should" have
occurred.
(d) The use of the word "must" is strongly
discouraged when the term "shall" can be used in its place.
Amended by Chapter 254, 2010 General Session
68-3-12.5. Definitions for Utah
Code.
(1) The definitions listed in this section apply to the Utah
Code, unless:
(a) the definition is inconsistent with the manifest
intent of the Legislature or repugnant to the context of the statute; or
(b) a different definition is expressly provided for
the respective title, chapter, part, section, or subsection.
(2) "Adjudicative proceeding" means:
(a) an action by a board, commission, department,
officer, or other administrative unit of the state that determines the legal
rights, duties, privileges, immunities, or other legal interests of one or more
identifiable persons, including an action to grant, deny, revoke, suspend,
modify, annul, withdraw, or amend an authority, right, or license; and
(b) judicial review of an action described in
Subsection (2)(a).
(3) "Administrator" includes "executor"
when the subject matter justifies the use.
(4) "Advisory board," "advisory
commission," and "advisory council" mean a board, commission,
committee, or council that:
(a) is created by, and whose duties are provided by,
statute or executive order;
(b) performs its duties only under the supervision of
another person as provided by statute; and
(c) provides advice and makes recommendations to
another person that makes policy for the benefit of the general public.
(5) "County executive" means:
(a) the county commission, in the county commission or
expanded county commission form of government established under Title 17,
Chapter 52, Changing Forms of County Government;
(b) the county executive, in the county
executive-council optional form of government authorized by Section 17-52-504;
or
(c) the county manager, in the council-manager
optional form of government authorized by Section 17-52-505.
(6) "County legislative body" means:
(a) the county commission, in the county commission or
expanded county commission form of government established under Title 17,
Chapter 52, Changing Forms of County Government;
(b) the county council, in the county
executive-council optional form of government authorized by Section 17-52-504;
and
(c) the county council, in the council-manager
optional form of government authorized by Section 17-52-505.
(7) "Depose" means to make a written statement
made under oath or affirmation.
(8) "Executor" includes "administrator"
when the subject matter justifies the use.
(9) "Guardian" includes a person who:
(a) qualifies as a guardian of a minor or
incapacitated person pursuant to testamentary or court appointment; or
(b) is appointed by a court to manage the estate of a
minor or incapacitated person.
(10) "Highway" includes:
(a) a public bridge;
(b) a county way;
(c) a county road;
(d) a common road; and
(e) a state road.
(11) "Intellectual disability" means a
significant, subaverage general intellectual functioning that:
(a) exists concurrently with deficits in adaptive
behavior; and
(b) is manifested during the developmental period as
defined in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association.
(12) "Intermediate care facility for people with an
intellectual disability" means an intermediate care facility for the
mentally retarded, as defined in Title XIX of the Social Security Act.
(13) "Land" includes:
(a) land;
(b) a tenement;
(c) a hereditament;
(d) a water right;
(e) a possessory right; and
(f) a claim.
(14) "Month" means a calendar month, unless
otherwise expressed.
(15) "Oath" includes "affirmation."
(16) "Person" means:
(a) an individual;
(b) an association;
(c) an institution;
(d) a corporation;
(e) a company;
(f) a trust;
(g) a limited liability company;
(h) a partnership;
(i) a political subdivision;
(j) a government office, department, division, bureau,
or other body of government; and
(k) any other organization or entity.
(17) "Personal property" includes:
(a) money;
(b) goods;
(c) chattels;
(d) effects;
(e) evidences of a right in action;
(f) a written instrument by which a pecuniary
obligation, right, or title to property is created, acknowledged, transferred,
increased, defeated, discharged, or diminished; and
(g) a right or interest in an item described in
Subsections (17)(a) through (f).
(18) "Personal representative,"
"executor," and "administrator" include:
(a) an executor;
(b) an administrator;
(c) a successor personal
representative;
(d) a special administrator; and
(e) a person who performs substantially the same
function as a person described in Subsections (18)(a) through (d) under the law
governing the person's status.
(19) "Policy board," "policy
commission," or "policy council" means a board, commission, or
council that:
(a) is authorized to make policy for the benefit of
the general public;
(b) is created by, and whose duties are provided by,
the constitution or statute; and
(c) performs its duties according to its own rules
without supervision other than under the general control of another person as
provided by statute.
(20) "Population" is shown by the most recent
state or national census, unless expressly provided otherwise.
(21) "Process" means a writ or summons issued in
the course of a judicial proceeding.
(22) "Property" includes both real and personal
property.
(23) "Real estate" or "real property"
includes:
(a) land;
(b) a tenement;
(c) a hereditament;
(d) a water right;
(e) a possessory right; and
(f) a claim.
(24) "Review board," "review
commission," and "review council" mean a board, commission,
committee, or council that:
(a) is authorized to approve policy made for the
benefit of the general public by another body or person;
(b) is created by, and whose duties are provided by,
statute; and
(c) performs its duties according to its own rules
without supervision other than under the general control of another person as
provided by statute.
(25) "Road" includes:
(a) a public bridge;
(b) a county way;
(c) a county road;
(d) a common road; and
(e) a state road.
(26) "Signature" includes a name, mark, or sign
written with the intent to authenticate an instrument or writing.
(27) "State," when applied to the different parts
of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United
States.
(28) "Swear" includes "affirm."
(29) "Testify" means to make an oral statement
under oath or affirmation.
(30) "United States" includes each state,
district, and territory of the United States of America.
(31) "Utah Code" means the 1953 recodification of
the Utah Code, as amended, unless the text expressly references a portion of
the 1953 recodification of the Utah Code as it existed:
(a) on the day on which the 1953 recodification of the
Utah Code was enacted; or
(b) (i) after the day described in
Subsection (31)(a); and
(ii)
before the most recent amendment to the referenced portion of the 1953
recodification of the Utah Code.
(32) "Vessel," when used with reference to
shipping, includes a steamboat, canal boat, and every structure adapted to be
navigated from place to place.
(33) "Will" includes a codicil.
(34) "Writ" means an order or precept in writing,
issued in the name of:
(a) the state;
(b) a court; or
(c) a judicial officer.
(35) "Writing" includes:
(a) printing;
(b) handwriting; and
(c) information stored in an electronic or other
medium if the information is retrievable in a perceivable format.
Amended by Chapter 366, 2011 General Session