Hundreds of new laws go into effect across the country starting Friday from beer tasting to carrying guns in public. There are slightly more than 800 new laws in California alone.
Among some of the highlights:
MINIMUM WAGE: California's minimum wage is now $10 an hour. Oakland's minimum wage is now $12.25 an hour.
BEER BIKES: It's now legal for guests to drink alcohol on beer bikes in Sacramento with certain restrictions, as long as the city authorizes it. Beer tasting is already legal at farmers markets.
HOVERBOARD: Anyone under the age of 16 will not be allowed to ride a hoverboard on public roadways in California, according to a new state law set to go into effect on Jan. 1. Assembly Bill 604, approved by Gov. Jerry Brown in October, requires users to wear a helmet and will limit hoverboards on roads with speed limits that are 35 mph or less.
CHEERLEADING:
Cheerleaders will be treated as employees under California law, with the accompanying wage and hour protections. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, who carried the bill, was a Stanford cheerleader. But the move was started by a former Oakland Raiderette, Lacy T., who sued the team for this right.
VACCINES: California schools must ensure students have their shots in July, before the 2016-2017 school year begins. The law was sparked by a measles outbreak in Disneyland.
Local
DMV: It will be illegal to wear earbuds in both ears or headsets while driving a vehicle or riding a bicycle in the state of California. SB 491 does not apply to drivers in emergency vehicles or those drivers wearing covering for safety reasons.
SMOKING: Hawaii will be the first in the nation to raise the legal smoking age to 21. The law applies to cigarettes, cigars and also electronic cigarettes.
GUNS: Concealed guns are not allowed on any school campus. And toy guns have to look more like toys, and less like real guns - a push that resulted from the death of 13-year-old Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa who was killed by a sheriff's deputy while carrying an airsoft rifle that looked like an AK-47.
