KAATZ v. CITY OF SEASIDE

Filed 9/20/06

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

Story continue from Part I ...

Hence, under the validation statutes, the public agency may initiate a proceeding to establish the validity of its act. Alternatively, the agency may do nothing, in which case the act will become immune from attack if no interested person brings a proceeding to establish the act’s validity or invalidity within 60 days. (See Friedland v. City of Long Beach (1998) 62 Cal.App.4th 835, 850-851 (Friedland) [validation statutes permit the public agency to validate its action by doing nothing and without giving notice, but agency may choose “the more responsible first alternative“ of filing a validation proceeding].) As the Supreme Court has observed: “[A]n agency may indirectly but effectively ‘validate‘ its action by doing nothing to validate it; unless an ‘interested person’ brings an action of his own under section 863 within the 60-day period, the agency’s action will become immune from attack whether it is legally valid or not. . . . Thus a statute which begins by providing a remedy to be pursued by public agencies, . . . concludes by making it unnecessary for such agencies to do anything at all, and the incidental or derivative remedy of an ‘interested person’ turns out to be controlling. This is truly a case of the tail wagging the dog.” (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at pp. 341-342.)

The validation statutes do “not specify the matters to which [they] appl[y]; rather, [their] procedures apply to ‘any matter which under any other law is authorized to be determined pursuant to this chapter.’ (§ 860.)” (Planning & Conservation League I, supra, 17 Cal.4th at pp. 268-269.) Thus, we look to other statutes to determine the scope of public agency actions that are subject to validation under sections 860 through 870.

One statutory source is Government Code section 53511--the statute under which Kaatz (respondents contend) was required to bring a timely validating proceeding here. Government Code section 53511 (now subdivision (a)) provides: “A local agency may bring an action to determine the validity of its bonds, warrants, contracts, obligations or evidences of indebtedness pursuant to [the validation statutes].” (See also Planning & Conservation League I, supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 269.)[1]

There are numerous other statutes that provide for the validation of public agency actions by reference to sections 860 through 870.[2] For instance, a validation action may be brought under Government Code section 56103[3] to determine the validity of a proposed annexation of territory under the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (Gov. Code, § 56000 et seq.). (See Embarcadero Mun. Improvement Dist. v. County of Santa Barbara, supra, 88 Cal.App.4th at p. 789; Hills for Everyone v. Local Agency Formation Com. (1980) 105 Cal.App.3d 461, 465 & fn. 4 [validation proceeding authorized under former Gov. Code, § 35005].) Likewise, Health and Safety Code section 33501, subdivision (a),[4] authorizes a proceeding under the validation statutes to determine the validity of establishing a local redevelopment agency, a redevelopment project, or bonds to be furnished in conjunction with such a project. (See Sweetwater Valley Civic Assn. v. City of National City (1976) 18 Cal.3d 270, 276; Bernardi v. City Council (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 426, 436.) And under Water Code section 50440,[5] a validation action may be brought to determine the validity of the organization of an irrigation district. (See Clark’s Fork Reclamation Dist. v. Johns (1968) 259 Cal.App.2d 366, 367.)[6]

D. Applicability of Validation Statutes to Second Amended Complaint

1. Introduction

The fundamental question on appeal is whether the City’s actions that were challenged in the second amended complaint were matters that were subject to the validation statutes. More specifically, the issue is whether the City could have brought a validating proceeding concerning the execution of the LDA and the sale of the Property to K&B Bakewell--and thus Kaatz, as an “interested person” (§ 863), was required to do so by filing suit within 60 days. If the City’s conduct was embraced by the language of Government Code 53511, permitting the public agency to “bring an action to determine the validity of its bonds, warrants, contracts, obligations or evidences of indebtedness pursuant to [the validation statutes],” then dismissal of the action was proper. The trial court itself acknowledged that this question was not easily resolved.

