Tag Archives: National Conference of State Legislatures

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New Rules …


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40,000 New State Rules

Starting on Jan. 1

Greg Toppo, USATODAY

If you’re a pale 17-year-old in Illinois, get your indoor tanning sessions in now. Starting Wednesday, they’re strictly forbidden.

A new state law takes effect Jan. 1 that bans anyone under 18 from using tanning salons in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois becomes the sixth state to keep teens out of the facilities, part of a growing trend of regulating tanning facilities to help reduce the risk of skin cancer, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a Denver-based group that tracks lawmaking.

STORY: Minn. starts to test aid recipients for drugs STORY: Calif. law to require 3 feet between car, bike

The new measure is one of an estimated 40,000 new laws, regulations and resolutions approved by state legislatures in 2013, many of which take effect Jan. 1. Among them:

• Arkansas voters must now show a photo ID at polling places, while Virginia voters for the first time will be able to register online.

• In Colorado, 16-year-olds will be able to pre-register to vote, but must still wait until they’re 18 to vote.

• California students must be allowed to play school sports and use school bathrooms “consistent with their gender identity,” regardless of their birth identity.

• In Oregon, new mothers will now be able to take their placentas home from the hospital — some experts say ingesting it has positive health benefits. Another new state law bans smoking in motor vehicles when children are present.

Minimum-wage increases take effect in four northeastern states: Connecticut’s rises to $8.70 an hour; New Jersey’s to $8.25; and New York‘s and Rhode Island’s to $8. In nine other states, the minimum wage rises automatically because it’s indexed to inflation.

Perhaps most significantly, Colorado adults age 21 or older will be able on Wednesday to buy up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use from a state-licensed retail store. Marijuana advocates expect many of the new stores to be up and running by then, and observers say the new Colorado regulations are a sign of things to come.

“I think state legislatures will be faced with the marijuana issue” in 2014, says Jane Carroll Andrade, NCSL’s spokeswoman.

In Washington state, regulators are combing through more than 2,000 applications for similar stores after voters approved a similar measure in 2012, says Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). He expects the first Washington stores to open in a few months.

“Other states are watching Colorado and Washington because it will continue to come up,” Andrade says.

Armentano, who likens these developments to the state-led reversal of Prohibition in the 1930s, says a dozen states are due to debate marijuana legalization measures in the coming year or so. “The genie’s out of the bottle and it’s simply not going back in.”

Many new state laws take effect 90 days after they’re signed, but a few states, like California, Colorado, Illinois and Oregon, get extra attention this time of year because traditionally many laws in these states take effect on Jan. 1.

As a result, life changes a bit more radically for Illinois residents each new year: On Wednesday, in addition to the tanning measure, they’ll find that they can now return a pet or be reimbursed for veterinary costs if an illness was not disclosed by the seller. So-called “lemon pets” laws already exist in 21 states, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

 in Illinois: Anyone who flicks a cigarette butt on a street or sidewalk could be fined at least $50 for littering; police must receive training on the psychological and physiological effects of stun guns, and penalties are now tougher for inciting a violent flash mob or riot via social media.

Illinois also becomes the 13th state to prohibit handheld cellphones while driving. Meanwhile, school districts on Jan. 1 will be able to install cameras on school buses to photograph drivers who pass them when buses are stopped. And school-based sex education must include information about both abstinence and contraception.

Illinois is also home to tough new laws prohibiting unmanned aerial drones. Come Wednesday, it’ll be illegal to use a drone to interfere with hunters or fishermen — and police must get a warrant to use a drone for surveillance, except in cases of terrorism or if a suspect is fleeing a crime scene. Even with the warrant, police must destroy information gathered within 30 days unless it’s linked to a crime, says Ed Yohnka of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

Lawmakers in both parties overwhelmingly passed the new surveillance prohibition, he says. “They understood that it was something that could occur in the relatively near future, and so there was a desire to get on top of it.”

Contributing: The Associated Press and Reuters

What’s new Jan. 1

A sample of other state laws taking effect Jan. 1:

Colorado: Drivers will see a new annual $50 fee for plug-in electric cars.  Colorado is one of several states looking to capture revenue from alternative fuel, electric and hybrid vehicles.•

Connecticut: New gun-control laws in the aftermath of the school shooting in Newtown include mandatory registration of all assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines bought before April 2013, and creation of a statewide registry that will track parolees whose crimes involved weapons.•

Delaware: Sale, possession or distribution of shark fins prohibited.•

Florida: Expanded early voting.•

Maine: Becomes the 48th state to require a check-off for organ donation on driver’s licenses to promote organ donation.•

Oregon: Privately run websites that feature police mug shots must take down photos for free if subjects can show they were not guilty or that charges were dropped.•

Rhode Island: Becomes the eighth state to enact a so-called “ban the box” law that prohibits prospective employers from inquiring into an applicant’s criminal history on written job applications.

