As used in this chapter:
§ 694.010.Definitions
Title 9. Enforcement of Judgments · Division 1 · Chapter 20. Transitional Provisions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 694.010 defines "operative date" as July 1, 1983, and "prior law" as the law in effect on June 30, 1983, establishing the vocabulary this chapter uses to govern the transition into the Enforcement of Judgments Law.
Full Text of § 694.010
(a) "Operative date" means July 1, 1983.
(b) "Prior law" means the applicable law in effect on June 30, 1983.
Plain-English Summary
This chapter deals with a moment in legal history: the switch from California's old judgment-enforcement statutes to the Enforcement of Judgments Law that took effect in 1983. Section 694.010 defines the two terms every other section in this chapter depends on. "Operative date" means July 1, 1983 — the day the new law took hold. "Prior law" means whatever law applied the day before, on June 30, 1983.
With those two dates fixed, the sections that follow can describe, with precision, which body of law governs a judgment, a levy, or a proceeding depending on when it started or when a particular event in its life occurred.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "operative date" mean in this chapter?
July 1, 1983, the date the Enforcement of Judgments Law took effect.
What does "prior law" mean?
The law that applied on June 30, 1983, the day before the operative date.
Why does this chapter need these specific definitions?
Because the rest of Chapter 20 sorts pending judgments and proceedings into either the new Enforcement of Judgments Law or the older law that preceded it, depending on when events occurred relative to these two dates.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1364, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 1364.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: operative date enforcement of judgments lawprior law definition california 1983