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Another new year has begun, which means dozens, if not hundreds, of laws have gone into effect as of January 1st, 2024. While we cannot cover all new 2024 laws in California, Arizona, Texas, and Kentucky, we will focus on a few we feel have the greatest impact on your everyday lives. California Gavin Newsom signed 890 bills into law last year. Some were relatively insignificant, while others were more impactful. For a comprehensive list, click here. California understands the importance of your health. Under AB 352, companies handling electronic health records are required to safeguard sensitive information, such as abortion, gender-affirming care, and pregnancy loss, for residents and visitors of California. Meanwhile, AB 663 enables mobile pharmacies to dispense treatment for opioid addictions in any community across the state. As California’s minimum wage rises to $16 per hour, fast food workers will see their minimum wage increase to $20 per hour thanks to AB 1228, while SB 525 raises the minimum wage for healthcare workers to $23. For anyone looking to rent an apartment, AB 12 limits the security deposit amount a landlord charges to a single month. And finally, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) will create a way for consumers to force data brokers to delete their personal information by 2026. In order to activate this resource, SB 362 requires data brokers to register with the CPPA. Arizona Several new laws in Arizona focused on bettering your finances. Prop 206 increases the minimum wage to $13.85, based on the 2021-2022 inflation rate. At the same time, a tax reform package replaces the state’s income tax scale with a 2.5% flat tax rate — a year ahead of schedule. Also, depending on the situation, one of Arizona’s new laws allows someone arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime the opportunity to request case records for that specific crime to be sealed. Texas Texas had a grueling year as it concerns the number of laws drafted and passed last year. Click here for a more comprehensive list. SB 3 will affect 70,000 businesses, which exempts them from the state’s franchise tax. The exemption will now allow for up to $2.47 million on the business’s total taxable revenue, doubling the previous exemption rate. Universities across the state may not be as excited. SB 17 bans publicly funded universities from activating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This includes creating DEI offices, hiring employees to work for DEI initiatives, and implementing DEI training as a condition of hiring or admission. Kentucky Less than a dozen laws go into effect in Kentucky. The most important involves income triggers from previous laws, which have now allowed the state income tax to drop from 4.5% to 4%. Meanwhile, electric vehicle owners must now pay $120 per year for road maintenance and upkeep. (Hybrid and electronic motorcycle owners will pay half that cost.) Learn more here.

Once again, as a new year begins, a bevy of new laws across the nation have officially gone into effect. Below are three important 2023 laws in California, Arizona, Texas, and Kentucky that residents of each state should know. California AB 2011, also known as the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act, allows for expanded housing to be built in areas currently zoned for commercial property. Unused retail spaces, office buildings, and parking lots can now be transformed into affordable housing and residential communities without the need to go through local approval processes. Almost every state will be raising its minimum wage this year. SB 3 will be raising California’s minimum wage to $15.50, but more importantly, AB 257, also known as the FAST Recovery Act, creates a council made up of workers, employers, and government officials. This council will set rules regarding minimum wage standards and other working conditions for fast food chains with at least a hundred employees nationwide. If someone has served time after Jan 1, 2005, SB 731 will allow that persons record to be expunged. Those with past violent felonies or who have been convicted of a felony within four years of the request may not be automatically eligible but may still petition for expungement. Arizona The minimum wage in Arizona is directly tied to inflation. Due to the current rate of inflation between August 2021 and August 2022, the minimum wage will increase $1.05 to $13.85. ARS 13-911 follows in the footsteps of California’s SB 731, except only those who are arrested and/or convicted after December 31, 2022 are eligible to petition the court for expungement. One year before it was originally scheduled to take effect, Arizona’s 2.5% income tax will dissolve Arizona’s current 4-tier tax structure into one flat rate for all citizens. Texas The court system in Texas is getting a major overhaul. HB 3774 creates new district, statutory county, statutory probate, and criminal law courts, will allow public access to the state court database, and changes certain regulations and how some proceedings are handled. SB 12 reduces the amount of ad valorem taxes—or taxes based on the assessed value of real property—that a school district can impose on elderly or disabled residents. As an amendment to the Texas Clean Air Act, SB 1210 forbids the prohibition of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant substitutes during construction of residential and commercial buildings. Kentucky The first of 230 new 2023 laws in Kentucky going into effect, HB 9 creates a new model for funding charter schools. These schools may now receive tax dollars from both local and state levels. To help students in higher education, colleges and universities in Kentucky must increase the due process protection rights for students under HB 290. Finally, HB 7 will require individuals to prove to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that they are working or volunteering in some capacity to receive public benefits. It will also impose stricter penalties for those abusing food assistance programs.