When did ordinary bills passed in Kentucky's 2010 legislative session take effect after final adjournment?

Plain-English summary

Kentucky's Attorney General concluded that ordinary legislation passed in the General Assembly's 2010 regular session took effect at the first moment of July 15, 2010. The Assembly finally adjourned on April 15. Under the AG's reading of Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, the adjournment date did not count toward the 90-day waiting period; 90 full days had to pass first.

The opinion excluded general appropriation bills and acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions from that general date. Its final paragraph calls July 14 “Monday” and July 15 “Thursday,” inconsistent weekday labels for consecutive dates. It repeatedly identifies July 15 as the effective date. The original text below preserves the printed wording.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. 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 a typical Kentucky law from the 2010 regular session take effect?
A: The AG said the first moment of July 15, 2010, for acts without a special effective-date provision and outside the general appropriation exception.

Q: Did April 15, the day lawmakers adjourned, count as day one?
A: No. The opinion excluded the final adjournment day and counted 90 full days afterward.

Q: Did the July 15 date apply to emergency legislation or appropriation bills?
A: No. The AG expressly set aside general appropriation measures and acts containing emergency or delayed effective-date provisions.

Background and statutory framework

The Legislative Research Commission's director asked for the effective date of ordinary 2010-session legislation after the Assembly adjourned sine die on April 15. The AG applied Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, which generally delayed acts until 90 days after adjournment and included exceptions. It counted from April 16 through the end of July 14, then placed the effective moment at the start of July 15. The opinion followed its earlier OAG 09-003 on excluding the adjournment day.

Citations and references

• Section 55, Constitution of Kentucky: the waiting period and exceptions.
• OAG 09-003: earlier opinion on calculating the period after adjournment.

Source

• Landing page: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_750ae3fd-bbd4-4625-8419-0cededed1637/
• Original PDF: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/download/file/IO_750ae3fd-bbd4-4625-8419-0cededed1637

Original opinion text

OAG 10-002
April 20, 2010
Subject:

Effective Date of Certain Legislation Passed During the 2010 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly.

Requested by:

Robert S. Sherman, Director
Legislative Research Commission.

Written by:

Ryan M. Halloran, Assistant Attorney General.

Syllabus:

In accordance with Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky, the effective date of legislation passed by the 2010 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, July 15, 2010, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on April 15, 2010.

Statutes construed:
OAGs cited:

Section 55, Constitution of Kentucky.

09-003.

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 10-002
Page 2

sions, passed during the 2010 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the Assembly having finally adjourned on April 15, 2010?

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 2010 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is the first moment of Thursday, July 15, 2010. 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 09-003. Applying the analysis described above to the 2010 Regular Session, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on April 15, 2010, we find the following, regarding legislation other than general appropriation bills or acts containing emergency or delayed effective

OAG 10-002
Page 3

date provisions: The first day of the 90 day period after the session is Friday, April 16, 2010, and the 90th day of that period is Monday, July 14, 2010. When the last moment of that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 2010 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 2010 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on the first moment of Thursday, July 15, 2010. Jack Conway Attorney General

Ryan M. Halloran
Assistant Attorney General
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