Request By:
Hon. Vic Hellard, Jr., Director, Legislative Research Commission
Opinion
Opinion By: CHRIS GORMAN, ATTORNEY GENERAL; Gerard R. Gerhard, Assistant Attorney General
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
The following question has been presented:
What are the effective dates of legislation, not containing an emergency or delayed effective date, approved in connection with the following Extraordinary Sessions of the Kentucky General Assembly:
1. 1994 First Extraordinary Session, adjourned June 22, 1994.
2. 1994 Second Extraordinary Session, adjourned September 26, 1994.
3. 1995 First Extraordinary Session, adjourned January 6, 1995.
4. 1995 Second Extraordinary Session, adjourned January 27, 1995.
Based upon the law and analysis set forth below, the effective date for legislation approved in relation to the above listed Extraordinary Sessions of the Kentucky General Assembly, except for legislation involving a general appropriation, an emergency, or having a delayed effective date as specified in the legislation, is as follows:SessionEffective Date1. 1994 First Extraordinary SessionSeptember 21, 19942. 1994 Second Extraordinary SessionDecember 26, 19943. 1995 First Extraordinary SessionApril 7, 19954. 1995 Second Extraordinary SessionApril 28, 1995
As pointed out in Opinion of the Attorney General (OAG) 94-30, 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 analysis described above to the extraordinary sessions asked about, regarding legislation not involving a general appropriation, emergency, or delayed effective date, we find the following:
1. 1994 First Extraordinary Session
The 1994 First Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned on June 22, 1994. The first day of the 90 day period after such session is June 23, 1994, and the 90th day of that period is September 20, 1994. It follows that the effective date of legislation approved in connection with the 1994 First Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly (with the exception of the type of measures noted above) is September 21, 1994.
2. 1994 Second Extraordinary Session
The 1994 Second Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned on September 26, 1994. The first day of the 90 day period after such session is September 27, 1994, and the 90th day of that period is December 25, 1994. It follows that the effective date of legislation approved in connection with the 1994 Second Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly (with the exception of the type of measures noted above) is December 26, 1994.
3. 1995 First Extraordinary Session
The 1995 First Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned on January 6, 1995. The first day of the 90 day period after such session is January 7, 1995, and the 90th day of that period is April 6, 1995. It follows that the effective date of legislation approved in connection with the 1995 First Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly (with the exception of the type of measures noted above) is April 7, 1995.
4. 1995 Second Extraordinary Session
The 1995 Second Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned on January 27, 1995. The first day of the 90 day period after such session is January 28, 1995, and the 90th day of that period is April 27, 1995. It follows that the effective date of legislation approved in connection with the 1995 Second Extraordinary Session of the Kentucky General Assembly (with the exception of the type of measures noted above) is April 28, 1995.