New state laws kick in for abortion, minimum wage, drugs in 2023

Here's a look at new state laws on abortion, drugs and minimum wage:

Abortion

• Californians voted to approve Proposition 1, which expressly guarantees a person’s "fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives."
• Tennessee's new law, H.B. 2416, will go into effect Jan. 1, requiring any "abortion-inducing drug" to be provided only by a qualified physician in a medical facility, and not through the mail or at pharmacies.
• New York will require every private insurance plan offering maternity care coverage to cover abortion starting Jan. 1.

Drugs

• The Inflation Reduction Act goes into effect on Jan. 1, capping the monthly out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 — but only for seniors on Medicare.
• Maryland, meanwhile, is capping the price of insulin for anyone on state-regulated insurance plans. The Insulin Cost Reduction Act will cap copayments at $30 for a 30-day insulin supply.
• New York began selling recreational marijuana on Thursday for those over age 21.
• Colorado will decriminalize psilocybin-containing mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs on Jan. 4 for people over 21. Additionally, it will be legal to grow the shrooms in private residences and to give them to others, as long as it's for "personal use" and no payment is made.
• Possessing up to 3 ounces of marijuana became legal in Missouri this month, after residents voted to legalize the possession and use of marijuana for those 21 and older. Applications for consumer personal cultivation will open in February.

Minimum wage

• Minimum wage workers will get a pay raise in 23 states due to laws passed in previous years, AP reports.

• Minimum wage in Washington, D.C., will increase to $16.50 for non-tipped workers on Jan. 1 and will go up again to $17 on July 1.
• In Virginia, the minimum wage will go from $11 to $12 per hour for most employees.
• Maryland's minimum wage will increase from $12.50 to $13.25 per hour.
• The minimum wage in Nebraska will go up from $9 to $10.50 per hour.