When did laws passed in Kentucky's 2020 legislative session take effect?

Plain-English summary

The Legislative Research Commission asked the Attorney General to confirm when laws passed in the 2020 Regular Session of the General Assembly would take effect. This is a routine question the office answers each session because Kentucky's Constitution sets a delayed default effective date.

The Attorney General concluded that most 2020 legislation took effect on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution says no act (except general appropriation bills) becomes law until ninety days after the session adjourns, unless the act is passed as an emergency or sets its own delayed date. The 2020 Regular Session adjourned sine die on April 15, 2020. Counting the ninety-day period, the day of adjournment is excluded, so the first day of the period was April 16, 2020, and the ninetieth day was July 14, 2020. Once that ninetieth day passed, ninety full days had elapsed, making the effective date July 15, 2020 for ordinary legislation. General appropriation measures and acts with their own emergency or delayed effective-date clauses were not governed by that default date.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2020. 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.

Background and statutory framework

Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution provides that "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 passed by a recorded majority of each House with the reasons set out in the journals. The Attorney General read "until ninety days after the adjournment" to exclude the day of adjournment and include the ninetieth day, so that ninety full days expire before ordinary legislation takes effect, consistent with OAG 19-005. Applying that count to the 2020 session's sine die adjournment of April 15, 2020: the period began April 16, 2020, the ninetieth day was July 14, 2020, and the effective date for non-exempt legislation was July 15, 2020.

Citations and references

Constitution:

• Ky. Const. § 55

Prior opinion referenced:

• OAG 19-005

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.ky.gov/Opinions/Pages/default.aspx
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/Opinions/Opinions/OAG%2020-08.pdf

Original opinion text

The full opinion as issued by the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General:

Commonwealth of Kentucky
Office of the Attorney General
Daniel Cameron, Attorney General
Capitol Building, Suite 118, 700 Capital Avenue, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

April 16, 2020

OAG 20-08

Subject: The effective date of legislation passed during the 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly.

Requested by: Jay D. Hartz, Executive Director, Legislative Research Commission

Written by: James M. Herrick, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Civil & Environmental Law

Syllabus: Under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, the effective date of legislation passed by the 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, except for general appropriation measures and those containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions, is Wednesday, July 15, 2020, since 90 full days will then have passed after final adjournment on April 15, 2020.

Opinion of the Attorney General

On April 15, 2020, the 2020 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 Wednesday, July 15, 2020.

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 expire 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 April 15, 2020 sine die, it is the opinion of this Office that the first day of the 90-day period after the session is Thursday, April 16, 2020, and the 90th day of that period is Tuesday, July 14, 2020. When that 90th day has expired, ninety full days will have passed after the adjournment sine die of the 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. Thus, legislation (except for general appropriation measures and those containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions) passed during the 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly will be effective on Wednesday, July 15, 2020.

Daniel Cameron
Attorney General

James M. Herrick
Assistant Attorney General