Kentucky

It looks like the Kentucky legislature is taking legal advice from Alan Jackson's song entitled "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" as the following story from the Herald Leader claims the clocks were stopped in the capitol to continue the session. 

Next time, I have a motion to file or another deadline for court, I think I will just reset my computer, refuse to turn the page in my calendar, and stay frozen in time!

Of course, this clock thing works for electronic filing however at Turbo Tax as an E.S.T. filer can get the benefit of a P.S.T. filing deadline!!!

The UofL Law Faculty blog has an interesting piece on this as well - Faculty Blogs: Flavor Flav for Kentucky State Senate!.

Here's the Herald Leader story by Ryan Alessi:

After lawmakers officially shut down the 2008 General Assembly at 1 a.m. Wednesday, they left behind questions about the legality of some of the bills that were finalized after the constitutional deadline of midnight.

Television cameras and reporters witnessed at least five bills -- two in the Senate, three in the House -- receiving the necessary signatures from House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, long after the midnight deadline passed.

The state's constitution says the General Assembly session cannot "extend beyond April 15."

The legislative record, however, will show that no bills were finalized, or enrolled, after midnight, said Robert Sherman, director of the Legislative Research Commission.

"To the best of my knowledge, neither of the Senate and House journals show that any business occurred after midnight," he said.

But the LRC's own vote-count sheets show that the House took up measures as late as 12:12 a.m. And Richards, the House speaker, signed off on other bills after that vote. How does that jibe?

"There are evidently conflicting clocks," Sherman said dryly.

Clocks on the walls of both the Senate and House stopped at 11:54 p.m. for nearly an hour. Legislators sometimes employed that strategy in the 1970s and 1980s to cram in the last bit of work. That move this week prompted criticism from some lawmakers.

"I don't think it's correct. I don't think it's the way we should be doing things," said Rep. Danny Ford, R-Mount Vernon, in a floor speech. "It's been 15 years since I've seen that clock stopped."

Former state Supreme Court Justice James Keller said the bills enrolled after midnight could have a constitutional problem. But someone affected by the legislation would have to file a lawsuit to challenge it, he said.

"If they have evidence that clearly shows that these bills were enrolled on April 16, they (those bills) may be held to be enacted in violation of the constitution and therefore invalid," he said.

Otherwise, the legal precedent is that bills passed by the General Assembly are presumed to be valid until proven otherwise.

At 12:53 a.m., Williams, the Senate president, signed off on House Bill 2, which included a package of tax credits aimed at encouraging energy efficiency, and Senate Bill 188, which deals with foster care review boards. Williams said that, if anyone wants to challenge the legality of those bills being signed early Wednesday, "go to it."

In all, 11 bills and five resolutions were listed by the LRC Wednesday as being enrolled but not yet officially delivered to Gov. Steve Beshear.

Attorney General Jack Conway declined to comment on whether he considered the post-midnight bills to be legal.

"That could be a matter brought to our office for an opinion if someone wants to challenge that legislation. I'm not inviting that, but I'm going to reserve judgment on that," Conway said.