When did ordinary Kentucky laws passed in the 2003 session take effect?

Plain-English summary

Kentucky’s 2003 General Assembly adjourned on March 25. Applying Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, the Attorney General excluded the adjournment day when counting the 90 full days before ordinary session acts could take effect. March 26 was day one, June 23 was day 90, and the covered acts took effect at the first moment of June 24, 2003.

The opinion did not assign that date to general appropriation bills or acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions. It calculated the session’s default date and cited OAG 02-3 for the counting method.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. 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: What effective date did the Attorney General give ordinary 2003 Kentucky acts? A: The first moment of Tuesday, June 24, 2003.

Q: Did the day of final adjournment count toward the 90 days? A: No. The opinion excluded March 25 and began the count on March 26.

Q: Did the date apply to emergency or delayed-date acts? A: No. The opinion excluded both, as well as general appropriation measures.

Background and statutory framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution generally delayed an act until 90 days after adjournment of the session in which it passed. The opinion interpreted that as 90 full days after final adjournment, including the 90th day in the waiting period. It applied the calculation to the 2003 session and relied on OAG 02-3.

Citations and references

Constitution: Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky.

Prior AG opinion: OAG 02-3.

Source

• Landing page: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_eff6c3a0-7e03-4a53-afe5-f67dbe8af584/
• Original PDF: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/download/file/IO_eff6c3a0-7e03-4a53-afe5-f67dbe8af584

Original opinion text

OAG 03-002
April 2, 2003

Subject:

Effective Date of Certain Legislation Passed During the 2003 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly

Requested by:

Robert S. Sherman, Executive Director
Legislative Research Commission

Written by:

Gerard R. Gerhard, Assistant Attorney General

Syllabus:

In accordance with Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky, the effective date of legislation passed by the 2003 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, except for general appropriation measures and those containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions, is the first moment of Tuesday, June 24, 2003, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on March 25, 2003.

OAGs cited:

02-3

Constitutional
Sections
Construed:

Section 55, Constitution of Kentucky

Opinion of the Attorney General
The following question, in substance, has been presented: What is the effective date of legislation, other than general appropriation bills and acts containing emergency or delayed effective date provi-

OAG 03-002
Page 2

sions, passed during the 2003 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the Assembly having finally adjourned on Tuesday, March 25, 2003? As discussed below, the effective date of legislation, other than general appropriation bills and acts containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions, passed during the 2003 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is the first moment of Tuesday, June 24, 2003. Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky provides: No act, except general appropriation bills, shall become law until ninety days after the adjournment of the session at which it was passed, except in cases of emergency, when, by the concurrence of a majority of the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, by a yea and nay vote entered upon their journals, an act may become a law when approved by the governor, but the reasons for the emergency that justifies this action must be set out at length in the journal of each House. (Emphasis added.) "[U]ntil ninety days after the adjournment" (emphasis added), as used in Section 55 of Kentucky's Constitution (above), indicates that the day of adjournment (meaning the day of final adjournment for the session, termed "adjournment sine die") is to be excluded in computing the 90 day period. It follows that the 90th day shall be included in the period, in order that 90 full days shall expire after final adjournment, before certain legislation passed during the session becomes effective. See OAG 02-3. Applying the analysis described above to the 2003 Regular Session, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 (See 2003 Regular Session, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 149), we find the following, regarding legislation other than

OAG 03-002
Page 3

general appropriation bills or acts containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions: The first day of the 90 day period after the session is Wednesday, March 26, 2003, and the 90th day of that period is Monday, June 23, 2003. When the last moment of that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 2003 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. It follows that legislation (except for general appropriation measures and those containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions) passed during the 2003 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on the first moment of Tuesday, June 24, 2003. Albert B. Chandler III Attorney General

Gerard R. Gerhard
Assistant Attorney General