New laws in D.C., Maryland and Virginia will change how much people are getting paid and how much resellers can charge for tickets.
Here’s a look at the new changes happening July 1.
District of Columbia
Minimum wage increase: The minimum wage will increase from $17 per hour to $17.50 per hour for all non-tipped workers, regardless of the size of their employer. Those who receive tips will be increased from $8 per hour to $10 per hour.
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“We aim to ensure that all businesses are informed about the District's full minimum wage increase to maintain compliance and guarantee that workers receive their rightful earnings,” D.C. Department of Employment Services Director Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes said.
The Office of Wage-Hour Compliance is responsible for ensuring all employers adhere to the wage increase. They also help employees receive any payment that doesn't obey D.C. wage laws, either administratively or through court action.
Maryland
Sale and resale of tickets: Ticket sellers will now have to disclose any information regarding ticket prices, including fees, taxes and total prices.
This new law will help avoid ticket price gouging and ensure resellers aren’t selling tickets they don’t have or selling at more than the initial price.
Retail alcohol delivery: There will now be an established direct-to-consumer permit that will allow businesses to deliver alcohol to a consumer.
This law will also have an established maximum amount that a recipient of an alcoholic beverage delivery may receive annually and repealing a maximum amount that a consumer may purchase when visiting certain alcoholic beverages manufacturers, etc.
Clean Indoor Air Act: Vaping will now be banned in certain indoor spaces, mass transport and places of employment. New signage must be properly posted in areas that prohibit vaping and smoking.
Legacy or donor preferences in college admissions: Maryland is now the third state to follow the ban on legacy admissions, alongside Colorado and Virginia. They are the first to implement this new law in both private and public institutions.
Virginia
Child marriage: The legal minimum age for marriage will now be 18. The old law used to allow teenagers aged 16 and 17 to be married with parental consent.
The new law will also ban underage people who were emancipated to marry.
Legacy admissions: Virginia was the second state to ban the practice of admitting students based on legacy preferences during the college decision process.
“There really wasn’t any pushback,” Virginia state Sen. Schuyler T. VanValkenburg, D, who sponsored the Senate bill, told The Washington Post.
Reduction of speed limits by the locality: This new bill allows Virginia cities to reduce the speed limit on highways to below 25 mph but no less than 15 mph on state highways. Localities are required to notify the Commissioner of Highways of a change in speed limit.
Declawing cats: Starting July 1, it will be illegal to declaw cats. Pet owners and veterinarians will face heavy fines if they’re caught violating the new law.
The law prohibits any procedure that removes a cat's paw, limb, tendon or digit of a cat that is for "cosmetic or aesthetic reasons or reason of convenience in the keeping or handling of a cat," the bill states.
