When did ordinary laws passed in Kentucky's 2012 legislative session take effect?

Plain-English summary

The Kentucky Legislative Research Commission asked when laws from the General Assembly's 2012 regular session would take effect. The Attorney General calculated the first moment of July 12, 2012, for acts without their own emergency or delayed effective-date provisions, apart from general appropriation measures. The Assembly adjourned on April 12. Under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, the AG excluded adjournment day, counted April 13 as day one and July 11 as day 90, then put the effective date after those 90 full days expired.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2012. 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.

Historical summary

Agencies applying 2012 legislation

The opinion supplied one date for the ordinary 2012 regular-session acts within its question: July 12, 2012. It expressly set aside general appropriations and acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions.

Legislators and researchers

The AG read Section 55's phrase “until ninety days after the adjournment” to exclude the day of final adjournment. It included the ninetieth day in the waiting period, so the covered laws became effective at the first moment of the following day.

Common questions

Was the effective date April 12, 2012, when the session ended?

No. For the ordinary acts addressed, the opinion required 90 full days after final adjournment. It calculated July 12, 2012.

Did the AG count April 12 as day one?

No. The count began Friday, April 13, and ended Wednesday, July 11. The covered laws took effect at the first moment of Thursday, July 12.

Did the same date apply to emergency or delayed-date acts?

The opinion excluded acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions, as well as general appropriation measures, from its July 12 conclusion.

Background and statutory framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution prescribed a 90-day waiting period after adjournment for ordinary acts and stated an emergency exception. The AG used the date of final adjournment of the 2012 regular session, April 12, and the counting approach discussed in OAG 07-002. Its answer was tied to that particular session and its adjournment date.

Citations and references

• KY. CONST. § 55: constitutional effective-date rule quoted and applied by the AG.
• OAG 07-002: earlier AG opinion cited for excluding the day of adjournment from the 90-day count.

Source

• Landing page: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_97615ccb-359d-43c7-bfe8-e6f3091bf5b6/
• Original PDF: https://kdla.access.preservica.com/download/file/IO_97615ccb-359d-43c7-bfe8-e6f3091bf5b6

Original opinion text

OAG 12-006
April 17, 2012
Subject:

Effective date of certain legislation passed during the 2012 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly

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 2012 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 12, 2012, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on April 12, 2012.

Constitutional
provision construed:
OAG cited:

KY. CONST. § 55

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 12-006
Page 2

sions, passed during the 2012 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the Assembly having finally adjourned on Thursday, April 12, 2012? 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 2012 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is the first moment of Thursday, July 12, 2012. 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 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 07-002. Applying the analysis described above to the 2012 Regular Session, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on April 12, 2012, we find the following, regarding legislation other than general appropriation bills or acts containing emergency or delayed effective

OAG 12-006
Page 3

date provisions: The first day of the 90-day period after the session is Friday, April 13, 2012, and the 90th day of that period is Wednesday, July 11, 2012. When the last moment of that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 2012 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 2012 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on the first moment of Thursday, July 12, 2012.

Jack Conway
Attorney General

James M. Herrick
Assistant Attorney General