When did ordinary Kentucky laws passed in the 2006 regular session take effect?

Plain-English summary

Kentucky's Legislative Research Commission asked when ordinary legislation from the 2006 regular session became effective. The Attorney General calculated the first moment of Wednesday, July 12, 2006. The General Assembly finally adjourned on April 12; excluding that day, the 90th full day ended on July 11.

The opinion expressly excluded general appropriation bills and acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions. It applied the constitutional timing rule to the 2006 session, not to later sessions.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. 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: When did ordinary Kentucky 2006 session laws become effective? A: The AG calculated the first moment of July 12, 2006, for the acts covered by Section 55's ordinary timing rule.

Q: Did the 90-day clock start on adjournment day? A: No. The opinion excluded April 12, 2006, and counted April 13 as the first full day.

Q: Did July 12 apply to emergency or delayed-date laws? A: No. The opinion excluded acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions and general appropriation measures.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion applied Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, which spoke of acts becoming law “ninety days after the adjournment.” It counted 90 complete days following final adjournment on April 12 and reached July 12. It followed the same method discussed in OAG 05-004.

Citations and references

Constitution: Section 55, Constitution of Kentucky.

Prior opinion: OAG 05-004.

Source

• Landing page: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_c6d8e878-42bf-48f0-9790-d2fb50be0078/
• Original PDF: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/download/file/IO_c6d8e878-42bf-48f0-9790-d2fb50be0078

Original opinion text

OAG 06-001
April 19, 2006

Opinion of the Attorney General

Subject:

Effective Date of Certain Legislation Passed During the 2006 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 2006 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 Wednesday, July 12, 2006, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on April 12, 2006.

OAGs cited:

05-004.

Constitutional
Sections
Construed:

Section 55, Constitution of Kentucky.

OAG 06-001
Page 2

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 provisions, passed during the 2006 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the Assembly having finally adjourned on April 12, 2006? 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 2006 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is the first moment of Wednesday, July 12, 2006. 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 05-004.

OAG 06-001
Page 3

Applying the analysis described above to the 2006 Regular Session, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on April 12, 2006, we find the following, regarding legislation other than general appropriation bills or acts containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions: The first day of the 90 day period after the session is Thursday, April 13, 2006, and the 90th day of that period is Tuesday, July 11, 2006. When the last moment of that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 2006 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 2006 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on the first moment of Wednesday, July 12, 2006. Gregory D. Stumbo Attorney General

Gerard R. Gerhard
Assistant Attorney General
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