When do laws passed in a special legislative session take effect if they have no emergency clause?
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This page answers the general question as of 2022. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
Secretary of State John Thurston asked the AG when acts passed during the December 2021 Second Extraordinary Session of the 93rd Arkansas General Assembly would take effect, given that some did not contain an emergency clause or a specified effective date. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge answered: March 10, 2022.
The math comes from Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution (codified at Ark. Const. art. 5, § 1), which gives the people 90 days after final adjournment to file a referendum petition challenging an act. The Arkansas Supreme Court in Fulkerson v. Refunding Board, 201 Ark. 957, 147 S.W.2d 980 (1941) translated that 90-day window into the standard rule: an act without an emergency clause becomes effective on the 91st day after sine die adjournment. The day of adjournment is not counted. The Session adjourned sine die on December 9, 2021. Counting from December 10 (day one), day 90 was March 9, 2022, so the effective date was March 10, 2022.
The AG noted the deadline-extension rule from Richardson v. Martin: if the petition-filing deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next non-weekend, non-holiday day. That extension also pushes the effective date.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in January 2022. The specific effective date it identifies (March 10, 2022) is now historical. The general rule it describes, an act without an emergency clause becomes effective on the 91st day after sine die adjournment, has not changed. Subsequent legislative sessions calculate the same way using their own adjournment dates. Always verify the specific calculation for the session in question, especially when weekends or holidays could shift the deadline.
What this means for you
If you are tracking when a non-emergency Arkansas act becomes enforceable
Find the date the legislative session adjourned sine die. Add 91 calendar days, starting from the day after adjournment. That is the default effective date. Watch for two adjustments: an emergency clause moves the effective date earlier (often to the date of approval), and a specified effective date in the act overrides the default entirely.
If you are gathering signatures for a referendum
Per this opinion's restatement of Amendment 7, you have 90 days from final adjournment to file your referendum petition. Day one is the day after adjournment. The Richardson v. Martin rule pushes the deadline to the next business day if it falls on a weekend or holiday.
If you are implementing new statutory requirements at a state agency
For acts without an emergency clause, do not enforce or rely on new statutory provisions until day 91 after sine die. Regulated parties have a meaningful interim period to organize, and acting on a not-yet-effective statute can create vulnerability.
If you are a state legislator
Including or omitting an emergency clause is a strategic call. An emergency clause requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber and accelerates the effective date but also affects referendum availability. Specifying an explicit effective date in the bill text can also override the 91-day default.
Common questions
Q: Why is it 91 days instead of 90?
A: Amendment 7 gives the people 90 days to file a referendum petition. The 91st day is when that window closes and the act takes effect, assuming no successful petition. Day one is the day after adjournment because, as the opinion explains, the day of adjournment is not a full day for petition-filing purposes.
Q: What if a bill has an emergency clause?
A: Acts with an emergency clause take effect when approved (typically when signed by the Governor or when the time for veto expires without signature), not after the 91-day waiting period. The General Assembly must adopt the emergency clause by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
Q: What if the 91st day falls on a weekend or holiday?
A: Per the opinion's reading of Richardson v. Martin, the petition-filing deadline (and by extension, the effective date) rolls to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
Q: Does the same rule apply to extraordinary sessions and regular sessions?
A: Yes. The 91-day rule under Amendment 7 applies to all general assembly sessions. Each session has its own sine die adjournment date, and that is the trigger for the count.
Background and statutory framework
Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution, ratified in 1920 and codified in art. 5, § 1, established the popular referendum as a check on legislative power. Voters can suspend an act of the General Assembly by gathering enough signatures within 90 days of adjournment. To make that 90-day window practical, the constitution paired it with a rule that acts (other than emergency-clause acts) cannot take effect until the window closes.
The Arkansas Supreme Court in Fulkerson worked out the arithmetic. The 90-day window starts the day after adjournment. The act becomes effective on day 91. Later, in Richardson v. Martin (2014), the Court held that ballot-initiative deadlines falling on legal holidays extend to the next business day, citing the constitutional principle that procedural rules cannot truncate the people's rights.
Combining those, the AG's calculation for the December 9, 2021 sine die adjournment was straightforward. Day one was December 10, 2021. Day 90 was March 9, 2022. Day 91, the effective date, was March 10, 2022, a Thursday, with no holiday issue.
Citations and references
Constitutional provisions:
- Ark. Const. art. 5, § 1 (initiative and referendum, 90-day window)
- Ark. Const. amend. 7 (codified at art. 5, § 1)
Cases:
- Fulkerson v. Refunding Board, 201 Ark. 957, 147 S.W.2d 980 (1941) (91-day effective date rule under Amendment 7)
- Richardson v. Martin, 2014 Ark. 429, *6, 444 S.W.3d 855, 859 (deadline extension when filing date falls on Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday)
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2021-099
January 6, 2022
The Honorable John Thurston
Secretary of State
Arkansas State Capitol, Room 256
500 Woodland Street
Little Rock, AR 72201-1094
Dear Secretary Thurston:
This is in response to your request for my opinion regarding the effective date of legislation passed during the Second Extraordinary Session of the Ninety-Third Arkansas General Assembly. Your request pertains to legislation that did not carry an emergency clause or a specified effective date.
Acts of the General Assembly with no emergency clause or specified effective date become effective on the 91st day after sine die adjournment of the session in which they were enacted. This rule stems from Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution, which gives the people "ninety days after the final adjournment of the session" to file referendum petitions. The day of adjournment is not counted, as it is not a full day during which petitions may be filed. Additionally, if the petition-filing deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline to file such petitions is the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
Your request states that the General Assembly adjourned sine die on December 9, 2021. Starting with December 10, 2021 (the first full day after adjournment), the 90th day in this case is March 9, 2022. Thus, acts passed during the Second Extraordinary Session of the Ninety-Third Arkansas General Assembly with no emergency clause or specified effective date become effective on March 10, 2022.
Sincerely,
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General
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