When did ordinary bills from Kentucky's 2008 legislative session take effect?

Plain-English summary

The Attorney General calculated that ordinary laws from Kentucky's 2008 regular legislative session became effective at the first moment of July 15, 2008. The General Assembly finally adjourned on April 15. The opinion excluded that adjournment day, counted April 16 as day one and July 14 as day 90, and concluded that 90 full days had elapsed at the start of July 15.

The opinion expressly set aside general appropriation bills and acts containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions. Its subject, chronology and conclusion identify the 2008 session, although two passages in the reproduced text say “2007 Regular Session.” Those inconsistent references are preserved in the original text below.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2008. 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 AG give for ordinary 2008 Kentucky session laws? A: The first moment of Tuesday, July 15, 2008, after 90 full days following final adjournment.

Q: Did the AG count the day the legislature adjourned? A: No. With final adjournment on April 15, it counted April 16 as the first day and July 14 as the ninetieth.

Q: Did that date apply to emergency bills and appropriation measures? A: The opinion excluded general appropriation bills and acts with emergency or delayed effective date provisions from its calculation.

Background and statutory framework

Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky supplied the ninety day rule and an emergency exception. The opinion read “until ninety days after the adjournment” to require 90 complete days after final adjournment before ordinary legislation took effect. It cited OAG 07-002 for the same counting method. Two references to the “2007 Regular Session” in the text conflict with the 2008 date and session identified elsewhere in the opinion; the calculation itself uses the 2008 adjournment.

Citations and references

Constitution: Section 55, Constitution of Kentucky.

Earlier opinion: OAG 07-002.

Source

• Landing page: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_8934baf7-4774-4359-b364-918eac7737f6/
• Original PDF: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/download/file/IO_8934baf7-4774-4359-b364-918eac7737f6

Original opinion text

OAG 08-001
April 22, 2008
Subject:

Effective Date of Certain Legislation Passed During the 2008 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 2008 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 15, 2008, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on April 15, 2008.

Constitutional
Sections Construed:
OAGs cited:

Section 55, Constitution of Kentucky

07-002

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 provisions, passed during the 2007 Regular Session of the Kentucky General

OAG 08-001
Page 2

Assembly, the Assembly having finally adjourned on Tuesday April 15, 2008? 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 2007 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is the first moment of Tuesday, July 15, 2008. 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 OAG07-002. Applying the analysis described above to the 2008 Regular Session, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on April 15, 2008, 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

OAG 08-001
Page 3

Wednesday April 16, 2008, and the 90th day of that period is Monday, July 14, 2008. When the last moment of that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 2008 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 2007 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on the first moment of Tuesday July 15, 2008. Jack Conway Attorney General

Gerard R. Gerhard
Assistant Attorney General
#183