As in years past, the coming of New Year’s Day 2003 signified the enactment of a plethora of new laws around the country, including one in California requiring anyone caught using nuclear weapons to provide a sample to the state’s DNA registry.
“No longer will nuclear holocaust get in the way of unsolved crimes,” said the St. Francisco Chronicle, noting that 1,168 new laws took effect in the Golden State yesterday, and another 96 have already been introduced for the upcoming legislative session.
In California, terrorists who use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction must donate a sample to the state DNA databank, which is used to track unsolved crimes, the paper said.
The Democrat-controlled California legislature sent Gov. Gray Davis a total of 1,433 bills; he vetoed just 264 of them, and let one pass without his signature. The legislature managed to kill another 758 bills before they reached Davis’ desk.
In North Carolina, meanwhile, victims of domestic violence will be allowed to leave their addresses off driver’s licenses and other public documents; their mail can be sent to the attorney general’s office, which will then forward it.
“It’s important to put as many barriers as possible between domestic-violence abusers and their victims,” said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.
In Mississippi, a law limiting punitive damage awards in product liability lawsuits went into effect yesterday. Large companies can only be made to pay a maximum of $20 million, with less for smaller companies. The state, which had garnered a reputation for astronomical damage awards, also set a $500,000 cap for pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice lawsuits; the latter rises to $1 million in 2017.
In Omaha, Neb., a new law banning roosters as pets in the city limits took effect – officials there said the fowl make too much noise – and cat owners are going to be limited to five cats only, with up to 15 allowed with a special permit.
Back in California, video game arcades must now post a sign that says there is a video game rating system “somewhere in the world,” said the Chronicle.
In Nevada, young boat motorists now will be required to complete a boater safety course, while New Hampshire now requires insurers to provide coverage for substance abuse, several eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Illinois increased the penalty for injuring a police animal from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony if the animal is not killed or totally disabled, and from a Class 4 felony to a Class 3 felony if the animal is killed or totally disabled. A law aiming to improve roads in east-central Illinois targeted Amish horse-drawn buggies, allowing townships to charge a fee of up to $50 per driver, MSNBC reported. Finally, state employees will get paid time off when they donate organs, blood or blood platelets.
In Michigan, auto dealers can now charge up to $160 for document preparation, a $120 increase, while legislative, judicial and executive-office employees become eligible for early retirement.
Drivers in Kentucky will be able to obtain special license plates that advocate spaying and neutering pets.
Washington state chiropractors will be added to the list of those allowed to serve as officials at a boxing, kickboxing or martial arts event.
New York mandated that insurers cover more frequent mammograms, osteoporosis exams and doctor-prescribed contraceptives for women. Exemptions apply to churches and other institutions, such as seminaries, with a mainly religious mission and that primarily serve people of that religion if contraception is against the tenets of that belief, said The Associated Press.
In Maine, children between the ages of 4 and 8 will be required to sit in an approved child restraint system while riding in a vehicle, while in Alaska physician assistants will officially be recognized as health-care providers subject to similar malpractice and discrimination laws as doctors.
Many states, their revenues suffering from a poorly performing economy, have also raised taxes this year.
In Indiana, drivers pay three cents more per gallon of gasoline, while Kansas smokers must pay nine more cents per pack of cigarettes. Also, most workers in Nebraska were hit with higher income taxes.
State governments are facing budget deficits totaling more than $60 billion in the next fiscal year because of declining tax revenues, UPI said. State administrations also have to close the books on more than $17 billion in shortfalls incurred during the current fiscal year.
