When did Arkansas Acts from the 2018 second extraordinary session take effect if they had no emergency clause and no specified effective date?
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This page answers the general question as of 2018. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
This opinion is the companion to AG 2018-073. Secretary of State Mark Martin asked AG Leslie Rutledge to identify the effective date of acts passed during the Second Extraordinary Session of the 91st Arkansas General Assembly that did not include an emergency clause or specify their own effective date.
Same legal framework. Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution (codified at Ark. Const. art. 5, § 1) gives voters 90 days from final adjournment to file a referendum petition. Acts without an emergency clause or specified effective date take effect on the 91st day after adjournment. Fulkerson v. Refunding Board sets the rule, and Richardson v. Martin rolls deadlines that fall on weekends or holidays.
The Second Extraordinary Session adjourned sine die on March 15, 2018. Counting from March 16 (the first full day), the 90th day was June 13, 2018, a regular weekday with no holiday rolling needed. So acts without an emergency clause or specified effective date became law on June 14, 2018.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2018. 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.
Common questions
Q: How is this different from the 2018 fiscal session opinion (AG 2018-073)?
A: Same constitutional framework, different session. The fiscal session adjourned March 12, 2018, and produced a June 12, 2018 effective date (after a Sunday roll). The Second Extraordinary Session adjourned March 15, 2018, and produced a June 14, 2018 effective date (no roll needed).
Q: What is an "extraordinary session"?
A: A session called outside the regular schedule, by the Governor or by the legislature itself, to address specific business. Arkansas's regular sessions run in odd-numbered years; fiscal sessions run in even-numbered years. Extraordinary sessions can be called as needed.
Q: Are extraordinary-session acts treated the same way as regular-session acts for effective-date purposes?
A: Yes. The 91st-day default rule applies to acts of any session. The 90-day referendum window in Amendment 7 runs from "final adjournment of the session," whichever session it is.
Q: Why didn't this opinion need a deadline roll?
A: The 90th day after March 15, 2018 was June 13, 2018, a Wednesday. No weekend, no holiday. So the petition-filing deadline stood, and the 91st day (June 14, 2018) was the effective date.
Q: Could acts in the same session have different effective dates?
A: Yes. Each act is a separate enactment. An act with an emergency clause takes effect immediately on approval. An act with a specified effective date takes effect on that date. An act with neither follows the default rule. So a session can produce a mix of effective dates.
Q: Where would I confirm whether a specific 2018 act has an emergency clause?
A: The text of the act itself, as published by the Secretary of State and integrated into the Arkansas Code by the Bureau of Legislative Research, will show the clause if it has one. Without it, the default rule applies.
Background and statutory framework
Same as AG 2018-073: Amendment 7 (Ark. Const. art. 5, § 1) creates the 90-day post-adjournment referendum window; Fulkerson sets the default effective-date rule; Richardson v. Martin rolls weekend and holiday deadlines forward.
The Second Extraordinary Session of the 91st General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 15, 2018. The 90th day was June 13, 2018, and the 91st day was June 14, 2018.
Citations and references
Constitutional provisions:
- Ark. Const. art. 5, § 1 (Amendment 7 referendum)
Cases:
- Fulkerson v. Refunding Board, 201 Ark. 957, 147 S.W.2d 980 (1941) (default effective-date rule)
- Richardson v. Martin, 2014 Ark. 429, 444 S.W.3d 855 (deadline rolls when it falls on weekend or holiday)
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2018-074
July 5, 2018
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 Second 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 March 15, 2018. Starting with March 16, 2018 (the first full day after adjournment), the 90th day in this case is June 13, 2018. Thus, acts passed during the Second Extraordinary Session of the Ninety-First Arkansas General Assembly with no emergency clause or specified effective date become effective on June 14, 2018.
Sincerely,
Leslie Rutledge
Attorney General
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