New Year + New Laws = More Misery for Blue State Residents

With the dawning of a new year comes a slew of new laws. This year is no exception, with a bevy of laws in blue states that will certainly punch another hole in the hulls of many “ships” that are already listing or are dangerously close to the waterline.

As to be expected, California leads the list. Rick already reported on an appellate court’s decision to allow a new gun law to go into effect. At the start of last month, I mentioned a law that will mandate that stores in the Golden State have a gender-neutral toy section. 

But those are just the greatest hits. According to Business Insider, California’s new law mandating that fast-food workers receive $20 an hour takes effect in April. Knowing that they will have to absorb the hit, two California Pizza Hut operators, PacPizza, LLC, and Southern California Pizza Co., have announced that they will be laying off their in-house delivery drivers. Twelve hundred jobs are about to be eliminated. I doubt that any of those drivers relied solely on their delivery jobs for income. Maybe some did, but for many, it was undoubtedly a side hustle that helped meet the bills in a state where everything is overpriced and everyone is overtaxed. And for delivery customers, their only option will be to use a food delivery service. These customers, provided they have any money to spend on pizza, may decide to take a second look in the freezer before picking up their phones. And remember that this is a statewide law. I am certain that other fast-food outlets are eyeing job cuts and price hikes just to stay above water. Or as close to the surface as possible.

The Daily Caller notes that another California law bans the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment, such as movers, weed trimmers, blowers, mowers, chainsaws, and power washers. A large landscaping company may be able to take the hit when it comes to converting everything over to electric lawn equipment. The individual who has a small lawn care company? Probably not so much. Fulgencio Vazquez told the Sacramento Bee, “The people most affected are going to be the Latinos that don’t have a big business.” The Bee article noted that California is offering a $27 million Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project, which is known as CORE. Any guesses as to where California is going to get $27 million? 

The Caller also reported that another California law prohibits employers from asking employees about their off-the-clock marijuana use and keeps companies from testing their employees for weed. Employers can still test “highly active” employees, however. 

Related: DEI by Any Other Name Would Smell as Rotten

Michigan is expanding its civil rights to include gender identity. State justices will need to be mindful of attorneys’ pronouns. Whitmer has also signed new gun control legislation and a bill to make the state 100% carbon neutral by 2040. Whitmer contends that the move will save Michiganders $145 per year on utilities. Not so, says a think tank called the Mackinac Center. That group said Michigan residents can look forward to thousands of dollars in supplemental energy costs. Colorado has a new law banning single-use plastics. This would include such things as grocery bags and styrofoam take-out containers. 

Illinois is clearly jockeying to be the California of the Midwest. As of Monday morning, non-citizens who are legally authorized to work in the U.S. can now become police officers and sheriff’s deputies. This includes people in the country with green cards who fall under DACA. Illinois landlords will now be forced to sell or rent to illegal immigrants. Another law which takes effect late this year will give illegal immigrants the ability to obtain driver’s licenses. And, via the Caller from the We-Saw-This-One-Coming-From-A-Mile-Away Department:

Beginning on Jan. 1, Illinois will shut off state funding for public and school libraries that ban books for political reasons, including books that promote LGBTQ+ ideology, making it the first state to enact such a law, according to state Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office. Parents and lawmakers alike have expressed concern that some of the books in question contain sexually explicit content that should not be promoted to children.

It is tempting to enjoy a moment of delicious, delicious schadenfreude while snickering about how blue-state residents got what they voted for. But it is helpful to remember that many people may be marooned in one of the leftist enclaves for one reason or another. Remember too that the progressive appetite for laws, control, and destruction is both voracious and insatiable, and that the Left’s allies are legion and everywhere. What these progressives in these states have done to their people, they will gladly do to you, given the chance.