When did ordinary laws from Kentucky's third 1995 special session take effect?

Plain-English summary

The Legislative Research Commission asked when ordinary legislation from Kentucky's third extraordinary session of 1995 would take effect. That session finally adjourned August 4. The Attorney General concluded that the default date was the first moment of Friday, November 3, 1995. The answer excluded general appropriation bills and acts containing emergency or special effective date provisions.

The opinion read Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution to exclude the adjournment day from the ninety-day count. August 5 was day one and November 2 was day ninety. The default date followed when all ninety days had passed. The AG cited OAG 95-8 for that counting method.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1995. 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

When did ordinary laws from the third 1995 special session take effect?

The opinion gave the first moment of Friday, November 3, 1995, after ninety full days had passed following final adjournment.

Did August 4 count as the first day of the ninety-day period?

No. The AG excluded that adjournment day, counted August 5 as the first day and November 2 as the ninetieth day.

Did November 3 apply to every act passed in that session?

No. The question and answer excluded general appropriation measures and acts with emergency or delayed effective date provisions. The opinion did not set the individual dates for those acts.

Background and constitutional framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution says ordinary acts do not become law until ninety days after adjournment and sets out the emergency exception. The AG applied the words “until ninety days after the adjournment” to the session's actual August 4 adjournment date, producing November 3 as the ordinary effective date.

Citations and references

• Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky (the ninety-day rule and exceptions).
• OAG 95-8 (earlier opinion cited for the counting method).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/Opinions/Opinions/OAG95-032.htm

Original opinion text

OAG 95-32

August 17, 1995

Subject: Effective Date of Certain Legislation Passed During the 1995 Third Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly

Written by: Gerard Gerhard

Requested by: Hon. Vic Hellard, Jr., Director, Legislative Research Commission

Syllabus: Except for general appropriation measures, and those involving an emergency, or having a delayed effective date, legislation, in accordance with Section 55 of the Constitution of Kentucky, becomes effective after the passage of 90 full days following the final adjournment (adjournment "sine die") of a legislative session. Accordingly, the effective date of legislation, subject to the exceptions noted, for legislation passed during the 1995 Third Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, is Friday, November 3, 1995.

OAGs cited: OAG 95-8

Constitutional sections construed: 55

OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

The following question has been presented:

What is the effective date of legislation passed during the 1995 Third Extraordinary Session for legislation other than general appropriation bills and acts containing emergency or special effective date provisions?

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 the 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 set forth in the above cited Consitutional 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. See Opinion of the Attorney General (OAG) 95-8.

Applying the analysis described above to the 1995 Third Extraordinary Session, we find the following regarding legislation not involving a general appropriation, emergency, or delayed effective date: The 1995 Third Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned "sine die" on Friday, August 4, 1995. Accordingly, the first day of the 90 day period after such session is August 5, 1995, and the 90th day of that period is Thursday, November 2, 1995. When the last moment of the 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment "sine die" of the 1995 Third Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. It follows that legislation (except as noted) passed during that session will become effective on the first moment of Friday, November 3, 1995.

CHRIS GORMAN

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Gerard R. Gerhard

Assistant Attorney General