Hundreds of state laws across the country are set to take effect in January, dealing with issues including housing deregulation, foam containers and the cost of dating apps.
Among the most controversial is a measure passed by California voters in 2018 that requires pork sold in the state—excluding meat in cold storage—to originate at farms that house breeding pigs with a minimum of 24 square feet each.
Animal-rights advocates say the rules protect against cruel treatment of farm animals, while pork producers say the space standards will make bacon more expensive and curb supply in the nation’s largest pork market. A coalition of California restaurants and grocery stores has sued to block the regulation.
California will require pork sold in the state—excluding meat in cold storage—to originate at farms that house breeding pigs with a minimum of 24 square feet each.
Photo: Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
Among a raft of new California labor laws are new restrictions on severance and settlement agreements. Employers may not enter into confidentiality agreements with employees that prevent employees from disclosing factual information relating to allegations of any unlawful workplace harassment or discrimination.
Another new California law bans large retailers from using productivity quotas at warehouse distribution centers that prevent workers from taking meal or rest breaks or that force workers to violate occupational health and safety laws.
On the criminal-justice front, California is also ending mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses and criminalizing the nonconsensual removal of condoms during intercourse.
In an attempt to ease housing shortages that drive up prices and contribute to homelessness, both California and Connecticut are allowing qualified property owners to add extra housing units either by splitting their lots, converting their homes into duplexes or converting a basement, attic or garage into a dwelling unit.
Connecticut is allowing qualified property owners to add extra housing units.
Photo: Seth Wenig/Associated Press
In Arkansas, state agencies will be barred from conducting employee training sessions that teach that the state or the U.S. is fundamentally racist or sexist or that one race or sex is inherently superior to another, among other concepts labeled as divisive. Several other states have passed similar laws.
The state is also lowering its top individual income-tax rate to 5.5% from 5.9%, the first step of a multiyear tax cut backed by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
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Colorado is making it easier for singles to try out dating apps without getting charged. A new law gives consumers of dating services a three-day window to cancel their contracts or subscriptions with a full refund.
A package of stricter marijuana regulations is also set to take effect in Colorado, one of the first states to legalize recreational pot. The new rules set a lower cap on the amount of marijuana concentrates with very high THC levels that consumers can purchase in a day, among other regulatory changes passed in response to concerns over the health risks to teenagers and their access to highly potent marijuana.
A first-of-its kind law in Illinois bars law enforcement from lying to minors during interrogation about evidence they have collected or enticing confessions with unauthorized promises of leniency.
In an effort to cut sugar consumption, the state is also requiring restaurants to make water, milk or 100% fruit juice the default drink in children’s meals. Consumers can still get sugary beverages by request.
New York is banning restaurants, food trucks and grocers from using takeout containers made of polystyrene foam in an attempt to cut down on pollution.
Photo: Gabby Jones for The Wall Street Journal
Illinois public-school students aged 7 to 17 can now miss a week of classes for mental or behavioral health reasons under a new law that grants them up to five days of excused absences a year without a doctor’s note. Another Illinois law protects the right of students to wear hairstyles “historically associated with race or ethnicity,” an antidiscrimination measure enacted in response to reports that a private school forbade a Black 4-year-old from wearing his hair in braids.
Another new Illinois law specifies that children under 16 years old may operate lemonade stands without regulation, a measure enacted following reports that local health regulators in Kankakee County forbade an 11-year-old girl from selling lemonade outside her home without a permit.
New York is banning restaurants, food trucks and grocers from using takeout containers made of polystyrene foam in an attempt to cut down on pollution. The same statewide law also bars manufacturers and stores from using polystyrene foam packing peanuts.
The new year is also ushering in higher minimum wages in 21 states and in dozens of cities and counties. On Jan. 1, more than 30 states, cities and counties will have wage floors at or above $15 for some or all employers, according to the National Employment Law Project. On Jan. 1, the minimum wage will move above $17 for large employers in Seattle, as well as in the Silicon Valley cities of Sunnyvale and Mountain View, Calif.
Write to Jacob Gershman at jacob.gershman@wsj.com
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