For purposes of this chapter, bonds, warrants, contracts, obligations, and evidences of indebtedness shall be deemed to be in existence upon their authorization. Bonds and warrants shall be deemed authorized as of the date of adoption by the governing body of the public agency of a resolution or ordinance authorizing their issuance, and contracts shall be deemed authorized as of the date of adoption by the governing body of the public agency of a resolution or ordinance approving the contract and authorizing its execution.
§ 864.Bonds, Warrants, Contracts, Obligations, Etc. Deemed In Existence Upon Authorization
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 9. Validating Proceedings · Enacted 1961 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 864 deems bonds, warrants, contracts, and other obligations to already exist, for purposes of this chapter, as of the date the public agency's governing body adopts the resolution or ordinance authorizing them.
Full Text of § 864
Plain-English Summary
Validation actions often need to happen before the financial transaction they cover is fully executed -- before bonds issue or a contract is signed. Section 864 makes that timing work by deeming bonds, warrants, contracts, and other obligations to be "in existence," for purposes of this chapter, as soon as they are authorized.
The authorization date itself is fixed by formal agency action. Bonds and warrants count as authorized on the date the agency's governing body adopts the resolution or ordinance authorizing their issuance; contracts count as authorized on the date the governing body adopts the resolution or ordinance approving the contract and authorizing its execution.
That fiction matters because § 860 only lets an agency sue within 60 days after the matter arises. Tying "existence" to the authorization date, rather than to some later closing or execution date, gives the agency a fixed and workable trigger for that 60-day clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are bonds or contracts considered 'in existence' for a validation action?
Upon their authorization, not their eventual issuance or execution.
When are bonds and warrants deemed authorized?
On the date the governing body adopts the resolution or ordinance authorizing their issuance.
When are contracts deemed authorized?
On the date the governing body adopts the resolution or ordinance approving the contract and authorizing its execution.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1961, Ch. 1479.
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
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