20-101.As used in this Article:

Article XX creates a civil recovery mechanism for public funds obtained through fraud, and this opening section defines the vocabulary the rest of the article relies on. "Compensation, benefits or remuneration" is defined broadly — regular pay, overtime, vacation pay, deferred compensation, sick pay, disability pay, sick or disability leave, medical, dental, optical, or other health benefits, pension or retirement benefits, and any other pay, compensation, benefits, or remuneration.

"Person" is defined just as broadly, reaching any firm, corporation, association, agency, institution, or other legal entity, as well as any natural person. That means the recovery remedies in this article can target organizations, not only individuals who personally pocketed the funds.

"Local governmental unit" is defined narrowly by comparison: any unit of local government or school district. Together, these three definitions set the boundaries for what kind of payment is recoverable, who can be pursued for having wrongly received or facilitated it, and which government bodies, beyond the State itself, can invoke the article's remedies.