Commonwealth of Kentucky
Office of the Attorney General
Daniel Cameron
Attorney General
Capitol Building, Suite 118
700 Capital Avenue
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
(502) 696-5300
Fax: (502) 564-2894
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.Opinion of the Attorney General 23-03
April 4, 2023
Page 2
2
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