New laws in 2020

There oughta be a law. And now there is. A number of new laws both nationally and throughout our states take affect in 2020. The change that will affect the most people is the implementation of the Real ID Act. That will become the law of the land on October 1. That’s when anyone in the United States wanting to board an airplane, even when flying within the U.S., will have to have a new form of identification to replace their driver’s license. So if you haven’t gotten your Real ID yet, better not make any travel plans. In New Hampshire, it is now legal for a person seeking a driver’s license or Real ID to have the state mark their gender as an “X” rather than “F” or “M” for people who don’t identify as male or female. Other laws allow for the sale of recreational marijuana in Illinois and Michigan, the 10^th and 11^th states to adopt such laws. Another new law is being enforced in Hawaii where restaurants will have to begin offering healthy drink choices with every kid’s meal. And in California a new law forbids employers from discriminating against their employees or job applicants who have dreadlocks or cornrows. There are no new laws on the books in Wisconsin in 2020, in part because our lawmakers can’t seem to agree on what color the sky is. I’ll leave it to you to determine if that is a good thing or a bad thing.