When did ordinary laws from Kentucky's 1994 legislative session take effect?

Plain-English summary

The Legislative Research Commission asked for the normal effective date of acts passed in Kentucky's 1994 Regular Session, which finally adjourned April 15. The Attorney General concluded that ordinary legislation from that session took effect Friday, July 15, 1994. The opinion defined “normal” to exclude general appropriation measures and acts containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions.

The opinion applied Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution. It excluded the April 15 adjournment day, counted April 16 as day one and July 14 as day ninety, then put the effective date on the following day. The AG also said its earlier OAG 94-17 had become moot because the Assembly did not adjourn on either date that earlier opinion discussed.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1994. 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

What date did ordinary laws from the 1994 session take effect?

The AG gave Friday, July 15, 1994, after ninety full days had passed following final adjournment on April 15.

Did the opinion give the same date for emergency acts and budget bills?

No. The question and answer excluded general appropriation measures and enactments with emergency or delayed effective date provisions.

Why did the AG set aside OAG 94-17?

The opinion called that earlier opinion moot because the Assembly did not finally adjourn on either of the dates OAG 94-17 considered. This opinion used the actual April 15 adjournment date.

Background and constitutional framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution says ordinary acts do not become law until ninety days after adjournment, with an exception for general appropriation bills and a procedure for emergency acts. The AG read “after adjournment” to omit the adjournment day and include the ninetieth day in the waiting period. That method produced July 15 for this session.

Citations and references

• Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky (the ninety-day rule and exceptions).
• OAG 94-17 (earlier opinion the AG called moot).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/Opinions/Opinions/OAG94-030.htm

Original opinion text

OAG 94-30

April 27, 1994

Hon. Vic Hellard, Jr.

Director, Legislative Research Commission

Capitol Building Room 300

Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

Re: Effective Date of Certain Legislation Enacted During the 1994 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly.

Dear Mr. Hellard:

By letter of April 14, 1994, you asked that this office provide an opinion concerning the "normal" effective date of legislation enacted during the 1994 Regular Session of Kentucky's General Assembly. Final adjournment of the 1994 Regular Session was on April 15, 1994. We understand the term "normal," as used in your letter, to refer to legislation other than a general appropriation measure, or an enactment containing an emergency provision or a delayed effective date.

In our view, the "normal" effective date of legislation enacted during the 1994 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly is Friday, July 15, 1994, final adjournment having been on April 15, 1994. Discussion follows.

The effective date of legislation is governed by Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky, which 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.)

The language "ninety days after adjournment" (emphasis added), as used in Section 55 of Kentucky's Constitution (above), indicates that the day of adjournment (meaning day of final adjournment for the session, termed "adjournment sine die") is to be excluded in computing the 90 day period set forth in the above cited Constitutional provision, and that the 90th day shall be included in the period, in order that 90 full days shall pass after enactment of certain legislation, before the legislation becomes effective.

Applying the above indicated analysis to the actual final adjournment date of the 1994 Regular Session of the General Assembly (April 15, 1994), the first day of the 90 day period after adjournment is April 16, 1994, and the 90th of the period is July 14, 1994. Accordingly, the effective date of legislation passed during the 1994 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, in the case of legislation other than general appropriation bills, and enactments not containing an emergency provision or a delayed effective date, is Friday, July 15, 1994.

Opinion of the Attorney General (OAG) 94-17 is moot, since adjournment of the General Assembly did not occur on either of the dates mentioned in that opinion.

Sincerely,

CHRIS GORMAN

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Gerard R. Gerhard

Assistant Attorney General