Guns, wages and pot: the new laws taking effect across the US this year

Extract from The Guardian

Tennessee will allow some 18-year-olds to receive handgun carry permits while many states are to raise their minimum wages

In Tennessee, some 18-year-olds will be able to receive handgun carry permits. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Nicole Puglise and Mazin Sidahmed

Tuesday 3 January 2017 00.00 AEDT 

In 2017, new laws across the US will go into effect. Here are some of the new, noteworthy, and impactful policies:

Guns: there may be more armed teenagers in Tennessee

A range of new gun legislation will go into effect, and while places such as California are working to restrict guns, Tennessee is opening up its gun laws. Starting in 2017, 18-year-olds who are on active duty in the military, are retired veterans or were honorably discharged will be able to receive handgun carry permits. The age remains 21 for everyone else. The bill passed unanimously in the state senate.
Other laws:

• More assault weapons are off limits in California, including semiautomatic rifles
• Californians will have to go through a background check to purchase not just guns but also ammunition
• Babysitters and other guests will be permitted to use deadly force against intruders, as part of Missouri’s new concealed carry law

Minimum wage: many states to see minimum wage rise in 2017

Minimum wage increases remain a contentious political issue but in 2017, a record 20 states and the District of Columbia will see increased pay for low-wage workers. The fight for $15 is on in New York and California. New York is working toward a statewide $15-per-hour minimum wage but Governor Andrew Cuomo has different timelines, depending on each industry and location in the state. California’s minimum wage will go up to $10.50, with the hopes of reaching $15 by 2022. Ohio’s state legislature took steps to block Cleveland’s efforts to reach a $15 minimum wage by passing a law that forces local jurisdictions to maintain the same wage as the state rate, which will go up to $8.15 in 2017.
The following minimum wage increases go into effect 1 January:

• Massachusetts: $10 to $11
• Connecticut: $9.60 to $10.10
• Arizona: $8.05 to $10
• Colorado: $8.31 to $9.30
• Arkansas: $8 to $8.50
• Michigan: $8.50 to $8.90
• Vermont: $9.60 to $10
• Maine: $7.50 to $9
• Hawaii: $8.50 to $9.25
• Washington state: $9.47 to $11

Several other states will raise their minimum wages later in the year. The Economic Policy Institute tracks all the changes here.

Domestic violence and sexual assault: hairdressers to provide support to victims

Starting 1 January, cosmetologists, hairdressers and nail technicians in Illinois will be required to undergo one hour of training on how to provide support to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. It will also be mandatory for establishments to hang posters with helpline details.
Several California laws passed this year will also go into effect, addressing the prosecution of sexual assault crimes:

• Following the Brock Turner case, California implemented tougher sentencing guidelines for sexual assault cases
• California removed the statute of limitations in some rape cases, meaning there is no time limit for filing charges against an alleged perpetrator. Some say the move was inspired by Bill Cosby’s case
• The definition of rape has also been broadened to include “all forms of nonconsensual sexual assault”

Alcohol and pot: Californians can get tipsy at beauty parlors

A new law allows beauty parlors and salons to serve up to 12 ounces of complimentary alcohol without violating state liquor law requirements.
In other substance-related developments, on election day in 2016, four states approved ballot initiatives legalizing recreational marijuana. Recreational pot will become legal in Nevada on 1 January. Maine’s law should go partially into effect in late January.
In Connecticut, advanced practice registered nurses will now be allowed to certify a patient for medical marijuana use (except for glaucoma). New York announced a similar regulation in November.

Health: doctors with religious objections will have to refer patients elsewhere

A new law amends Illinois’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act to require that providers, including doctors and clinics, who refuse services for moral or religious reasons ensure their choice does not endanger patient health. That means doctors must either refer patients elsewhere or at least provide information on alternatives.
The measure has proved controversial - a small number of clinics sued because they objected to giving referrals or information related to abortion. A judge recently issued a preliminary injunction temporarily preventing the state from enforcing the law against the clinics that sued, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Other new health-related laws:

• Illinois will require insurance coverage for FDA-approved contraceptives
• Illinois eliminated the tax on feminine hygiene products, often called the “tampon tax”
• A tax on sweetened beverages will go into effect in the city of Philadelphia, paid by distributors, marking the first time such a tax has been enacted in a major US city

More foam bans, more civics lessons

San Francisco will implement the country’s widest ban on plastic foam, which environmentalists say can take hundreds of years to degrade. The new law will ban the substance in food products such as meat trays, packing peanuts, ice chests, dock floats and mooring buoys, and even coffee cups.
In Tennessee, students will now be required to take a civics test before they graduate from high school. The questions will be similar to those on the US citizenship test, part of a movement to improve Americans’ engagement and understanding of the country’s democratic process.