We begin our analysis by noting two points on which there is no disagreement. Kaatz and respondents concur that not all public agency contracts are within the scope of Government Code section 53511, i.e., not all such contracts are subject to the validation statutes. Indeed, as discussed post, our Supreme Court made this point clear more than 30 years ago. (See City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at pp. 343-344.) For instance, a county contract retaining an attorney to provide legal services to indigent persons is “not the kind of financial obligation contemplated to be automatically validated absent a challenge within the 60 days proscribed in sections 860 and 863.” (Phillips v. Seely, supra, 43 Cal.App.3d 104, 112.) Similarly, in Smith v. Mt. Diablo Unified Sch. Dist., supra, 56 Cal.App.3d 412, 421, the court held that a taxpayers’ suit challenging the validity of a school district’s contract to acquire a computer was not subject to the validation statutes. (See also Walters v. County of Plumas (1976) 61 Cal.App.3d 460 (Walters) [action challenging award of franchises for collection and disposal of solid waste not subject to validation statutes].)

Second--although not expressly admitted by the parties--there are no cases on point that have considered whether the kinds of contracts involved here (i.e., the LDA and the conveyance of the Property to K&B Bakewell) are the types of public contracts that are subject to validation under Government Code section 53511. Specifically, no case has addressed whether an agreement calling for a public agency’s purchase and immediate resale of real property to a private party where the source of the funds for the agency’s acquisition is the third-party purchaser--a double-escrow transaction--is subject to the validation statutes. Moreover, no case has held generally that a public agency contract to acquire or sell real property is (or is not) a “contract” under Government Code section 53511.

Beyond these two undisputed points, the parties offer radically differing viewpoints on the scope of the word “contracts” in Government Code 53511, as that issue bears upon whether the City’s actions here were subject to the validation statutes. Because it contains our high court’s most comprehensive discussion of the validation statutes, we review City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d 335, in some detail.

2. City of Ontario v. Superior Court

In City of Ontario, supra, taxpayers challenged a plan for the financing of a motor raceway that included (1) the issuance and sale by a nonprofit entity formed by the City of Ontario (Ontario) of $25,500,000 in tax-exempt bonds without voter approval, (2) the award of a contract to a private party without competitive bidding for the construction of the raceway for $12,500,000, and (3) the lease of the raceway for 50 years by the nonprofit entity to a for-profit entity that would run the facility as a private business venture. (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 338.) The plaintiffs’ essential claims were that the plan promoted a private commercial enterprise without any public benefit (id. at pp. 338-339) and was an unconstitutional “gift of public funds or lending public credit for private purposes (Cal. Const., art. XIII, § 25).” (Id. at p. 339.) After filing an answer, Ontario moved to dismiss the complaint because the plaintiffs failed to comply with particular requirements for the service of summons under the validation statutes. (Ibid.)[7] The trial court denied the motion, impliedly finding that the plaintiffs’ claims were governed by the validation statutes but holding that the plaintiffs had shown good cause for failing to comply with the summons requirements. (Ibid.)

Ontario brought a writ of prohibition contending that the trial court had abused its discretion in denying the motion to dismiss, a position the Supreme Court rejected. (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at pp. 345-348.) In the course of determining that the trial court had not abused its discretion, the Supreme Court provided an extensive discussion of the validation statutes which is relevant to the present appeal.[8]

“[S]ections 860 through 870 . . . were first enacted in 1961. The legislation was proposed by the Judicial Council, which explained that it had been ‘concerned for some years with the numerous statutes providing periods within which appeals may be taken at variance with the time for notice of appeal contained in the Rules on Appeal.’ [Citation.] In particular, the Council pointed to numerous scattered statutes authorizing actions by cities, counties, and public agencies to establish the validity of their bonds or assessments or the legality of their existence, and providing special procedures for appeals in such cases.” (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 340.) Thus, as the high court explained the historical context 28 years later, the validation statutes were “first enacted in 1961, with the purpose of consolidating and harmonizing the various existing statutes providing special procedures for actions by cities, counties and public agencies to establish the validity of their bonds and assessments.” (Planning & Conservation League I, supra, 17 Cal.4th at pp. 268-269.)

