In the busy election year of 2024, many states have been pushing their own legislation, with many of these laws set to take effect on January 1, 2025. These laws cover a wide range of topics, from gun control, social media restrictions for minors, marijuana sales, regulations on raising egg-laying hens, to canceling gym memberships, among others. The diverse contents of these laws will impact various aspects of people’s daily lives in society.
Gun safety advocates have been actively promoting a series of new laws aimed at educating gun buyers on understanding the risks associated with owning, carrying, and safely storing firearms.
California has passed a series of laws to strengthen gun safety regulations. One law enhances the rule prohibiting the purchase of more than one handgun within 30 days. Another law requires gun dealers to provide buyers with a booklet outlining the risks of gun ownership, including increased risks of family members dying from suicide, homicide, or accidental injuries. Additionally, one law guides courts to broaden the considerations for expanding gun violence restraining orders to include threats of violence, especially those based on hate. These laws will be effective from January 1, 2025.
Colorado will require any handgun in unmanned vehicles to be locked in a non-visible hard-sided container starting on January 1. From July 1, the state will also mandate an eight-hour training course for anyone seeking a concealed carry permit.
New Hampshire is enhancing gun rights by banning the use of specific Merchant Category Codes (MCC) to strengthen privacy protections regarding gun laws. This legislation, supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA), prohibits employers in New Hampshire from prohibiting employees from storing guns in locked vehicles. These laws will take effect on January 1.
Kentucky’s MCC ban will also go into effect on January 1, 2025.
According to the NRA, in 2024, 10 states passed MCC bans, with at least 5 additional states passing similar laws before that. A few states also passed legislation requiring MCC, including California.
Minnesota passed a binary trigger ban, effective on January 1. This ban prohibits triggers that allow a gun to fire once when the trigger is pulled, then again when it is released.
Delaware will designate university campuses as secure zones, making it a felony to possess firearms on campus starting from January 1.
New York will require gun dealers to post notices starting from January 7, warning buyers about the risks of gun ownership.
In 2025, New York will also implement Extreme Risk Protection Order registration statewide, allowing temporary gun ownership bans for individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others.
As we enter 2025, many states are enacting new legislation to combat crime and ensure public safety. Over the past two years, both parties’ lawmakers have taken action, passing legislation aimed at “tough on crime,” as violent crime surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but current crime rates seem to have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Though the efficacy of harsher punishments in deterring crime is widely debated, the laws taking effect in January this year offer stricter sentencing guidelines.
California’s law imposing harsher penalties for large-scale “smash-and-grab” retail thefts will take effect on January 1.
Colorado has raised the threshold for convicted individuals to become eligible for parole. Effective January 1, those convicted of certain offenses will be required to serve 85% of their sentence, up from 75%, before being eligible for parole. Additionally, individuals convicted of three or more violent crimes will be ineligible for parole.
New Hampshire’s bail reform extends the detention period for some suspects, with most of the provisions taking effect on January 1.
Washington allows for harsher punishments for negligent driving resulting in death.
In Illinois, a new law focuses on progressive justice reform, requiring law enforcement officers to undergo training on how to interact with individuals with autism. Another new law simplifies the process of expunging juvenile criminal records. In Illinois, the term “offender” has been replaced with “individual impacted by the justice system” under a law from 2009.
Missouri’s update to the Criminal Record Expungement Act from 2012 expands eligibility, allowing individuals to seek expungement of criminal records more than once, starting on January 1.
In Alabama, the “Free Voice Act,” effective in October, imposes harsher penalties for individuals convicted of trafficking minors.
Starting from January 1, Minnesota allows for the opening of six retail marijuana stores in St. Cloud.
Connecticut has strengthened management of marijuana products, limiting the sale of products containing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) between 0.5 mg and 5 mg per container to be sold only by cannabis businesses or individuals certified by the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). Effective January 2, wholesale distributors selling THC-infused beverages must pay a $1 tax per container sold and must retroactively pay taxes for the past six months.
A law that came into effect in Florida on January 1 requires individuals under 14 years old in the state not to own social media accounts. Those aged 14 to 15 will have 90 days to solicit parental or guardian consent to open social media accounts. The law imposes hefty fines and civil liabilities for any social media platforms that intentionally violate the regulation.
The law also mandates websites containing “harmful materials for minors” to implement age verification to prevent access by individuals under 18. Significant fines are imposed on non-compliant websites.
Tennessee has implemented a similar law effective from January 1.
Starting from January 1, Tennessee will prohibit residents of certain countries from owning agricultural land in the state. According to the law, residents from China, Iran, North Korea, and other countries governed by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations are not allowed to purchase shares of agricultural land where the law defines agricultural land as land used for forestry, timber, pasture, or agricultural purposes.
A law effective from July in Connecticut requires video monitoring of absentee ballot drop boxes. Cameras must record from the day absentee ballots are issued until the election officials remove ballots from the box. The videos must include proof of date and time. These videos must be made public within five days, and municipal governments must keep video recordings for a year.
Connecticut has a series of new laws in effect: most employees in the state will now have more opportunities to use paid sick leave; a comprehensive healthcare law including training and resources for family healthcare providers to prevent workplace violence, including threats from clients.
Vermont’s law effective from January 1 mandates that colon cancer screening health insurance coverage align with recommendations for low-risk individuals from the US Preventive Services Task Force. The law continues to require coverage for colon cancer screening tests recommended by attending clinical physicians and laboratory testing for high-risk patients and continues to prohibit cost-sharing requirements for high-risk and low-risk patients.
Starting from January 1, all eggs sold in Colorado must be from free-range facilities, not from hens in cages.
Illinois’ law being implemented makes it easier for residents to cancel memberships, allowing individuals to cancel gym memberships through email or the gym’s website.
Wisconsin has a series of new laws taking effect from January 1, one law imposing a new consumption tax of 3 cents per kilowatt-hour on electric vehicle owners; another expediting the approval process for affordable housing and increasing the difficulty for “obstructors”; there is also a law allowing the state’s annual park passes to be valid for up to 12 months from the date of purchase, as opposed to being limited to the calendar year of purchase.
Another law in Florida effective from January 1 specifies that acts of obstruction, threats, or harassment against emergency personnel will constitute a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days’ imprisonment.
Another new law in Tennessee requires landlords to provide certain contact information to new tenants when signing lease agreements.
Texas no longer requires vehicle safety inspections starting from January 1, 2025.
Nevada’s new law will change the wording of the state constitution: outdated terms regarding individuals with disabilities will be updated, such as changing “mentally defective” to “person with a severe mental illness”, “blind people” to “people who are blind or visually impaired”, and “deaf-mute” to “people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment”.
Pennsylvania will join over 35 other states in helping protect pets in cases of domestic violence by giving judges the ability to prohibit defendants from owning, abusing, or harming a victim’s pets. This law will be effective on January 17, 2025.
Oregon’s new laws effective on January 1 will set insulin price caps and impose penalties for “animal cruelty” videos.