Guam § 14104 - Definitions.

§ 14104. Definitions.

For the purpose of this Article, the following words and phrases have

been defined to mean:

(a) 'Accountable Officer.' Any government of Guam officer or

employee who, by reason of the person's employment, is responsible for

or has custody of government funds or who physically handles

government funds, even if only once or occasionally, and is accountable

for those funds while in the individual's possession. The functional

titles of an Accountable Officer includes:

(1) 'Certifying Officer' shall mean a person who is responsible

for determining and certifying legality of the disbursement of

public funds. The officer does not have physical possession of the

funds.

(2) 'Disbursing Officer' shall mean a person who disburses

funds and renders accounts in accordance with laws and

regulations governing disbursement of public funds. The officer

has physical possession or control of the funds.

(3) 'Cashier' shall mean a person who is appointed to perform

limited cash disbursing functions or other cash-handling

operations to assist a finance officer.

(4) 'Collecting Officer' shall mean a person who is authorized

to receive or collect money for the government.

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4 GCA PUBLIC OFFICERS & EMPLOYEES

CERTIFYING OFFICERS

(b) >Appropriation= shall mean any appropriation made by I

Liheslaturan Guåhan [Guam Legislature] within any fund of the

government of Guam.

(c) 'Fund' shall mean as used in this Chapter the General Fund and

all special and trust funds. This includes impress fund cash held at

personal risk.

(d) >Improper payment= shall mean a disbursement of public funds

by a disbursing officer or subordinate that is found by an appropriate

authority to be illegal, improper or incorrect. Improper payments result

from fraud, forgery, alteration of vouchers, improper certifications and

other improper practices. Improper payments can be caused by human

and/or mechanical error during the payment process.

(e) >Relief= shall mean an administrative decision made by

government of Guam officers authorized by law to make such a

decision that absolves the accountable officer from liability for a loss.