Government Code sections 53510 and 53511 were enacted in 1963, two years after the enactment of the validation statutes. (Stats. 1963, ch. 2118, § 1, p. 4404.) Ontario argued that the use of the term “contracts” in Government Code section 53511 suggested that the validation statutes applied to any public agency contract. (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 341.) While conceding that the challenged raceway agreement facially appeared to be embraced by Government Code section 53511 because there was “no limitation or qualification on the word ‘contracts’ “ (City of Ontario, supra, at p. 343), the Supreme Court did not end its inquiry at that juncture. Instead, it concluded that a closer examination of Government Code section 53511 suggested a much narrower construction of “contracts” for at least four reasons: “First, the Legislative Counsel’s digest . . . characterized the measure as one allowing ‘a local agency to bring an action to determine the validity of evidences of indebtedness.’ Second, “section 53511 was enacted as part of chapter 3 of part 1, division 2, title 5, of the Government Code. Chapter 3 is entitled ‘Bonds,’ and deals exclusively with the power of local agencies to sell their bonds, replace defaced or lost bonds, and pledge their revenues to pay or secure such bonds. If [Government Code] section 53511 was intended to be a provision of general application, logically it should have been placed in article 4 (‘Miscellaneous’) of chapter 1 (‘General’) of the same part, in which a group of such unrelated matters are collected. Third, the key language of [Government Code] section 53511--’bonds, warrants, contracts, obligations or evidences of indebtedness’--was taken directly from [Code of Civil Procedure] section 864 of Chapter 9; under well-known canons of statutory interpretation, it should ordinarily be given the same meaning as it had in the earlier statute. But as a perusal of the companion 1961 legislation reveals, when [the validation statutes were] adopted [they were] made applicable only to such matters as the legality of the local entity’s existence, the validity of its bonds and assessments, and the validity of joint financing agreements with other agencies. If [Government Code] section 53511 was intended to reach any and all contracts into which an agency may lawfully enter, the restricted language of [Code of Civil Procedure] section 864 was inappropriate for that purpose. Finally, that language is peculiarly inapt for expressing such a general meaning in any event, as it lists the word ‘contracts’ in the midst of four other terms which all deal with the limited topic of a local agency’s financial obligations.” (City of Ontario, supra, at pp. 343-344.)

In addition, the Supreme Court suggested that there were policy reasons for construing “contracts” in Government Code section 53511 more narrowly. In City of Ontario, the court noted that a sweeping interpretation of the term “contracts” in that statute and the concomitant application of an abbreviated 60-day statute of limitations for potential challenges to virtually any governmental actions would unduly burden taxpayers presenting such challenges. (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 342.)

As we will discuss, the legislative history and statutory construction of Government Code section 53511 elucidated in City of Ontario doom respondents’ arguments that the challenged actions of the City were subject to the validation statutes. Accordingly, we will conclude that the court below erred in holding that the 60-day statute of limitations applicable for validating proceedings barred Kaatz’s claims.

3. Inapplicability of validation statutes to Kaatz’s claims

a. statutory construction

We begin our analysis by noting that in statutory interpretation, “where the language is clear, its plain meaning should be followed. [Citation.]” (Great Lakes Properties, Inc. v. City of El Segundo (1977) 19 Cal.3d 152, 155.) Thus, “[i]f the language is clear and unambiguous there is no need for construction, nor is it necessary to resort to indicia of the intent of the Legislature” to interpret the statute. (Lungren v. Deukmejian (1988) 45 Cal.3d 727, 735.) “But [this] ‘plain meaning’ rule does not prohibit a court from determining whether the literal meaning of a statute comports with its purpose or whether such a construction of one provision is consistent with other provisions of the statute.” (Ibid.)

Here, the parties have radically opposing views on the meaning of the term “contracts” in Government Code section 53511. They agree, however, that “contracts” cannot be interpreted to mean that all public agency contracts are subject to the validation statutes. And the Supreme Court noted that while a superficial reading of the statute suggested a broad interpretation of the unqualified term “contracts” (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 343), a much narrower construction of the term was evoked upon closer examination (id. at pp. 343-344). Clearly, the “plain meaning” rule does not apply and we are constrained to interpret Government Code section 53511 by reference to legislative intent and any other applicable rules of statutory construction.