Los Angeles start their grocery bag ban – gender id and bathrooms

Illinois :  organizing a violent flash mob is banned/could be a felony

NC: • Owners of plug-in electric vehicles must pay a $100 registration fee in addition to any other fees -• Health care facilities that perform mammography exams must report breast density information to patients

California: Homeless youth are eligible to receive food stamps. The previous law had a minimum wage requirement.

Delaware: Delaware is the latest in a growing number of states where residents can no longer possess, sell or distribute shark fins, which is considered a delicacy in some East Asian cuisine.

Oregon: Family leave in Oregon has been expanded to allow eligible employees two  weeks of pai d leave to handle the death of a family member.

Sources:

Cnn.com

Greg Toppo, USATODAY

Charlotte Observer

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

New laws target abortion, immigration, alcohol and animals


By Josh Levs, CNN
updated 5:32 AM EST, Fri December 30, 2011
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Nearly 40,000 laws were enacted in 2011, according to legislature group
  • Some of those laws go into effect January 1
  • Many of the new laws cited are in California

(CNN) — New laws going into effect Sunday cover some of the nation’s most contentious issues, from immigration to abortion, while others deal with tanning beds, tuition and where you can sell a pet.

In all, nearly 40,000 laws were enacted in 2011, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some take effect New Year‘s Day.

Among them is a controversial California provision requiring that schools add “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans” to the list of those whose contributions “to the development of California and the United States” must be taught in schools.

Another California law adds “gender identity and gender expression” to the list of characteristics that require equal rights.

New laws in Delaware and Hawaii make same-sex couples eligible for civil unions and grant them the same rights and benefits as married couples under the law, the legislature group said.

In New Hampshire, starting January 1, minors will have to inform a parent before getting an abortion or seek a court order to avoid parental notification.

Immigrant investors purchase U.S. future

 Gov. John Lynch had vetoed the bill, saying there must be an exception for rape, incest and abuse. The legislature overrode his veto.

New laws in Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia require businesses to enroll in the federal E-Verify program to ensure that employees are eligible to work in the United States, the National Conference of State Legislatures says.

California, meanwhile, is prohibiting any state or local government office from requiring that employers use E-Verify, unless it is required by federal law as a condition of receiving federal funds.

E-Verify is a controversial program designed to check a prospective employee’s citizenship or immigration status. Supporters say it helps businesses avoid unintentionally hiring illegal immigrants. Critics complain that it is expensive to operate, pushes undocumented workers further underground, and is not always accurate.

Some laws ahead for the new year focus on health issues.

One in California prohibits the production or sale of beer to which caffeine has been added. Another in the state would prohibit the sale of dextromethorphan, or DXM, to minors without a prescription. DXM is in many over-the-counter cough suppressants, but it has been used as a recreational drug, the National Conference of State Legislatures says.

California also will ban stores from selling expired infant food and formula.

Another law in California focuses on school athletes suspected of having a concussion or head injury. A school must remove the athlete from that activity and not allow him or her to resume until clearance is given by a health care provider.

Many of the new laws cited by the legislature group are in California, including one prohibiting the use of ultraviolet tanning devices by minors and another making it a crime to sell “a live animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk.”

Both Oregon and California will prohibit the sale of shark fins in the new year.

Oregon is requiring state colleges and universities to waive tuition and fees for foster children under age 25.

Some new state laws amend crime provisions. Kentucky will require that certain inmates convicted of drug crimes serve the final six months of their sentences in the community, under supervision.

Oregon will require ignition interlock devices — computerized breath analyzers — for people convicted of driving under the influence and people who are under intoxicant diversion agreements, which allow prosecution on a DUI charge to be delayed.

And more states are joining a nationwide movement for tougher laws against distracted driving. Nevada will prohibit all drivers from texting and using handheld devices, the National Conference of State Legislatures says. North Dakota is banning drivers under age 18 from using cell phones in their cars and barring all drivers from texting.