While the U.S. Congress took it easy all year, the legislatures of the 50 states were busy in 2011, enacting nearly 40,000 new laws regulating a wide variety of things ranging from possession of shark fins to making license plates for teachers to kids using tanning beds.
According to New Laws Ring in the New Year, from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), several states passed laws dealing with requirements for voting in upcoming elections.
The states of Kansas, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas all passed laws requiring voters to present a government-issued form of photo identification.
In November 2011, the non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice projected that state voting laws enacted since the 2008 presidential elections might make it harder or even impossible for as many as 5 million people to vote in the 2012 election.
A new California law allows "new citizens," persons who become U.S. citizens 15 days or less before an election, to register and vote on Election Day, compared with other citizens who must register at least seven days before the election.
Also See:
New State Voting Laws May Affect More Than 5 Million
It wasn't all about voting. California passed a law prohibiting the sale of live animals on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, or carnival. And, it is now against the law for California for commercial tanning salons to provide service to persons under 18 years of age.
Addressing the federal governments initiative to assist unemployed U.S. veterans, a new Oregon law requires all public sector employers to interview, with a few exceptions, all veterans who apply for jobs.
Both Oregon and California passed laws prohibiting the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins.
Drivers in Washington can now buy license plates honoring school teachers, while California drivers must now keep their kids in booster seats until they are 8 years old or grow to four feet nine inches tall. And California drivers convicted of three DUI violation can have their license suspended for up to 10 years.
Several states, including Nevada, North Dakota and Oregon passed distracted driving laws restricting texting or using cell phones while driving.
California Dreamin': Not to be confused with the federal version now stalled in Congress, the new California Dream Act will allow certain illegal immigrants to apply for student financial aid and to serve in any capacity in student government starting in 2013. The law applies only to persons who were 16 or younger at the time they entered the U.S. illegally, have graduated from a California high school and meet all other financial need and scholastic requirements for student aid. In addition, illegal immigrants receiving student aid under the California Dream Act must prove they are pursuing the legal path to U.S. citizenship.
Also See:
Federalism: National vs. State Government
Congress Took it Really Slow in 2011
Comments
CA DREAM Act is younger than 12. The population affected is 12-35.
Younger than 12, as in entered the USA younger than 12.