It is a “fundamental rule that a court ‘should ascertain the intent of the Legislature so as to effectuate the purpose of the law.’ “ (Moyer v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd. (1973) 10 Cal.3d 222, 230-231; see also In re Rojas (1979) 23 Cal.3d 152, 155.) That intent may be revealed from a review of “[b]oth the legislative history of the statute and the wider historical circumstances of its enactment.” (Dyna-Med, Inc. v. Fair Employment & Housing Com. (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1379, 1387 (Dyna-Med, Inc.).) “The words of the statute must be construed in context, keeping in mind the statutory purpose, and statutes or statutory sections relating to the same subject must be harmonized, both internally and with each other, to the extent possible. [Citations.]” (Ibid.) And the contextual framework of a clause or sentence is particularly important when the statute “contains a list or catalog of items, [in which case] a court determines the meaning of each by reference to the others, giving preference to an interpretation that makes the items similar in nature and scope.” (People v. Fierro (1991) 1 Cal.4th 173, 262. fn. omitted.)[9] And in the case of uncertainty, the court should consider “the consequences that will flow from a particular interpretation. [Citation.]” (Dyna-Med, Inc., supra, at p. 1387.)

b. purpose of the validation statutes

Government Code section 53511 specifically references the validation statutes promulgated two years earlier and borrows from section 864 “the key language . . . ‘bonds, warrants, contracts, obligations or evidences of indebtedness’ “ (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 343) that is at the heart of the present controversy. Accordingly, we deem--as (we infer) the Supreme Court did in City of Ontario--”the wider historical circumstances of [Government Code section 53511’s] enactment” (Dyna-Med, Inc., supra, 43 Cal.3d at p. 1387) to include the legislative history and intent of the validation statutes.

In the context of enacting sections 860 through 870, the Judicial Council had been concerned about the existence of “numerous scattered statutes authorizing actions by cities, counties, and public agencies to establish the validity of their bonds or assessments or the legality of their existence, and providing special procedures for appeals in such cases.” (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 340; see also Planning & Conservation League I, supra, 17 Cal.4th at pp. 268-269.) This focus is borne out by identifying the statutes specifically addressed by the validation statutes. Laws that predated the validation statutes that were, in 1961, either amended or were repealed and replaced to

make specific reference to sections 860 through 870 typically pertained to actions to test the validity of (1) bonds;[10] (2) assessments;[11] (3) assessments or warrants;[12]

or (4) the existence of a governmental district or agency.[13]

Likewise, the validation statutes’ relationship to proceedings to test “the validity of [public agencies’] bonds or assessments or the legality of their existence” (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 340) was reaffirmed in post-1961 legislation that incorporated the procedures of section 860 through 870. Those later statutes by and large concerned the validation of (1) bonds;[14] (2) assessments;[15] or (3) the creation of districts.[16]

Moreover, the legislative history of amendments to the validation statutes--cited by the Supreme Court in Planning & Conservation League I, supra, 17 Cal.4th 264--emphasizes that the focal point of sections 860 through 870 was to ensure the ability of public agencies to obtain the timely validation of their bonds. Section 870 was amended in 1985 to add subdivision (b) to provide for an across-the-board 60-day appeal period. (Stats. 1985, ch. 229, § 1, p. 1243.) This amendment thereby eliminated the possibility that an appeal made more than 60 days after entry of judgment in a validating proceeding could be deemed timely. (Planning & Conservation League I, supra, at p. 271.) As explained by the high court: “The 1985 amendment (Sen. Bill No. 479) had a simple purpose: ‘to clarify the time within which an appeal may be taken in a validation proceeding, and thus accelerate the finality of these proceedings.’ [Citation.] The Senate committee analysis noted that validation actions are most commonly used to secure a judicial determination that a government entity’s proposed issuance of bonds is valid. The possibility of an appeal from the judgment validating the issue, together with [California Rules of Court,] rule 2(a)’s allowance of an appeal within 180 days from entry of judgment if no notice is served or mailed, resulted in a lengthy period of uncertainty, during which underwriters and counsel often felt compelled to wait before issuing the bonds. [Citation.] The amendment to section 870 was proposed in order to ‘reduce the period of “uncertainty” ‘ created by application of rule 2(a) to validation actions. [Citation.]” (Id. at pp. 271-272, italics added.) Additionally, the 1994 amendment to section 870 (Stats. 1994, ch. 242, § 1) shortening further the appeal period under the validations statutes to “30 days after the notice of entry of judgment. or, within 30 days after the entry of the judgment if there is no answering party” (§ 870, subd. (b)) was characterized at the time by the state Department of Finance as “ ‘reduc[ing] the time it takes to get bond approval and proceed to market.’ [Citation.]” (Planning & Conservation League I, supra, at pp. 272-273; see also ibid. [holding that appealable order from validation proceeding was governed by same 30-day appeal period under § 870, subd. (b), because a contrary holding would result in “uncertainty that could affect the confidence of others (e.g., bond buyers) in the finality of the validation action”].)

