When did ordinary laws passed in Kentucky’s 2014 regular legislative session take effect?

Plain-English summary

For ordinary acts passed in Kentucky’s 2014 regular legislative session, the Attorney General calculated July 15, 2014, at its first moment as the effective time. The General Assembly adjourned on April 15. The opinion excluded the adjournment day, counted April 16 as day one and July 14 as day 90, then allowed the full 90 days to expire before the acts took effect.

The calculation excluded general appropriation bills and acts with emergency or delayed effective date provisions. An early sentence in the original opinion says “July 15, 2013”; its syllabus, day-by-day calculation and conclusion all identify July 15, 2014.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. 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

Did ordinary 2014 session laws take effect on the 90th day after adjournment?

The AG said they took effect at the first moment after the 90th full day. On its calculation, July 14 was day 90, so the effective moment was the start of July 15, 2014.

Was the adjournment day counted?

No. The opinion excluded April 15, 2014, the day of final adjournment, and began the count on April 16.

Did that date apply to emergency or appropriation acts?

No. The opinion expressly excluded general appropriation bills and acts containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions from its calculation.

Background and statutory framework

The Legislative Research Commission asked for the effective date of ordinary legislation after the General Assembly adjourned on April 15, 2014. The AG read Ky. Const. § 55 to require 90 full days after adjournment and cited OAG 07-002 for the counting method.

Citations and references

Constitutional provision: Ky. Const. § 55.

Prior opinion cited: OAG 07-002.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/Opinions/Pages/Opinions.aspx
• Original Word document: https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/Opinions/Opinions/OAG14-001.doc

Original opinion text

OAG 14-001

April 25, 2014

Subject: Effective date of certain legislation passed during the 2014 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly

Requested by: Marcia Seiler, Acting 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 2014 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, 2014, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on April 15, 2014.

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 provisions, passed during the 2014 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, the Assembly having finally adjourned on Tuesday, April 15, 2014?

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 2014 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is the first moment of Tuesday, July 15, 2013.

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 2014 Regular Session, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on April 15, 2014, 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 Wednesday, April 16, 2014, and the 90th day of that period is Monday, July 14, 2014. When the last moment of that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 2014 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 2014 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on the first moment of Tuesday, July 15, 2014.

Jack Conway

Attorney General

Ryan M. Halloran

Assistant Attorney General