New US Laws Taking effect in 2015

The Guardian has taken the time to round up some of the new state laws across the US that will take effect on January 1, 2015.

New US state laws taking effect on Thursday give livestock in California more living room, approve direct-to-consumer wine shipments in Massachusetts and levy the ultimate punishment on wannabe teenage drivers in Nevada by denying them licenses if they skip too much school.

Other laws will allow Louisiana teens as young as 16 to register to vote, crack down on meth dealers in Michigan, end tax breaks for Hollywood in North Carolina and raise the minimum wage in Ohio, New York, Rhode Island and elsewhere.

And, although it doesn’t take effect until early February, a new New York law takes out this year’s “Who knew?” prize by banning tiger selfies, which have been used by young men as profile photos on social media and dating sites.

via New York to ban tiger selfies – and
other new laws taking effect in 2015.

Some of the highlights from their extensive list:

• In Utah, cities and towns can no longer ban specific dog breeds within their limits. At least 10 cities now have restrictions that ban ownership of breeds such as pit bulls.
• In Louisiana, law enforcement agencies must provide a tally of the number of untested rape kits on their shelves. The state has a huge backlog of untested kits that, if tested and added to existing databases,  could go a long ways towards getting repeat rapists off the streets.
• State police in Michigan will be required add methamphetamines makers to a national database to help end current practices by meth makers of jumping from state to state to avoid capture.
• North Carolinians selling their homes will have to disclose if the mineral rights under the property have already been sold or leased to a gas or oil extractor.
• And my favorite:  in Louisiana, citizens aged 16 or 17 can register to vote when getting their a driver’s license. Of course, they still won’t be able to vote until after they turn 18.

The Last Soviet Institutions Shut Down

December 31: As of this date in 1991 the last official Soviet Union institutions ceased operations and the Soviet Union was effectively dissolved.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) officially ceased to exist on December 26, 1991 by declaration no. 142-H of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. This declaration acknowledged the independence of the 12 remaining republics of the Soviet Union, and created the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

For most of the Twentieth Century, the activities of the USSR had a huge effect on the United State’s foreign and military policy. Historians have not fully agreed on the dates of the Cold War era, but 1947–1991 is commonly used in textbooks.

The Cold War and its events have left a significant legacy, including major effects on popular culture in the US and Europe. These are especially prevalent in movies and literature around the theme of espionage (such as the internationally successful James Bond film series) and the threat of nuclear warfare that has been used in both dramatic and comedic movies.

Texas Admitted as the 28th State in 1845

December 29: On this day in 1845, six months after the congress of the Republic of Texas accepted U.S. annexation of the territory, Texas was admitted into the United States as the 28th state.

The Republic of Texas (Spanish: República de Texas) was an independent sovereign nation in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. It was bordered by the nation of Mexico to the southwest, the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast, the two US states of Louisiana and Arkansas to the east and northeast, and the United States territories encompassing the current US states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico to the north and west. The citizens of the republic were known as Texians.

Dr. Patricia Turner on society.

“Cultures function and persist by consensus.”

– Patricia A. Turner

Dr. Patricia A. Turner is dean and vice provost for undergraduate education at UCLA and is the author of four books.

Henry Clay on the role of trust in a representative form of government

“Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”

– Henry Clay

Henry Clay (1777-1852) was Speaker of the House, Secretary of State, and a US senator during his long career in public service. Clay played a major role in both the Missouri Compromise (1820) and the Compromise of 1850.