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