Thousands of Connecticut residents will see their marijuana records vanish into thin air, jaywalking won’t be a fineable offense in California and workers from coast to coast will see a pay increase once the calendar flips to 2023.
A new year means new laws are going into effect across the country.
Several states are nudging the minimum wage to $15 or legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults. Others will enact laws aimed at balancing public safety with what advocates call a more fair criminal justice system.
Californians will be allowed to cross the street outside of an intersection without fearing a fine of up to $250 for jaywalking, so long as a reasonable person would believe it is safe to cross the street without causing a collision.
Lawmakers said they passed the Freedom To Walk Act because low-income Californians are most likely to live in areas without crosswalks and be ticketed. Lawmakers also cited the risk of racial profiling by police.
“It should not be a criminal offense to safely cross the street. When expensive tickets and unnecessary confrontations with police impact only certain communities, it’s time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians,” said the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Francisco.
Illinois is replacing its cash bail system with a framework that bases pre-trial detention on risk to the community.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat,...
Police have launched an investigation into alleged false accusation by Park Cheol-min, a former member of the Seongnam International Mafia. Park, ahead of the 2022 presidential election, raised al...