The new year is just around the corner. Starting Jan. 1 2020, more than 250 new Illinois laws will go into effect. Here's a look at 10 of the more interesting laws that could impact your daily life.

EDUCATION

HB 26: All Illinois high school students with a GPA in the top 10% of their class will be accepted to Northern Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University (provided they meet other criteria like college preparatory curriculum requirements and test scores).

SB 1601: Starting in the 2020-2021 school year, U.S. history classes for K-12 students must include instruction on the history of Illinois.

HB 3550: Sex education courses and instruction in grades 6 through 12 will now be required to include an age-appropriate discussion on the meaning of consent. This includes teaching that consent is a freely given agreement to sexual activity, that consent to one activity does not include consent to others, that a person’s clothing, past activity, lack of resistance and more do not constitute consent, that a person can withdraw consent at any time, and that a person cannot consent to sexual activity if the person is unable to understand due to incapacitation from drugs and alcohol, being asleep or unconscious, having a mental disability or being a minor.  

LABOR AND WORKER'S RIGHTS

SB 1: For the first time since 2010, Illinois’ minimum wage is going up in the new year. Starting Jan. 1, minimum wage will jump from $8.25 to $9.25  with the minimum wage for tipped workers and employees under 18 (only those working part-time) increasing as well. Then in July, it will increase again to $10. In 2021 it will jump to $11. It will keep climbing until it reaches $15 per hour beginning on Jan. 1, 2025. 

MEDICAL CARE

HB 3435: Does your child need an EpiPen? Then you know how expensive those suckers can be. But in the new year, insurers will be required to cover medically necessary epinephrine injectors for children under the age of 18. 

SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY

HB 3534: This new law requires the Illinois secretary of state to allow applicants for a driver’s license or state identification card to choose from “male,” “female” or “non-binary” when designating sex – but it may not take effect until the secretary of state’s office updates its license and ID issuance system. 

BATHROOMS

HB 3711: The days of changing your babies diaper in the oddest place will soon be over. This new law requires every public place to have at least one “safe, sanitary, convenient, and publicly accessible” baby diaper changing station accessible to either both men and women, or in both the men’s and women’s restrooms. This doesn’t apply, however, to industrial buildings or nightclubs and bars that don’t allow patrons under 18. 

ROAD SAFETY

HB 1873: A lot of us have passed a school bus when it's red flashing stop sign is popped out. But you may want to think twice the next time you see one: this measure doubles the fines for illegally passing a school bus from $150 to $300 for the first violation and from $500 to $1,000 for any subsequent violations.

CANNABIS

HB 1438: Here's the big one. The most-discussed and highest-profile of the laws going into effect in the new year is likely the legalization of recreational cannabis. Illinois will become the 11th state to legalize marijuana, with adults over 21 now legally allowed to partake. 

At any given time, Illinois residents can have up to 30 grams of cannabis flower, five grams of cannabis concentrate and 500 milligrams of edibles. Non-Illinois residents can have up to half of those amounts. You can only buy marijuana at state-licensed dispensaries, and only partake in the privacy of your own home – otherwise you can be ticketed for public consumption. Landlords can prohibit cannabis use in their properties, and employers can still prohibit its use and drug test employees. Growing marijuana plants is only allowed for medical patients and even then, they can only have five plants.