(a) This title becomes operative July 1, 1976.
§ 1230.065.Effective Date
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 1. General Provisions · Enacted 1975 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1230.065 phases in the Eminent Domain Law effective July 1, 1976, exempting proceedings already commenced before January 1, 1976 outright, applying the new title as fully as practicable to proceedings filed in between, but preserving prior law for three key chapters and for any appeal or new-trial motion already pending on the operative date.
Full Text of § 1230.065
(b) This title does not apply to an eminent domain proceeding commenced prior to January 1, 1976. Subject to subdivisions (c) and (d), in the case of an eminent domain proceeding which is commenced on or after January 1, 1976, but prior to the operative date, this title upon the operative date applies to the proceeding to the fullest extent practicable with respect to issues to be tried or retried.
(d) If, on the operative date, an appeal, motion to modify or vacate the verdict or judgment, or motion for new trial is pending, the law applicable thereto prior to the operative date governs the determination of the appeal or motion.
Plain-English Summary
New titles need transition rules, and this section supplies them for the Eminent Domain Law. The title became operative July 1, 1976, but that date doesn't reach backward to sweep in every pending case. A proceeding commenced before January 1, 1976 is left alone entirely -- the new title doesn't apply to it.
For proceedings filed in the gap between January 1 and the July 1 operative date, subdivision (b) takes a middle path: the new title applies "to the fullest extent practicable" to whatever issues remain to be tried or retried, without unwinding what already happened under the old law. Subdivision (c) carves out three specific chapters -- the Right to Take (Chapter 3, commencing with § 1240.010), Precondemnation Activities (Chapter 4, commencing with § 1245.010), and Commencement of Proceeding (Chapter 5, commencing with § 1250.010) -- none of which apply to a proceeding commenced before the operative date, regardless of the general fullest-extent-practicable rule.
Subdivision (d) handles cases already on appeal or facing a new-trial motion when the operative date arrives: the law that applied before the operative date keeps governing that appeal or motion straight through to its resolution, rather than switching midstream to the new title's rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Eminent Domain Law become operative?
July 1, 1976, under § 1230.065(a).
Does the new title apply to eminent domain proceedings filed before it took effect?
Not to proceedings commenced before January 1, 1976 -- those are unaffected. Proceedings commenced between January 1 and the operative date get the new title applied to the fullest extent practicable to issues still to be tried.
Do the Right to Take, Precondemnation Activities, and Commencement of Proceeding chapters apply to older pending cases?
No. Section 1230.065(c) excludes Chapters 3, 4, and 5 entirely from any proceeding commenced before the operative date.
What happens to an appeal or new-trial motion already pending when the title takes effect?
The law that applied before the operative date continues to govern that appeal or motion under § 1230.065(d).
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1975, Ch. 1275.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: eminent domain law effective date californiawhen did california eminent domain law take effect