When did ordinary laws from Kentucky's 2009 regular legislative session take effect?

Plain-English summary

Kentucky's Attorney General calculated that ordinary laws enacted during the General Assembly's 2009 regular session took effect at the first moment of Thursday, June 25, 2009. The Assembly finally adjourned on March 26. Excluding adjournment day, the AG counted March 27 as day one and June 24 as day 90; the laws took effect after those 90 full days had expired.

The opinion expressly excluded general appropriation measures and laws with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions from that calculation. It applied Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution and followed the counting method described in OAG 07-002.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2009. 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 the AG give for ordinary 2009 Kentucky session laws? A: The first moment of June 25, 2009, after 90 full days following final adjournment.

Q: Was the March 26 adjournment day counted? A: No. The AG counted March 27 as the first day and June 24 as the ninetieth.

Q: Did the same date cover emergency acts and appropriation measures? A: No. The opinion excluded general appropriation measures and acts containing emergency or delayed effective-date provisions.

Background and statutory framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution delayed ordinary acts until ninety days after adjournment, with an emergency exception. The AG interpreted that period to exclude the day of final adjournment and include the ninetieth full day. Applying those steps to the March 26, 2009 adjournment produced an effective date at the beginning of June 25.

Citations and references

• KY. CONST. § 55: effective-date rule discussed in the opinion.
• OAG 07-002: earlier opinion cited for the day-counting method.

Source

• Landing page: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_808776a1-e65c-4c8b-87d9-9ce652afa3bd/
• Original PDF: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/download/file/IO_808776a1-e65c-4c8b-87d9-9ce652afa3bd

Original opinion text

OAG 09-003

March 31, 2009

Subject: Effective date of certain legislation passed during the 2009 Regular Session of the Kentucky General As- sembly

Requested by: Robert S. Sherman, Director Legislative Research Commission

Written by: James M. Herrick
Assistant Attorney General

Syllabus: In accordance with Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky, the effective date of legislation passed by the 2009 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 Thursday, June 25, 2009, since 90 full days will then have passed af- ter final adjournment on March 26, 2009.

Constitutional
provision construed: KY. CONST. § 55

OAG cited: OAG 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 provi- OAG 09-003 Page 2

sions, passed during the 2009 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the Assembly having finally adjourned on Thursday, March 26, 2009?

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 2009 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is the first moment of Thursday, June 25, 2009.

Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky provides:

No act, except general appropriation bills, shall become a 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 be- come a law when approved by the Governor, but the rea- sons 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 07-002.

Applying the analysis described above to the 2009 Regular Ses- sion, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on March 26, 2009, we find the following, regarding legislation other than general appropriation bills or acts containing emergency or delayed effective OAG 09-003 Page 3

date provisions: The first day of the 90-day period after the session is Friday, March 27, 2009, and the 90th day of that period is Wednesday, June 24, 2009. When the last moment of that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 2009 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 2009 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on the first moment of Thursday, June 25, 2009.

Jack Conway
Attorney General

James M. Herrick
Assistant Attorney General