Opinion ID: 2536580
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Improvement Acts of 1911 and 1913

Text: Over the next several decades, new acts of the Legislature authorized public agencies to form assessment districts for a variety of specified purposes, in some cases replacing previous legislative enactments. One such act was the Improvement Act of 1911 (Stats. 1911, ch. 397, §§ 1-83, pp. 730-769), which provided for improvement of streets within municipalities and further provided for the issuance of street improvement bonds to pay for the improvements. Another such act was the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 (Stats. 1913, ch. 247, §§ 1-20, pp. 421-429), which provided for the construction of water works, electric power works, gas works, lighting works, and other public utilities; for the assessment of costs upon the benefited properties; and for the issuance of improvement bonds. The Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 is the act at issue here. When first enacted, section 6 provided: The validity of an assessment levied under this act shall not be contested in any action or proceeding unless the same is commenced within thirty days after the time said assessment is levied . . . . (Stats. 1913, ch. 247, § 6, p. 424.) Although this provision reads as a statute of limitations, it implicitly authorizes property owners to bring actions to contest assessments. It has not been substantively amended since its original enactment. (See Sts. & Hy. Code, § 10400.) In 1937, the Legislature amended the Improvement Act of 1911 to allow the legislative body conducting the proceedings to bring a validation action. Specifically, section 16 of the Improvement Act of 1911 was amended to provide, in part: At any time after bids have been received [for a street improvement] and prior to the date fixed for the beginning of work, the legislative body conducting the proceedings may bring an action in the superior court of the county in which the city lies to determine the validity of such proceedings and the validity of any contract entered or to be entered pursuant thereto. Any contractor to whom a contract has been awarded may . . . bring such an action to determine the validity of such proceedings and of such contract. Such action shall be in the nature of a proceeding in rem, and jurisdiction of all parties interested may be had by publication of summons . . . in some newspaper of general circulation published in the county where the action is pending . . . . [¶] . . . If the validity of the proceedings and of the contract or proposed contract is sustained, the validity of such proceedings or contract shall not thereafter be contested in any action. . . . (Stats. 1937, ch. 602, § 1, pp. 1672, 1673-1674.) In 1941, the Legislature incorporated this validation scheme from the Improvement Act of 1911 into the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913. At that time, section 18 of the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 (later codified, in relevant part, as Sts. & Hy. Code, § 10601 (Stats. 1953, ch. 192, § 4, pp. 1179, 1192)) was amended to provide, in part: The city council, at any time after the publication of any resolution of intention adopted hereunder, or the ordering of the improvement or acquisition, or the confirmation of the assessment, or ordering the issuance of bonds, and any contractor, at any time after the award of contract to him, may bring an action in the superior court of the county in which said city is located, to determine the validity of said proceedings, assessment, bonds, contract, improvement or acquisition, or any thereof. Such action shall be brought pursuant to and be governed by the provisions of, and shall have the effect, as provided in Section 16 of [the] Improvement Act of 1911, except as herein otherwise provided. (Stats. 1940 1st Ex. Sess., ch. 35, § 7, p. 93.) As noted, section 16 of the Improvement Act of 1911 provided for notice by newspaper publication. (Stats. 1937, ch. 602, § 1, pp. 1672, 1673.) Significantly, only the city council (later broadened to be the legislative body (Stats. 1953, ch. 192, § 4, pp. 1179, 1192)) and the contractor could bring the validation action contemplated by this 1941 amendment to the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913. Obviously these parties were interested in confirming the validity of the assessment, not contesting it: The legislative body had levied the assessment and generally would have no reason to contest its validity, and the contractor had an interest in confirming the assessment in order to ensure full payment. Therefore, actions to contest the validity of the assessment were not governed by section 18 of the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913, including its requirement of notice by newspaper publication. Rather, section 6 of that act (later codified as Sts. & Hy. Code, § 10400 (Stats. 1953, ch. 192, § 4, pp. 1179, 1186)) [2] continued to be the only statute governing such actions, and it did not require any special notice procedures.