Deepfake porn, plastic luggage and telephones at college: These are the brand new legal guidelines taking impact in America on January 1 | EUROtoday

When you get up feeling groggy on January 1, you don’t simply get up into a brand new calendar 12 months, however into a complete new authorized panorama, because the introduction of quite a few new legal guidelines takes impact.

From legal guidelines proscribing entry to the United States for overseas nationals from sure international locations to folic acid being a required additive for corn tortillas in California, and from plastic grocery bag bans to minimal wage will increase, Americans could have to regulate to each new state and federal legal guidelines on New Year’s Day.

While many measures replace present legal guidelines, others introduce sweeping modifications that might have an effect on thousands and thousands of employees, households, renters, college students, and customers nationwide.

Below are a few of the most notable modifications set to start in 2026.

Minimum wage rises in at the very least 19 states

Minimum wages will improve in at the very least 19 states on January 1, 2026, together with in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington state.

Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Missouri and Nebraska may also be part of the ranks of states the place hourly pay reaches or surpasses $15 for the primary time.

Full-time minimal wage employees in these states can anticipate annual pay will increase starting from $582.40 to $4,160.

Hawaii will see the biggest leap, with a $2 improve bringing its minimal wage to $16 an hour – the fifth-highest price within the nation. Minnesota will see the smallest improve, rising by 28 cents to $11.41 an hour.

Alaska and Oregon will elevate minimal wages on July 1, 2026, as will Washington, D.C. Florida’s improve is scheduled for September 30, 2026. Officials in Oregon and Washington, D.C., haven’t but introduced precise quantities.

Twenty states nonetheless have minimal wages at or beneath the federal price of $7.25 an hour, or no state minimal wage in any respect. Since 2009, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act has set the nationwide minimal wage at $7.25.

AI legal guidelines develop nationwide

Several states are rolling out new legal guidelines aimed toward regulating synthetic intelligence within the office and on-line.

Illinois will strengthen its Human Rights Act to ban employers from utilizing AI in ways in which trigger office discrimination and would require disclosure when AI is utilized in hiring or employment choices.

Texas will introduce its personal office AI guidelines, although with a lighter regulatory contact. Meanwhile, California is ready to launch the nation’s first effort at mandating broader security checks and transparency reviews for probably the most superior AI programs.

The state may also strengthen its legal guidelines towards non‑consensual sexual content material on the web, increasing present protections to cowl deepfake pornography and different AI‑generated or digitally altered specific pictures.

Colorado’s Artificial Intelligence Act is scheduled to take impact mid-2026, imposing risk-based obligations on builders and deployers of high-risk AI programs, together with influence assessments and anti-discrimination safeguards.

New paid depart and office protections

Several states are updating their labor legal guidelines in 2026.

Minnesota is introducing new paid depart legal guidelines, whereas Delaware is rolling out new paid household and medical depart advantages, and the identical advantages are set to be up to date in Washington.

Nevada would require sure employers to observe air high quality and restrict employees’ publicity to wildfire smoke. Washington will broaden security protections for workers who usually work alone, together with janitors, safety guards, and lodge workers, whereas Oregon will introduce new office violence prevention guidelines for healthcare suppliers.

Maryland would require counties with self‑insured worker well being plans to cowl preventive most cancers screenings for skilled firefighters for free of charge, eliminating copays, deductibles, and coinsurance.

In California, the state’s tortilla producers can be required so as to add folic acid to retailer‑purchased corn tortillas and corn masa merchandise in an effort to cut back delivery defects. Small companies that produce their very own masa can be exempt, and the transfer extends a apply already in place for flour tortillas, bread, and cereals.

Plastic grocery bag ban

California will part out plastic grocery luggage starting Jan. 1, 2026, underneath a brand new legislation aimed toward closing loopholes within the state’s unique ban.

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1053, which replaces the 2014 legislation that allowed thicker plastic luggage marketed as reusable.

Under the brand new legislation, grocery shops could solely present recycled paper carryout luggage for a minimal cost of 10 cents.

Lawmakers say the change is meant to cut back plastic waste and improve recycling.

Schools should restrict or ban cellphone use

Under the Phone-Free School Act, California colleges should restrict or ban cellphone use throughout educational time. Districts got practically two years to develop insurance policies and should replace them each 5 years.

The objective is to cut back distractions and enhance educational focus.

In North Carolina, a brand new legislation requires college districts to stop college students from accessing social media on school-issued gadgets and networks beginning January 1, 2026.

Landlords should present working home equipment

Also in California, starting January 1, landlords should present a working range and fridge as a part of minimal habitability requirements underneath Assembly Bill 628.

“A working stove and a working refrigerator are not luxuries – they are a necessary part of modern life,” stated Assemblymember Tina McKinnor.

“By making these necessary appliances standard in rental homes, California can provide all of its residents with a safer, more affordable and more dignified place to call home.”

No snack meals on SNAP advantages

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has authorized six new state waivers proscribing what will be bought with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program advantages.

Hawaii, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia will be part of states that ban sweet, soda and vitality drinks from SNAP purchases.

No extra loud commercials

California’s SB 576 will prohibit streaming commercials from being louder than the first content material.

The legislation takes impact in July 2026.

Cat declawing and pet mill legal guidelines

California will ban non-medically vital cat declawing and crack down on pet mills and third-party pet gross sales.

“And so if it has to be done, the veterinarians are now required to document why — the reasons and their procedures and any alternatives that failed, perhaps,” stated Madeline Bernstein of the SPCA Los Angeles.

“We’re trying to make sure that pet shops are dealing honestly,” Bernstein added, “and we’re trying to discourage the high-volume breeding operations that cause a lot of genetic, inherited, recessive-gene activity.”