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. COL10092012 CH. 14 ACCOUNTABILITY OF DISBURSING AND 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.