New laws taking effect, from pot to pet custody
States see shifts large and small as 2018 begins
New Year’s Day will usher in a host of new state laws around the country, from the groundbreaking to the eccentric, including legalizing recreational marijuana in California and making pets subject to custody fights in Illinois.
In Tennessee, a new law permits barbers to make house calls, while in Minnesota, health insurance companies will now have to cover prescription eye drop refills before the expiration date.
A host of new laws in California pushes the boundaries in a number of social areas. Chief among them, California becomes the largest state to legalize the growing and selling of marijuana, while outlawing any toking in vehicles, even by passengers. Dozens of retail pot shops have already been stocking shelves and regulators are working through the weekend to issue licenses.
On the immigration front, a new “sanctuary state” law restricts state and local police in California from cooperating with U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Police will not be allowed to ask about a person’s immigration status or hold anyone for federal immigration agents, unless the person has been convicted of a crime. The law also bars landlords from reporting renters who are in the country illegally.
On gun laws, California will re- quire that ammunition purchases be made in person through an authorized firearms and ammo vendor.
Otherwise, the state is replacing neighborhood polling sites with elections carried out mainly by mail. In a major change, a new law will require all new public restrooms — men’s and women’s — to provide diaper- changing stations. All buses will now be required to have seat belts, and, in a nod to the transgender community, Californians will no longer be required to declare their gender on a driver’s license.
And, for good measure, pedestrians — a small, if hardy, breed in car- crazy California — will now be able to cross the street legally in the face of a flashing red- hand symbol as long as there is still some countdown time left.
In Illinois, public and charter schools must provide reasonable breastfeeding accommodations for students starting in 2018.
Another law allows a state agency to set up rules for the public who want to scatter cremated human remains in a state park.
Other laws in the Land of Lincoln are bound to touch off as many disputes as they settle:
❚ Custody hearings will now include dogs in divorce proceedings when furry friends and other pets are considered marital assets.
❚ Consumers will have the right to leave Yelp- style reviews — positive or negative — on Internet sites.
❚ Individuals will be able to change their gender designation on their birth certificate without undergoing gender transition.
❚ And Aug. 4 is being declared Barack Obama Day, to honor the former president on his birthday.
In Georgia, beginning July 1, guns will be allowed on any campus in the state’s public college and university system, with a handful of exceptions.
In Tennessee, a new law will forbid the use of a handheld phone for anyone driving through an active school zone. Hands- free devices, however, are OK.
Beginning in 2018, anyone who has passed a training course in the U. S. Armed Forces in the use of small arms or combat pistols is exempt from having to get a state handgun permit.
A new Tennessee law on free speech directs institutions of higher education to give students the freedom to speak, write and discuss any issue as long as it does not violate the First Amendment. The law was initially known informally as the “Milo Bill,” a reference to former Breitbart senior editor and conservative rabble- rouser Milo Yiannopoulos, whose attempt to hold a rally at the University of California, Berkeley, was canceled by officials following violence during a protest demonstration.
In New York City, pharmacies and retail stores that have pharmacies will no longer be allowed to sell tobacco products.
Meanwhile, in Oregon, a new law authorizes the Department of Transportation to issue a hardship permit to a person with suspended driving privileges to drive to and from gambling addiction treatment.
And starting Jan. 1, Oregonians will no longer have to report a fenderbender if the damage is under $ 2,500.