As you may be aware, July 1 is the beginning of a new fiscal year in most states–46 of them to be exact (all but Alabama, Michigan, New York and Texas), and also the day when new laws enacted in the immediately preceding legislative session often are scheduled to take effect.
AP’s Michelle Price has a quick-n-dirty look at notable state laws kicking in today, from gun restrictions in Colorado to liberalized concealed-carry rules in Kansas; and from new abortion restrictions in eleven states to bans on use of drones in five states.
Kentucky repealed a ban on election-day alcohol sales (a throwback to the days when hooch-fueled fights between partisans were a regular feature of balloting, as evidenced in the central role they played in the Hatfield-McCoy megafeud), leaving South Carolina as the only jurisdiction maintaining a statewide ban. Given the longtailed consequences of the last midterm elections for state governance, maybe a good stiff drink before voting would have been entirely appropriate.