c. Government Code section 53511

We have considered the Supreme Court’s construction of Government Code 53511 based upon legislative history and other rules of interpretation. (See City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at pp. 341-344.) In sum, the court identified four factors that suggested that the word “contracts” in the statute should be construed more narrowly than a reading that would make virtually all public agency contracts subject to the validation statutes: (1) the characterization of the proposed statute in the Legislative Counsel’s digest as permitting “ ‘a local agency to bring an action to determine the validity of evidences of indebtedness’ “ (id. at p. 343); (2) the statute’s placement as part of chapter 3 (entitled “Bonds”) of part 1, division 2, title 5 of the Government Code (ibid.); (3) the fact that the relevant language of the statute (“bonds, warrants, contracts, obligations, or evidences of indebtedness”) was borrowed from section 864 of the validation statutes, requiring that it be given the same meaning that it had in the earlier statute, i.e., the validation statutes were “made applicable only to such matters as the legality of the local entity’s existence, the validity of its bonds and assessments, and the validity of joint financing agreements with other agencies” (City of Ontario, supra, at p. 343); and (4) the use of “contracts” surrounded by four limited-topic terms made it “peculiarly inapt for expressing such a general meaning” (id. at p. 344).

This fourth factor appears to be an application of the noscitur a sociis rule of construction. “Noscitur a sociis (‘it is known by its associates’) is the principle that ‘ “ ‘the meaning of a word may be enlarged or restrained by reference to the object of the whole clause in which it is used.’ “ ‘ [Citations.]” (Texas Commerce Bank v. Garamendi (1992) 11 Cal.App.4th 460, 471, fn. 3.) In other words, “a word takes meaning from the company it keeps.” (People v. Drennan (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 1349, 1355.) “ ‘In accordance with this principle of construction, a court will adopt a restrictive meaning of a listed item if acceptance of a more expansive meaning would make other items in the list unnecessary or redundant, or would otherwise make the item markedly dissimilar to the other items in the list.’ [Citation.]” (People ex rel. Lungren v. Superior Court (1996) 14 Cal.4th 294, 307.) Here, we agree with the court in City of Ontario that a narrower meaning of “contracts” is appropriate, in part because adopting a more expansive meaning would “make the [term] markedly dissimilar to the other items,” namely, “bonds, warrants, . . . obligations or evidences of indebtedness” (Gov. Code, § 53511, subd. (b); see, e.g., English v. IKON Business Solutions, Inc. (2001) 94 Cal.App.4th 130, 145-146 [applying noscitur a sociis to give narrow meaning to term “dismissal” in context of mandatory provisions affording party relief from default, default judgment, or dismissal under section 473, subd. (b)].)

To be continue as Part III ...

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[1] Government Code section 53511, subdivision (b), provides: “A local agency that issues bonds, notes, or other obligations the proceeds of which are to be used to purchase, or to make loans evidenced or secured by, the bonds, warrants, contracts, obligations, or evidences of indebtedness of other local agencies, may bring a single action in the superior court of the county in which that local agency is located to determine the validity of the bonds, warrants, contracts, obligations, or evidences of indebtedness of the other local agencies, pursuant to [the validation statutes].”

