Ezel / AG Opinions / KY
KY OAG 23-03 2023-04-04

When did bills passed in Kentucky's 2023 legislative session take effect?

Short answer: Most bills from Kentucky's 2023 Regular Session took effect Thursday, June 29, 2023. Under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, ordinary legislation becomes law 90 days after the session adjourns. The General Assembly adjourned on March 30, 2023, so counting from March 31 the 90th day fell on June 28, making June 29 the effective date. General appropriation bills and acts with emergency or delayed-effective-date clauses are exceptions and took effect on their own terms.
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 AG opinions are persuasive authority in Kentucky courts but are not binding precedent like a court ruling.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

Each year the Reviser of Statutes asks the Attorney General to fix the date on which that session's bills take effect, because everyone from agencies to businesses needs to know when new laws kick in. For the 2023 Regular Session, the answer is Thursday, June 29, 2023.

The rule comes from Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution: an ordinary act does not become law until ninety days after the session adjourns. The 2023 Regular Session adjourned sine die on March 30, 2023. The opinion applies the standard counting method: the day of adjournment is not counted, so the count starts March 31; the 90th day is included, and it fell on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. Once that day passes, ninety full days have elapsed, making June 29 the effective date.

Two categories do not wait the full ninety days: general appropriation bills, and any act carrying an emergency clause or its own delayed-effective-date provision. Those took effect on their own terms.

What this means for you

Attorneys and compliance staff

For 2023 Regular Session legislation without an emergency or delayed-effective-date clause, the operative date under this opinion is June 29, 2023. Appropriation bills and acts with their own effective-date language are the exceptions to check first.

State and local officials

If you were tracking when a new 2023 statute became enforceable, the opinion fixes the default date at June 29, 2023, based on the March 30 adjournment.

Journalists and the public

The opinion is the official explanation for why most new Kentucky laws take effect in late June after a regular session: the ninety-day constitutional waiting period counted from final adjournment.

Common questions

Q: Why June 29 and not exactly 90 days after March 30?
A: Because of the counting method. The opinion excludes the adjournment day (March 30) and starts counting March 31; the 90th day is then June 28. Ninety full days expire at the end of June 28, so the effective date is the next day, June 29.

Q: Which 2023 laws did not wait until June 29?
A: General appropriation bills, and any act containing an emergency clause or a delayed-effective-date provision. Those took effect on their own schedule.

Q: Is this counting method new?
A: No. The opinion follows the Office's prior opinion OAG 19-005 on how to apply Section 55's "ninety days after the adjournment" language.

Background and statutory framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution provides that no act, except general appropriation bills, becomes law until ninety days after the adjournment of the session at which it passed, unless an emergency is declared by the required vote and recorded in each chamber's journal. The opinion applies the settled counting rule (exclude the adjournment day, include the 90th day), consistent with OAG 19-005, to the 2023 Regular Session's March 30, 2023 sine die adjournment, yielding an effective date of June 29, 2023 for ordinary legislation.

Citations and references

Constitution:
- Ky. Const. § 55 (90-day effective-date rule; appropriation and emergency exceptions)

Prior opinions: OAG 19-005 (method for counting the 90-day period)

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
April 4, 2023
OAG 23-03
Subject: The effective date of legislation passed during the 2023 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly.
Requested by: Cyndi Galvin, Reviser of Statutes, Legislative Research Commission
Written by: James M. Herrick, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Civil and Environmental Law
Syllabus: Under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, the effective date of legislation passed by the 2023 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, except for general appropriation measures and those containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions, is Thursday, June 29, 2023, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on March 30, 2023.

Opinion of the Attorney General

On March 30, 2023, the 2023 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, June 29, 2023.

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 will have expired 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 March 30, 2023, sine die, it is the opinion of this Office that the first day of the 90-day period after the session is Friday, March 31, 2023, and the 90th day of that period is Wednesday, June 28, 2023. When that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment sine die of the 2023 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. Thus, legislation (except for general appropriation measures and those measures containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions) passed during the 2023 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on Thursday, June 29, 2023.

Daniel Cameron
Attorney General
James M. Herrick
Assistant Attorney General