If a bill from Arkansas's 2017 First Extraordinary Session has no emergency clause and no stated effective date, when does it take effect?
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This page answers the general question as of 2017. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
This is the companion opinion to Op. Att'y Gen. 2017-052, which addressed the regular session of the 91st General Assembly. Secretary of State Mark Martin asked the same question for the First Extraordinary Session: when do bills passed at that session, with no emergency clause and no specified effective date, become law? The AG's answer was August 2, 2017.
The First Extraordinary Session adjourned sine die on May 3, 2017, two days after the regular session's May 1 adjournment. Counting from May 4 as the first full day, the 90th day fell on August 1, 2017. Unlike the regular-session math, August 1 was a regular weekday, so no roll-forward was needed. Acts therefore took effect August 2, 2017, the day after the petition window closed.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2017. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Historical context: separate sessions, separate effective dates
The 91st General Assembly's regular session and First Extraordinary Session were treated as separate sessions for Amendment 7 purposes. Each session generated its own 90-day referendum window measured from its own sine die adjournment date. As a result, the regular-session bills (May 1 adjournment) took effect August 1, 2017, while the extraordinary-session bills (May 3 adjournment) took effect August 2, 2017. Both opinions issued from the AG on the same day, May 22, 2017, in response to the Secretary of State's parallel inquiries.
Common questions
Why a different effective date for the extraordinary session?
Because Amendment 7 ties the referendum window to the adjournment of "the session" in which the act was passed. Each session's clock starts independently. The First Extraordinary Session adjourned two days later than the regular session, so the 91st-day effective rule produced a date two days later.
What if the 90th day for the extraordinary session had landed on a weekend?
The Richardson v. Martin rule would have applied: the deadline would have rolled to the next business day, and the effective date would have moved by the same number of days. In this instance, August 1, 2017 was a Tuesday, so no roll was needed.
Could a bill from the extraordinary session take effect immediately?
Yes, if the General Assembly attached an emergency clause and approved it by a two-thirds vote of each chamber. The opinion only addressed bills without an emergency clause and without a specified effective date.
Citations
- Ark. Const. art. 5, § 1 (Amendment 7, "Referendum")
- Fulkerson v. Refunding Board, 201 Ark. 957, 147 S.W.2d 980 (1941)
- Richardson v. Martin, 2014 Ark. 429, 444 S.W.3d 855
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2017-061
May 22, 2017
The Honorable Mark Martin
Secretary of State
Arkansas State Capitol, Room 256
Little Rock, AR 72201-1094
Dear Secretary Martin:
This is in response to your request for my opinion regarding the effective date of legislation passed during the First Extraordinary Session of the Ninety-First Arkansas General Assembly. Your request pertains to legislation that did not carry an emergency clause or a specified effective date.
Acts of the General Assembly with no emergency clause or specified effective date become effective on the 91st day after adjournment of the session in which they were enacted. This rule stems from Amendment 7 to the Constitution of Arkansas, which gives the people "ninety days after the final adjournment of the session" to file referendum petitions. The day of adjournment is not counted, as it is not a full day during which petitions may be filed. Additionally, if the petition-filing deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline to file such petitions is the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
Your request states that the General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 3, 2017. Starting with May 4, 2017 (the first full day after adjournment), the 90th day in this case is August 1, 2017. Thus, acts passed during the First Extraordinary Session of the Ninety-First Arkansas General Assembly with no emergency clause or specified effective date become effective on August 2, 2017.
Sincerely,
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General
[Footnotes:
1 See Fulkerson v. Refunding Board, 201 Ark. 957, 147 S.W.2d 980 (1941).
2 Codified at Ark. Const. art. 5, § 1.
3 Id. (under "Referendum").
4 See generally Richardson v. Martin, 2014 Ark. 429, *6, 444 S.W.3d 855, 859 (holding that the deadline for a ballot-initiative petition that fell on a legal holiday must be extended to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, and "[t]o compute otherwise would restrict [the people's] rights[,] which is prohibited by our Constitution.").]
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