States will be enforcing new provisions governing digital content creation, kids’ social media use, and more.
As the nation turns the page on 2024 and rings in the new year, several laws are slated to take effect that could have a defining impact on 2025.
State laws governing everything from the use of artificial intelligence to transgender health care will soon be enforced, as will new identification requirements for domestic travel.
Here’s a list of some of the more notable changes ahead.
Abortion
New Yorkers voted on Nov. 5 to enshrine abortion as a right in their constitution with language prohibiting the denial of a person’s civil rights based on “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
The law will become enforceable on Jan. 1, 2025, though it is still unclear how much it will change.
State law already protects abortion through fetal viability, usually acknowledged at around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, and in cases involving a risk to the mother’s health or life.
Questions remain as to whether the anti-discrimination law will preclude all restrictions on the procedure.
The constitutional amendment also bars discrimination based on a slew of other characteristics, including national origin, gender identity, and gender expression.
Opponents of the measure have said those provisions could open the door to an array of other constitutional rights, such as transgender surgeries for minors, male participation on female sports teams, and voting rights for noncitizens.
Seven other states passed amendments to expand or protect abortion access, most of which have either already taken effect or are at the center of legal disputes.
REAL ID
Starting on May 7, 2025, all U.S. adults will be required to present REAL ID-compliant identification to fly domestically and access certain federal facilities.
Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The law sets minimum security standards for the issuance of driver’s licenses and other government-issued forms of identification.
The Department of Homeland Security has delayed the measure’s enforcement multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering effects on state operations.
“This extension is intended to provide sufficient time for individuals to obtain a REAL ID and for DMVs across the country to fully accommodate the demand for those licenses and identification cards,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s office said in March 2023, when he extended the deadline again to this coming May.
All REAL ID-compliant cards will have a star symbol on the upper portion of the card. U.S. passports are also an acceptable form of ID.
Air travelers who do not present REAL ID-compliant identification will be turned away by TSA at security checkpoints.
Reining in Artificial Intelligence
A pair of California laws will protect the voices and likenesses of actors and performers from digital replication through artificial intelligence.
One law requires professionally negotiated contracts to create such reproductions, while the other bans the commercial use of a digital replica of a deceased performer without their estate’s consent.
Similar laws will also soon be enforced in Illinois, which has banned the distribution of AI-generated audio or visual replicas of an individual without their consent.
Another Illinois law expands the definition of “child pornography” to include digitally manipulated, modified, or created depictions and prohibits the nonconsensual dissemination of digitally created pornography.
Social Media Changes
Children ages 13 and under will no longer be able to join social media platforms in Florida, starting on Jan. 1, 2025.
The new law also requires parental consent for those aged 14 and 15 to create social media accounts and imposes civil penalties and liabilities on non-compliant platforms.
Meanwhile, the parents or guardians of California children who perform in monetized online videos will now be required to set aside a percentage of the minor’s gross earnings from that content in a trust for his or her benefit.
Another law that will soon take effect expands the Coogan Law’s protections for child actors to include child influencers and requires their employers to set aside 15 percent of their gross earnings in a trust.
Ten Commandments
The deadline for most Louisiana schools to comply with a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms is Jan. 1, 2025.
“I believe this is a step in the right direction to restore morals and values for current and future generations in Louisiana,” Gov. Jeff Landry said after signing the law in June.
However, a federal judge disagreed, finding the law to be “facially unconstitutional” in his Nov. 12 order temporarily blocking its enforcement.
The lawsuit was brought by a group of nine parents of various faiths.
Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill, who is appealing the injunction, holds that it only applies to the five school boards named in the lawsuit.
“The injunction does not bind schools who are not parties to that litigation, which is ongoing in the Fifth Circuit. Accordingly, I look forward to working with the remainder of our schools as they come into compliance with H.B. 71,” Murrill said in a Dec. 30 statement.
Transgender Issues
In July, California became the first state to ban schools from requiring teachers to disclose students’ sexual or gender identities to anyone without the student’s consent. That law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
At the same time, a law banning transgender surgeries for minors will become enforceable in New Hampshire.
Gov. Chris Sununu signed the law earlier this year along with another measure barring male students from joining female sports teams. A judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of that law.
An Ohio law slated to take effect in February will require students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex.
The law does not prevent schools from offering a single-occupant or faculty bathroom as an alternative.
Wage and Benefits Increases
A long list of both red and blue states will see minimum wage increases at some point in 2025.
Those starting the year off with a hike include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington State. Florida and Oregon will join the list later in the year.
Congress last raised the federal minimum wage in 2009 to $7.25 an hour, though most states have set the floor higher. In some, like Ohio, the rate increases annually with inflation.
In addition to boosting workers’ wages, New York will also become the first state to offer paid time off for prenatal, fertility, and in vitro fertilization appointments.
Meanwhile, payroll deductions for new paid family leave programs in Delaware and Maine will begin on New Year’s Day.