Ezel / AG Opinions / KY
KY OAG 22-04 2022-04-20

When did laws passed in Kentucky's 2022 regular legislative session take effect?

Short answer: July 14, 2022. The Attorney General concluded that, under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, legislation passed during the 2022 Regular Session, other than general appropriation bills and acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions, became effective on Thursday, July 14, 2022. That is because 90 full days passed after the session adjourned sine die on April 14, 2022.
Disclaimer: This is an official Kentucky Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority in Kentucky courts but are not binding precedent like a court ruling. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Kentucky attorney for advice on your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official AG opinion. The original opinion (linked at the bottom of this page, or PDF in the sidebar) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original AG opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Every year after the Kentucky General Assembly wraps up its regular session, people need to know when the new laws actually start to apply. The Legislative Research Commission asked the Attorney General to fix the date for the 2022 session.

The answer comes from Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, which says that no act (except general appropriation bills) becomes law until 90 days after the session adjourns, unless it carries an emergency clause or a different effective date written into it. The 2022 Regular Session adjourned sine die (finally) on April 14, 2022. The opinion explained how to count: the day of adjournment is excluded, so the first day of the 90-day period was April 15, 2022, and the 90th day was July 13, 2022. Once that 90th day expired, a full 90 days had passed, making the effective date Thursday, July 14, 2022.

So, with the usual carve-outs (general appropriation measures and any act that contains its own emergency or delayed effective date), the laws from the 2022 session took effect on July 14, 2022.

What this means for you

Attorneys, businesses, and compliance officers

Under this opinion, most 2022 Kentucky session laws took effect July 14, 2022. The exceptions are general appropriation bills and any act that included an emergency clause or a specific delayed effective date, which take effect on their own terms.

Government officials and journalists

The opinion lays out the counting method under Section 55: exclude the adjournment day, count 90 full days, and the law is effective the next day. For 2022 that produced a July 14, 2022 effective date.

Common questions

Q: When did Kentucky's 2022 session laws take effect?
A: Thursday, July 14, 2022, according to this opinion, for legislation other than general appropriation bills and acts with emergency or delayed effective-date provisions.

Q: Why July 14 and not the adjournment date?
A: Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution delays non-appropriation laws for 90 days after the session ends. The session adjourned April 14, 2022, and 90 full days later put the effective date at July 14, 2022.

Q: Do all laws follow this date?
A: No. The opinion excludes general appropriation measures and any act containing its own emergency clause or a delayed effective date; those follow their own timing.

Background and statutory framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution provides that no act, except general appropriation bills, becomes law until 90 days after the adjournment of the session, unless an emergency clause is adopted by a majority of each House with the reasons stated in the journal. The opinion read "until ninety days after the adjournment" to exclude the adjournment day from the count, consistent with OAG 19-005. With the 2022 Regular Session adjourning sine die on April 14, 2022, the 90-day period ran from April 15 through July 13, 2022, making the effective date July 14, 2022.

Citations and references

Constitution:
- Ky. Const. § 55 (90-day delay before non-appropriation acts take effect)

Source

Original opinion text

The full opinion as issued by the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General:

Commonwealth of Kentucky
Office of the Attorney General
Daniel Cameron, Attorney General
Capitol Building, Suite 118, 700 Capital Avenue, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
April 20, 2022
OAG 22-04
Subject: The effective date of legislation passed during the 2022 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly.
Requested by: Jay D. Hartz, Executive Director, Legislative Research Commission
Written by: James M. Herrick, Assistant Attorney General
Syllabus: Under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, the effective date of legislation passed by the 2022 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, except for general appropriation measures and those containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions, is Thursday, July 14, 2022, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on April 14, 2022.

Opinion of the Attorney General

On April 14, 2022, the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die. Thus, the effective date of legislation, other than general appropriation bills and acts containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions, passed during this session is Thursday, July 14, 2022.

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.

As used in Section 55, "until ninety days after the adjournment" means that the day of adjournment is excluded when calculating the 90-day period. It follows that the 90th day is included in the period so that 90 full days expire after final adjournment and before certain legislation passed during the session becomes effective. See OAG 19-005.

Under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, the General Assembly having adjourned on April 14, 2022, sine die, it is the opinion of this Office that the first day of the 90-day period after the session is Friday, April 15, 2022, and the 90th day of that period is Wednesday, July 13, 2022. When that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment sine die of the 2022 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. Thus, legislation (except for general appropriation measures and those containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions) passed during the 2022 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on Thursday, July 14, 2022.

Daniel Cameron
ATTORNEY GENERAL
James M. Herrick
Assistant Attorney General