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Bill Effective Dates Cheat Sheet by

Lists the default length of time that must pass before a law takes effect after being signed into law. Source: https://www.statescape.com/resources/legislative/bill-effective-dates/

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Enactment clauses that specify the effective date are included in each bill.
Legisl­ation becomes effective 90 days after enactment, including Saturdays and Sundays, unless specified otherwise within the bill. A bill becomes enacted if, while the Legisl­ature is in session, the Governor neither signs nor vetoes it within 15 days following its delivery, Sundays excepted. If the Legisl­ature is not in session and the Governor neither signs nor vetoes a bill within 20 days following its delivery, Sundays excepted, the bill becomes enacted.
If the Governor signs a bill and it is either emergency or Propos­ition 108 legisl­ation, the law takes effect immedi­ately; otherwise, the law takes effect 90 days after the Legisl­ature adjourns sine die. Propos­ition 108 requires legisl­ation that provides a net increase in state revenues to receive a two-thirds majority.
Unless there is an emergency clause or an enactment clause that specifies otherwise, the legisl­ation takes effect 90 days after sine die adjour­nment. In Arkansas, this period of time is a consti­tut­ion­all­y-r­eserved right of the people to file a referendum petition blocking non-em­ergency legisl­ation. In addition, if this referendum deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline must instead move to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. For this reason, the effective date may end up being slightly later than 90 days after adjour­nment.
Most bills go into effect on January 1 of the year following a bill's enactment. Urgency measures take effect immedi­ately after they are signed by the Governor, or after they are allowed to become law without the Governor's signature. Statutes calling for elections or providing for tax levies or approp­ria­tions for the usual current expenses of the state also go into effect immedi­ately upon enactment. Every concurrent and joint resolution takes effect upon filing with the Secretary of State.

CO, CT, DE, FL, GA

Colorado
Connec­ticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
If a bill contains a safety clause (meaning the bill is not subject to the citizens' right to file a referendum petition against it), the bill takes effect on the date specified within it. If no date is specified, then it takes effect upon its passage - the date on which the Governor either approves the bill or allows it to become law without a signature. If a bill does not contain a safety clause, a special effective date clause explaining an altern­ative effective date will be added to the bill in lieu of the safety clause. Assuming that a referendum petition is not filed against a bill lacking a safety clause, the earliest the bill can take effect is the day after the expiration of the 90-day period following adjour­nment. If a referendum petition containing sufficient signatures is filed against a bill within the 90-day period, the bill cannot take effect until approved by the voters at an even-year statewide election.
The effective date is specified in the bill. Usually the date given is either July 1 or October 1, although January 1 occasi­onally appears as an effective date, as well.
Bills take effect as soon as they are signed into law, when a veto is overri­dden, or when the Governor has failed to sign a bill within 10 days (Sundays excluded), unless a different effective date is otherwise noted within an enactment clause in the bill.
Each law takes effect on the 60th day after adjour­nment sine die of the session of the Legisl­ature in which it was enacted, or as otherwise provided within the bill.
Legisl­ation takes effect on July 1 unless otherwise specified within an enactment clause in the bill.

