New Year Brings Array of New State Laws

[Clara T]

New Year Brings Array of New State Laws

Saturday December 31, 2005 1:17 PM

By ROBERT TANNER

AP National Writer

Legislatures sought ways to improve safety on the highways, demanding seat belt use in taxis and shuttle vans in Oregon, requiring motorists hogging the left lane to move to the right in Florida, and trying to discourage drunk driving in Tennessee by requiring that offenders help clean up state highways while wearing vests emblazoned with the phrase ``I am a Drunk Driver'' in 4-inch lettering.

In California, paparazzi - photographers who chase celebrities for lucrative snapshots - could be hit with hefty civil penalties if they commit assaults. Victims can seek punitive damages and income earned from the pictures involved. An incident in which police said actress Lindsay Lohan's car was rammed by a photographer's van spurred the law.

Taxes drew lawmakers' attention, too. Oklahoma cut taxes for nearly everyone, and New York cut them for those making more than $150,000 a year. Florida cut taxes on stocks and bonds. Nevada gave a tax break to property owners, while West Virginia lowered its tax on food from six cents per dollar to five cents.

Health care, too, continued to challenge legislatures. Missouri created a state prescription drug program for lower-income seniors to pick up costs not covered by the new federal Medicare prescription plan. Nevada now requires insurance companies to cover cancer patients participating in the earliest phase of clinical trials. Wisconsin lawmakers expanded the state's health care program for the working poor to provide prenatal care and delivery services to illegal immigrants and inmates

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5514511,00.html

[ixion]

1. kudos for the new left-lane law

frankly, I think that will do alot to reduce aggravation on the road.

[reprobate]

2. Florida, now the O.K. corral of the United States. Combine road rage with

the concealed carry law, and what do you get? Stuffing for body bags.

[ixion]

3. oh, it's not that bad

and I really think this left-lane law, which is really just enforcing the notion of "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT", which I find to be one of the most disregarded laws on the interstate.

You get these people out in the left lane paralleling the cars in the center/right lanes, and you create a jam with a whole bunch of pissed-off drivers behind you. If that lane would have been left open, as it should be, this would not occur. Nothing aggravates me more than to work my way up to the front of a clog, only to see that the reason for the blockage are three people driving the same speed right alongside one another. I find that obnoxious in the extreme, whether a conscious act or not.
;-)

[LifeDuringWartime]

4. that sounds like a situation to lay on the horn

seriously... give em a few honks ;)