NEW YORK (WABC) — A number of law new laws went into effect at midnight to start 2024. They include raising the minimum wage in New York City and Westchester to $15 per hour, increasing it to $16 across the rest of the state, and reducing penalties for those who commit certain types of bias-related crimes. In addition, a new law, named after Matthew Horan, will make drug testing resources more readily available for people struggling with addiction. It allows local pharmacies to give out fentanyl and other drug adulterant test kits. The law is a way to help save lives and decrease accidental drug overdoses.

A law new is legislation that has been proposed, debated and passed by Congress or another legislative body. It can be a new regulation, statute, or bill. A law may have several parts and may be drafted in different ways by the various authors. The final draft becomes the official law that governs behavior in society or country. Think of a student group project where students propose different ideas about how to improve school and they finally agree on one idea, which then becomes the official rule that all the students must follow.

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