As we turn the corner into 2025, federal policies are destined to change when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.
But alongside a busy election year, many states charged forward with their own legislative sessions, passing laws to tackle everything from restrictions on what eggs can be sold to penalties for those convicted in large-scale, smash-and-grab robberies.
Gun safety activists have touted a wave of newly passed laws aimed at educating consumers on the risks associated with gun ownership and securely storing firearms. Meanwhile, several new laws are aimed at tackling crime with harsher sentences, continuing a roll-back of criminal justice reform that has been unraveling for the last couple of years.
Here is a look at some laws going into effect on Jan. 1, 2025:
New gun laws in 2025: Here’s what to know about firearms laws rolling out in multiple states on Jan. 1
Criminal justice: New laws in effect Jan. 1, 2025 in states like California, Illinois
New gun laws going into effect
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California passed a package of laws strengthening gun safety regulations, including a law that requires customers to receive pamphlets about the reasons for and risks of firearm ownership. The state will also classify hate-based threats as a consideration for a gun violence restraining order.
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Colordo on Jan. 1 will require that any handgun in an unoccupied vehicle must be locked in a hard-sided container out of plain view, and the vehicle also must be locked, with some exceptions. In July, the state will also require an eight-hour training class for anyone who wants to apply for a concealed carry permit.
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New Hampshire is strengthening gun rights. The state is bolstering privacy protections around gun laws by prohibiting the use of specific merchant category codes, a piece of NRA-backed legislation found in more than a dozen other states. New Hampshire is also barring employers from forbidding employees from storing guns in locked vehicles. Those laws go into effect on Jan. 1.
These new Oregon laws start Jan. 1 A cap on insulin, penalties for ‘animal crushing’ videos
As crime rates fall back to pre-pandemic levels, states take different approaches to public safety policy
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California‘s law imposing harsher sentences for large-scale “smash-and-grab” retail theft goes into effect.
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New Hampshire’s bail reform holds some crime suspects longer, and the majority of the bill goes into effect on Jan. 1.
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Washington state is allowing harsher penalties for negligent driving in cases that include a fatality.
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In Illinoispolice will be required to undergo autism awareness training, Adult Redeploy Illinois Oversight Board will now be required to include two people who have participated in the program, and a new law will streamline the process for juveniles to clear their criminal record.
Minnesota: 6 retail cannabis stores allowed in St. Cloud, beginning Jan. 1
New Wisconsin laws taking effect Jan. 1: State park stickers, EV tax, affordable housing
Florida’s social media ban for minors going into effect amid legal challenges
Under a controversial bill set to go into effect Jan. 1, no one in Florida under the age of 14 will be allowed to have a social media account. This bill replaced one that Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed because he wanted parents to have more of a role.
Social media platforms will be required to terminate any accounts suspected of belonging to someone under 14. Account owners will have 90 days to dispute it. Anyone 14 or 15 years old whose accounts are targeted will have 90 days for a parent or guardian to provide consent.
More from Florida: Social media ban for kids, first responders harassment: these laws go into effect Jan. 1
The law adds hefty fines and civil liabilities for any social media sites that knowingly violate the law. However, the part of the law addressing social media has already been challenged on First Amendment grounds. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office announced last month that the state would not be enforcing it on major social media platforms until the court rules on a motion for preliminary injunction. A hearing was set for late February.
The law also requires any website with “materials harmful to minors” such as sexual content that is visible in Florida to add age verification to prevent access by anyone under 18 years old. Again, hefty fines will be levied against sites that do not comply. That part will go into effect on Jan. 1.
A similar law is on the books for Jan. 1 in Tennessee.
Tennessee’s new laws in 2025: Tenant rights, age verification for social media, adult websites
Texas: Car safety inspections no longer required starting Jan. 1, 2025
Eggs, gym memberships and pets focus of new laws in these states
Illinois is enacting a law to make it easier for residents to cancel their memberships. House Bill 4911 passed in the summer and will allow people to cancel gym memberships either via email or their gym’s website.
Pennsylvania will join more than 35 other states in helping to protect pets in domestic violence situations by giving judges the ability to bar a defendant from possessing, abusing or harming the victim’s pet, according to local lawmakers. The law is set to go into effect on Jan. 17, 2025.
Starting Jan. 1, all eggs sold in Colorado must come from a cage-free facility. Legislation requiring this was passed back in 2020. When the legislature passed the measure, it was under threat from an animal advocacy group that promised to introduce a ballot measure if lawmakers didn’t do so. The law also requires Colorado egg producers with more than 3,000 hens to provide a cage-free environment.
Connecticut: Minimum wage, laws on cannabis, healthcare going into effect in new year
Vermont: laws that go into effect in 2025 and what they do, plus a minimum wage hike
Nevada voters approved two ballot questions that will change the Nevada Constitution’s language. The state is updating language that refers to people with disabilities: “Insane” will be changed to “persons with significant mental illness”; “blind” to “persons who are blind or visually impaired”; and “deaf and dumb” to “persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.” The legislation also removes language authorizing slavery and involuntary servitude as possible criminal punishments.
Contributing: Matthew Rink, Melissa Brown, USA TODAY Network
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected], and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New laws go into effect in 2025: Eggs, guns, social media impacted