[2] Our research discloses that there are more than 200 statutes that provide for validating proceedings pursuant to sections 860 through 870. The vast majority of these statutes are found in the Government Code (more than 50 statutes) and in the Water Code (more than 90 statutes).

[3] “An action to determine the validity of any change of organization, reorganization, or sphere of influence determination completed pursuant to this division shall be brought pursuant to [the validation statutes].” (Gov. Code, § 56103.)

[4] “An action may be brought pursuant to [the validation statutes] to determine the validity of bonds and the redevelopment plan to be financed or refinanced, in whole or in part, by the bonds, or to determine the validity of a redevelopment plan not financed by bonds, including . . . the legality and validity of all proceedings theretofore taken for or in any way connected with the establishment of the agency, its authority to transact business and exercise its powers, the designation of the survey area, the selection of the project area, the formulation of the preliminary plan, the validity of the finding and determination that the project area is predominantly urbanized, and the validity of the adoption of the redevelopment plan, and also including the legality and validity of all proceedings theretofore taken and (as provided in the bond resolution) proposed to be taken for the authorization, issuance, sale and delivery of the bonds and for the payment of the principal thereof and interest thereon.” (Health & Saf. Code, § 33501, subd. (a).)

[5] “An action to determine the legality of the existence of a district may be brought pursuant to [the validation statutes].” (Wat. Code, § 50440.)

[6] As noted (see fn. 19, ante), there are numerous other statutes that provide for the validation of certain public agency actions by reference to sections 860 through 870. (See, e.g., Ed. Code, § 15110; Gov. Code, § 977.8; Gov. Code, § 17700, subd. (a); Sts. & Hy. Code, § 10601; Wat. Code, § 9275; Wat. Code, § 43730.)

[7] As described by the court, the validation statutes “require that the summons be directed in addition to ‘all persons interested in the matter’ (§ 861.1), and be published in a newspaper of general circulation (§ 861); if publication is not completed within 60 days, the action must be dismissed ‘unless good cause for such failure is shown’ (§ 863).” (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 339.)

[8] Although it questioned the applicability of the validation statutes as to each one of the plaintiffs’ claims, the Supreme Court did not conclude definitively that the public agency conduct about which the plaintiffs complained was (or was not) subject to validating proceedings. (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 346.) The court’s review of the validation statutes and Government Code section 53511 led it to conclude that whether section 860 through 870 applied to the plaintiffs’ case “present[ed] a ‘complex and debatable’ issue” (City of Ontario, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 345), thereby supporting the plaintiffs’ contention that there was good cause for their noncompliance with the summons requirements of the validation statutes. Thus, while City of Ontario‘s lengthy discussion concerning the scope of the validation statutes and the meaning of the term “contracts” in Government Code section 53511 may be considered dictum, we agree with the appellate court’s statement in Smith v. Mt. Diablo Unified Sch. Dist., supra, 56 Cal.App.3d at p. 418: “Although not controlling, the dicta [of our Supreme Court in City of Ontario] is entitled to substantial weight, particularly in view of its thoroughness.” (See generally Evans v. City of Bakersfield (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 321, 328.)

[9] As noted by the Fierro court, “[t]he principle of construction that items grouped in a list should be given related meaning is known to legal scholars under the Latin names ejusdem generis and noscitur a sociis.” (People v. Fierro, supra, 1 Cal.4th at p. 262. fn. 1.) As we discuss, post (see pt. III sec. D.3.c.), application of the principle of noscitur a sociis is of considerable significance in our conclusions that “contracts” in Government Code section 53511 should be construed in a restrictive fashion and that the validation statutes do not apply to the challenged action of the City in this instance.

