New laws that affect counties have been going into effect since July 2011.
One creating some concern in Florida is a new state law that went into effect Oct. 1. This law, supported by the National Rifle Association, prohibits any county from enforcing local gun-control regulations. Florida counties were scurrying to find all references in their ordinances, brochures and notices that address the use or regulation of guns, or face major fines.
According to this new law, local officials face $5,000 fines or possible removal from office for adopting or enforcing any local gun laws. It also allows anyone with a state concealed-weapons permit to carry guns anywhere in the state, even in Orange County, which had prohibited guns in its parks.
The parks manager in the county says that that they can take down the signs referring to their former gun ban, but the cost of reprinting brochures to delete references to gun use rules means that they will probably use markers to obscure any wording about guns in their existing inventory.
In North Carolina, the passage of the Justice Reinvestment Act by the General Assembly, which went into effect on Dec. 1, means that people convicted of misdemeanors under state law will serve their sentences in county jails and not in state custody. There is no guarantee that they will wind up serving their sentences in the county where they committed their crimes. They could be transferred to any jail in the state.
This new program, adopted to help with a growing prison population in the state, will be administered by the North Carolina Sheriffs Association, and counties will be reimbursed for housing these prisoners from a new $50 fee added to court costs. More than 50 counties have agreed to participate and will receive $40 a day plus any major medical costs that require out-of-jail treatment.
Worker e-verification laws have gone into effect in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia. These laws require businesses with a stated minimum number of employees to use the federal database called E-Verify to assure that all employees are legal residents of the country. California on the other hand, now prohibits any local government from requiring a private employer to use the federal E-Verify system unless it is required by federal law or is a condition of receiving federal funds.
A new law in California makes it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed and unloaded hand gun in a public place in an incorporated city or in specific unincorporated areas of a county.
Numerous states have tackled distracted driving by passing laws, some of which target specific age groups. A new Nevada law prohibits all drivers from text messaging and using handheld phone devices behind the wheel. North Dakota’s law bans drivers under 18 from using cell phones in their cars and another bans all drivers, regardless of age, from text messaging while driving. In Oregon, which already had a ban against using cellphones while driving, the legislature adopted a law prohibiting texting that provides exceptions for roadside-assistance vehicles and vehicles owned by utility companies.
In a piece of legislation that addresses an issue that is gaining traction throughout the country, Montgomery County, Md. required all vendors to charge 5 cents for each paper or plastic bag used to carry goods. This charge is levied at the point of sale, pickup or delivery, and retailers get to keep 1 cent of each nickel they collect. The money from this fee will go to the County Water Quality Protection Charge fund.
As of Jan. 1 in California, local public entities are prohibited from filing for Chapter 9 federal bankruptcy unless they have participated in a designated neutral evaluation process with all interested parties or they can declare a fiscal emergency. This fiscal emergency can only be declared by a majority vote of the governing board at a public hearing, where the board has adopted a resolution demonstrating that the financial situation puts the health, safety and well-being of the residents in jeopardy.
Another new law in California allows local governments to regulate the shape and size of advertising signs on motor vehicles that are parked or standing on public streets and rights of way.
In Texas, a new law that went into effect last September affects only counties with populations of less than 5,000. The bill is designed to discourage these small counties from setting up speed traps by requiring that they surrender all revenue from speeding violations that exceed 30 percent of their annual revenue to the state.
Some officials commented that there would no longer be a reason to stop people and write tickets after they reach their threshold. Others think the new law will encourage some small counties to get into the speed trap business.
One saving grace in the new law is that counties can decide to use the fine revenues that they can keep for other purposes in their budgets.
A new law in North Carolina, which went into effect Jan. 1, is designed to limit the number of legal purchases of pseudoephedrine, a primary component of meth. The law controls purchases by requiring customers to show a photo ID, sign a log and agree to purchase no more than two packages at a time during a period of 30 days.
As of Jan. 20, the enforcement of this law has prevented the purchase of 2,000 packages of pseudoephedrine, enough to make 3.8 kilograms of meth. Union County, with a population of about 200,000 blocked 104 purchases in the same period of time. In 2011, the county was in the top 10 counties in the state for meth lab arrests.