When did ordinary Kentucky laws from the 2004 legislative session take effect?

Plain-English summary

Kentucky’s 2004 General Assembly adjourned on April 13. Applying Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, the Attorney General excluded the adjournment day from the 90-day waiting period for ordinary acts. April 14 was day one, July 12 was day 90, and covered acts took effect at the first moment of July 13, 2004.

That default date did not cover general appropriation measures or acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions. The opinion cited OAG 03-002 for its counting method.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2004. 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 date did ordinary 2004 Kentucky session acts take effect? A: The Attorney General calculated the first moment of Tuesday, July 13, 2004.

Q: Did April 13, the final adjournment date, count as the first day? A: No. The opinion began the 90 full days on April 14.

Q: Did the date apply to emergency or delayed-date measures? A: No. The opinion excluded those acts and general appropriation measures.

Background and statutory framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution generally delayed an act until 90 days after final adjournment. The Attorney General included the 90th day in the waiting period and counted the effective date as the next day. It applied that rule to the 2004 session and relied on OAG 03-002.

Citations and references

Constitution: Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky.

Prior AG opinion: OAG 03-002.

Source

• Landing page: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_ecda4b45-a4bc-49ea-a6fe-76035258b7a6/
• Original PDF: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/download/file/IO_ecda4b45-a4bc-49ea-a6fe-76035258b7a6

Original opinion text

OAG 04-002
April 16, 2004
Subject:

Effective Date of Certain Legislation Passed During the 2004 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly

Requested by:

Robert S. Sherman, 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 2004 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 July 13, 2004, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on April 13, 2004.

OAGs cited:

03-002

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 04-002
Page 2

sions, passed during the 2004 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the Assembly having finally adjourned on Tuesday, April 13, 2004? 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 2004 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is the first moment of Tuesday, July 13, 2004. 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 03-002. Applying the analysis described above to the 2004 Regular Session, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on Tuesday, April 13, 2004, we find the following, regarding legislation other than general appropriation bills or acts containing emergency or delayed effec-

OAG 04-002
Page 3

tive date provisions: The first day of the 90 day period after the session is Wednesday, April 14, 2004, and the 90th day of that period is Monday, July 12, 2004. When the last moment of that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 2004 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 2004 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on the first moment of Tuesday, July 13, 2004. Gregory D. Stumbo Attorney General

Gerard R. Gerhard
Assistant Attorney General
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