New laws may yield gains in public safety
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Hope does spring eternal — on no occasion more than New Year's Day. That means there's no better time than the present to come to the following happy conclusion:
Democracy does produce measurable progress, after all.
It's easy to fuel this mild optimism (even before the partying begins) by reviewing a list of new laws that officially take effect tomorrow.
The laws represent a mixed bag, of course. The holiday hangover will still be in full flower when the tax double-whammy will start claiming its first victims. The ethanol tax waiver lapses at midnight, which means drivers pulling up to the pumps tomorrow should find gas prices up by about 11 cents.
And if they dash into the convenience shop to buy some aspirin, they'll find the general excise tax up by a half-percentage point as well.
What was that about hope, again? Oh, yes: Let's remain optimistic. The governor has proposed extending the ethanol waiver, so there's hope for relief down the road.
As for the excise tax, rail supporters can take solace in the fact that at least the extra payout will lay the fiscal groundwork for something as critical as mass transit.
Moving down the list, there are measures that represent significant improvements. Among them:
Perhaps these are baby steps toward needed public protections, but they're positive steps. Further laws can build on that — but that's a project for another Legislature, a story for another New Year's Eve.
Correction: A new law effective Jan. 1 requires booster seats for children ages 4 through 7, with certain exceptions. An editorial in a previous version of this story displayed incorrect information.
