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New state laws take on taxes, health care, salamanders

The new year dawned with an array of state laws taking effect across the country, offering a snapshot of issues that matter to Americans - from identity theft and sex offenders to dangers on the road.

Legislation approved in 2005 formally became law in many states on New Year's Day (though some measures take effect upon a governors' signature, or July 1).

This year, several states will take action to guard against the theft and misuse of personal information. New Jersey and Virginia will bar making public a person's Social Security number, while Minnesota will require businesses that hold such information to quickly notify clients if there is a breach of security.

After several high-profile sexual assaults against children, many states are placing more restrictions on offenders.

Michigan, for one, will now demand background checks of just about anyone working at schools, and it will ban convicted sex offenders from living or working within 1,000 feet of a school, or even loitering in the vicinity.

In California, paparazzi - photographers who chase celebrities for lucrative snapshots - could be hit with hefty civil penalties if they commit assaults. Victims can seek punitive damages and income earned from the pictures involved.

Taxes drew lawmakers' attention, too. Oklahoma cut taxes for nearly everyone, and New York cut them for those making more than $150,000 a year. Florida cut taxes on stocks and bonds. Nevada gave a tax break to property owners, while West Virginia lowered its tax on food by one cent per dollar.

Health care, too, continued to challenge legislatures. Missouri created a state prescription drug program for lower-income seniors to pick up costs not covered by the new federal Medicare prescription plan. Nevada now requires insurance companies to cover cancer patients participating in the earliest phase of clinical trials.

Wisconsin lawmakers expanded the state's health care program for the working poor to provide prenatal care and delivery services to illegal immigrants and inmates.

Complaints about illegal immigrants spurred a new Virginia law that will make such people ineligible for state or local benefits such as welfare or health care. Some illegal aliens, however, could still receive benefits from Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor.

And in Missouri, complaints about homeowners associations' overly broad powers brought a law that requires associations to delete "restrictive covenant" policies that discriminate by race or religion.

There had been accusations that such language remained in the laws of some associations in the Kansas City area.

Not all laws were so serious. Illinois approved a state amphibian, the Eastern tiger salamander, after it won 51 percent of Internet voters, beating the gray tree frog and the American toad.

In South Carolina, bartenders can use regular liquor bottles. For 22 years, state law required bartenders to use the tiny 1.7-ounce bottles most often associated with airplanes and hotel minibars.

Then, last year, South Carolinians voted the minibottles out, and lawmakers followed through earlier this year by approving regulations to give bars and restaurants the choice to pour from the big bottles starting Sunday.

[Last modified January 2, 2006, 02:30:25]