HI, ID, IL, IN, IA

Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Enactment clauses are included in each bill.
In general, unless a bill contains an emergency clause or a clearl­y-i­ndi­cated effective date, the bill will take effect 60 days following session adjour­nment or July 1, whichever is later. Every joint resolution takes effect from its passage, unless a different date is mentioned in the resolu­tion.
If a bill has no effective date provided in the text, then the Effective Date of Laws Act, 5 ILCS 75/, supplies the date. If the bill passes prior to June 1, it takes effect the following January 1. If it passes after May 31, it takes effect June 1 of the following year. Bill passage is defined as when a bill has passed both chambers in the same form, and will be sent to the Governor.
A bill takes effect upon the date indicated at the beginning of the relevant statutory section referenced in the bill. This includes special session bills and bills that have passed without the Governor’s signature.
1. All Acts and resolu­tions of a public nature passed at regular sessions of the Legisl­ature shall take effect on July 1 following their passage, unless some other specific date is provided in the text. 2. All Acts and resolu­tions of a public nature passed prior to July 1 at a regular session of the Legisl­ature, and which are approved by the Governor on or after July 1, shall take effect 45 days after approval, except for the type of legisl­ation described in section 3.12 (appro­pri­ations) and those that specifiy their effective dates in their text. 3. All Acts and resolu­tions passed at a special session of the Legisl­ature shall take effect 90 days after adjour­nment of the special session unless a different effective day is stated in the text. 4. An Act which is effective upon enactment is effective upon the date of signature by the Governor. If the Governor vetoes it, it is effective upon the date the Legisl­ature overrides the veto. If the Governor fails to sign or return an Act that submitted prior to the last three days of a session, it is effective on the fourth day after it was presented to the Governor for approval. An Act that has an effective date that is dependent upon the time of enactment shall have the time of enactment determined by this subsec­tion. 5. A concurrent or joint resolution which is effective upon enactment is effective upon the date of final passage by both chambers of the Legisl­ature, except that any concurrent or joint resolution requiring the approval of the Governor under section 262A.4 (or otherwise) is effective upon the date of such approval. A resolution which is effective upon enactment is effective upon the date of passage. A concurrent or joint resolution or resolution that has an effective date that is dependent upon the time of enactment shall have the time of enactment determined by the standards of this subsec­tion. 6. Unless retroa­ctive effect­iveness is specif­ically provided for in an Act or resolu­tion, any legisl­ation enacted after an effective date provided in its text shall take effect upon the date of enactment instead.

KS, KY, LA, ME, MD

Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
The vast majority of the time, effective dates are at the end of the bill. However, if there is no effective date noted, a bill becomes effective upon public­ation in the statute book. This is always July 1 of the year that the bill passed the Legisl­ature. This rule applies to special session bills and bills that passed without the Governor’s signature. In certain cases, bills may become effective upon public­ation in the Kansas Register.
Effective dates are normally noted in the text of the bill. However, if they are not noted, the bill becomes effective 90 days after the official end of the session. The official end of the session is determined by the Attorney General. This 90-day rule applies to bills that pass into law without the Governor’s signature, as well as special session bills. For special sessions, a bill will become effective 90 days after the special session ends, also as determined by the Attorney General.
If an effective date is not provided in the bill text, the bill will always become effective on August 1 of the year that the bill passed the Legisl­ature. This rule also applies to bills that pass into law without the Governor’s signature. For special sessions, the bill becomes effective 60 days after adjour­nment of the special session.
Effective dates are normally noted in the bill, but for bills that do not have an effective date, they become effective 90 days after the session has ended. This rule also applies to resolves, special sessions and bills that pass into law without the Governor’s signature.
Bills will always have an effective date noted in the bill text. The only bills that do not have effective dates in the bill text are emergency bills, which become effective on the day they are signed.

MA, MI, MN, MS, MO

Massac­husetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missis­sippi
Missouri
The majority of bills will have effective dates within the bill text. If a bill does not have an effective date, it is effective 90 days after it was signed by the Governor. If a bill was not signed by the Governor, then it is effective 90 days after the end of the session.
Most bills will have an effective date noted in the text of the bill. If an effective date is not noted, however, and if the bill passed by a two-thirds majority, then the bill takes effect immedi­ately. If the bill does not pass by a two-thirds majority, then the bill becomes effective 90 days after adjour­nment.
Most bills will have effective dates within the bill text. For bills that do not have effective dates noted in the text, the bills become effective on August 1 of the year in which the bill passed the Legisl­ature, except for approp­riation bills. Approp­riation bills become effective on July 1 of the fiscal year to which the bill applies. For special sessions, if the August 1 deadline has passed, then the bill will always have an effective date within the bill text. The above rules apply even if a bill passes without the Governor’s signature.
If a bill does not have an effective date within the bill text, then the bill becomes effective 60 days after passage. This includes bills passed during a special session and bills that have become effective without the Governor’s signature.
If a bill does not have an effective date within the bill text, then the bill will become effective on August 28 of the year in which it passed the Legisl­ature. If the bill is an emergency bill, then it is effective immedi­ately unless otherwise noted within the bill. For special sessions, if there is no effective date within the text of the bill, then the bill becomes effective 90 days after adjour­nment of the special session.

MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ

Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
If a bill does not have an effective date within the bill text, then the bill becomes effective on October 1 of the year that it passed the Legisl­ature. For special sessions, bills become effective upon passage if an effective date is not stated in the bill text.
Bills without emergency clauses or effective dates specified in bill text become law three calendar months after the legisl­ative session ends (Article III, Sec, 27 Nebr. Const.). Bills with emergency clauses become law the day after they are signed by the Governor.
Bills without effective dates specified in bill text become effective on October 1.
Effective dates for all bills are specified in bill text.
A law takes effect on the day specified in its text or, if unspec­ified, the first July 4 following its enactment.

NM, NY, NC, ND, OH

New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Bills without effective dates specified in bill text or emergency clauses become effective 90 days after adjour­nment of the Legisl­ature. Bills with emergency clauses become effective upon signing by the Governor.
Effective dates for all bills are specified in the bill text.
Bills without effective dates specified in bill text become effective 60 days after the adjour­nment of the session in which they passed.
Bills without effective dates specified in bill text become effective on August 1, unless they are approp­ria­tions or tax bills, in which case they become effective on July 1. Tax bills include any enforced contri­bution for public purposes (e.g., this would include fees or even authority for a public entity to determine a fee level). Emergency measures become effective when they are filed with the Secretary of State’s office or on the date specified in the measure. The date a bill is filed with the Secretary is often, but not always, the same day that the Governor signs the bill.
Bills without effective dates specified in bill text become effective on the 91st day following the bill's filing with the Secretary of State for final enroll­ment. Emergency, current approp­ria­tion, and tax legisl­ation are effective immedi­ately.

OK, OR, PA, RI, SC

Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsy­lvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Bills without effective dates specified in bill text become effective 90 days after the session adjourns. Emergency measures become effective upon signing by the Governor.
Except as otherwise provided in an Act, an Act of the Legisl­ature takes effect on January 1 of the year after its passage.
Effective dates for all bills are specified in the bill text.
Effective dates for all bills are specified in the bill text.
A law becomes effective 20 days after approval by the Governor, unless a date is specified in the text.

SD, TN, TX, UT, VT

South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
The state Consti­tution provides that no law can take effect sooner than 90 days following the legisl­ative session. In addition, existing state law sets the effective date of bills passed during the regular session as July 1, unless the text itself provides for a later effective date or the law contains an emergency clause granting immediate effect.
Laws of a general nature do not take effect until 40 days after their passage, unless they contain a provision that the public welfare requires that they should take effect sooner.
Laws passed by the Legisl­ature, except the general approp­riation act, take effect 90 days after the adjour­nment of the session at which they are enacted, unless passed by a two-thirds majority. The final vote is indicated on the signature page of an enacted bill.
Enacted bills are effective 60 days following adjour­nment, unless otherwise specified in the text.
If a bill does not contain an enactment clause, it becomes effective on July 1 of the year the session ends.

VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Bills that become law at a regular session (or the reconvened session that follows) are effective July 1 following the adjour­nment of the regular session, unless otherwise specified. Bills enacted at a special session take effect on the first day of the fourth month following the month that the special session adjourned.
Laws go into effect 90 days after the adjour­nment of the session, unless otherwise specified.
Acts of the Legisl­ature may not take effect until 90 days have elapsed from a bill's passage, unless it was passed by a two-thirds majority. The 90 days are calculated based on the date the Legisl­ature passed the bill, not the date it was signed by the Governor.
Unless otherwise specified, the date of enactment of a bill is one day after the date of public­ation.
Each bill contains an enactment clause that indicates when the law shall become effective.

Other

Puerto Rico
Guam
US Virgin Islands
United States
Effective dates are specified in the bill text.
Effective dates are specified in the bill text.
Effective dates are specified in the bill text. If no date is specified, it becomes effective on the day it is signed by the Governor.
Effective dates are specified in the bill text.
 

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