A Smorgasbord of New State Laws for 2014

Credit: NCSL website

The National Conference of State Legislatures has published its annual list of New Laws for a New Year.

Of course, Colorado's recreational marijuana law has captured the attention of the news media (ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, etc.).

But there are lots of other interesting new laws reported by NCSL. The list is organized by topic:

• Children and families
• Crime and courts
• Drones
• Education
• Elections
• Employment
• Health
• Internet
• Marijuana
• Transportation

NCSL is a great resource on state legal developments any time of the year. Several subject-themed bill-tracking databases provide excellent coverage legislation. Here is a sample list:

• Education (assessment and testing, bullying, charter schools, English language learners, parental involvement, postsecondary, religion, teachers, vouchers)
• Elections (absentee voting, ballots, candidates, electioneering, poll workers and polling places, primaries, recounts, voter registration)
• Juvenile justice (defenses, detention, gang prevention, mental health, substance abuse)
• Sex offenders (civil commitment, registration, residence restrictions, sentencing)
• Unemployment (administration, benefits, taxes, training)

These databases can be searched by state, discrete topic, and/or status of the legislation.

The National Conference of State Legislatures is a must-visit site for an researcher exploring "hot topics."