[10] The vast majority of the preexisting statutes that were amended or repealed and replaced in 1961 to make specific reference to the validating procedures in sections 860 through 870 related to actions to determine the validity of bonds. Most of those statutes concerned actions to determine the validity of bonds only. (See, e.g., Gov. Code, §§ 25211.175, 26353, 26453, 43620.1, 50753, 54580; Health & Saf. Code, §§ 4624, 4803, 4996, 6653; Pub. Resources Code, § 13116.5; Pub. Util. Code, §§ 13341, 26341; Pub. Util. Code App. 1 § 7.48; Sts. & Hy. Code, §§ 33148, 34144 [repealed]; Wat. Code, §§ 9415, 36050, 52120, 52707, 55630; Wat. Code App., §§ 8-58, 11-56, 37-11a, 53-21, 54-21, 65-21, 67-11, 77-511, 82-25, 83-166, 88-26, 89-26, 91-26, 92-26.) But several statutes concerned actions to test the validity of bonds or related matters. (See, e.g., Pub. Util. Code, §§ 17101 [“bonds or indebtedness”], 29291 [“bonds or other evidences of indebtedness”]; Sts. & Hy. Code, §§ 9478 [“reassessment and of any refunding bonds”], 10601 [“assessment, bonds, contract, improvement or acquisition”]; Wat. Code §§ 22670 [“any contract . . . levy of any assessment or of bonds”], 23225 [“any contract and bonds”], 43730 [“bonds, assessment, contracts”]; Wat. Code App., §§ 21-12 [bonds or assessments], 33-33 [“bonds or assessments”], 45-7, subd. (i) [“bonds and the sufficiency of the provision for the collection of an annual tax”], 51-11.10 [“bonds, levy of any special assessment or a contract”], 59-48 [“bonds, tax levy, or a contract”], 66-11.10 [“bonds, levy of a special assessment, or a contract”], 81-18 [same], 84-21 [“bonds or a contract”], 85-18 [“bonds, levy of a special assessment or a contract”], 86-21 [“bonds, levy of an assessment or a contract”], 93-49 [“bonds or any contract”], 95-22 [“bonds or a contract”], 96-98 [“bonds, levy of a special assessment or a contract”], 99-22.1 [“bonds or a contract”].)

[11] See, e.g., Government Code section 59671; Water Code sections 9275, 23571, 36531; Water Code Appendix, section 40-44.

[12] See, e.g., Water Code sections 24021, 45931.

[13] See, e.g., Government Code section 58200; Streets and Highway Code section 26260; Water Code sections 34530, 50440; Water Code Appendix, section 99-25.1.

[14] As was true with the preexisting statutes amended or replaced in 1961 to refer to the validation statutes (see fn. 27, ante), most of the statutes enacted after 1961 that refer to the validation procedures of sections 860 through 870 concern actions to determine the validity of bonds. (See, e.g., Ed. Code, §§ 15110, 15335, 90081; Gov. Code, §§ 977.8, 6516.6, 6599, subd. (b), 8187, 16934, 16959, 17700, 26293.2, 26298.54, 26299.079, 40576, 53356.1, 53359, 53392.7, 53395.7, 53398.7, 53511, 53589.5, 54702.15, 55819, 61006, subd. (b), 63049.4, 91548, 99020; Harb. & Nav. Code App. 1, § 23; Harb. & Nav. Code App. 2, § 26; Health & Saf. Code, §§ 33501, 33799. 34366.5, 37684, 37964, 52041; Pub. Resources Code, §§ 5363.1, 5526.1, 26037, 32208; Pub. Util. Code, §§ 30980, 40263, 50263, 70263, 90700, 96560, 98370, 99365, 100490, 101330, 102600, 103600, 105260, 120700, 125714, 132370.8, 170078; Rev. & Tax. Code, § 7286.36; Sts. & Hy. Code, §§ 8830, 9704, 10100.2; Wat. Code, §§ 36062, 71752, 81442, 81662; Wat. Code App., §§ 40-21.12, 43-26.13, 46-37, 103-19, 109-163, 110-579, 113-94, 114-163, 118-412, 127-51, 130-121, 133-404, 138-702.)

[15] See, e.g., Public Resources Code section 9912; Water Code section 30066; Water Code Appendix, sections 36-19.20, 48-26.13.

[16] See, e.g., Government Code sections 53395.6, 53398.6, 55855, 61006, subdivision (a); Health and Safety Code sections 2006, 9006, 13806; Public Resources Code section 5780.9; Water Code Appendix, section 120-3.