美国国家公共电台 NPR What's New In 2018? Here's A Brief Tour Of State Laws Now In Effect

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

It is, of course, a new year, and that means a bunch of new state laws. You might have heard about some of the headliners like recreational marijuana here in California and minimum wage hikes in several states. There are some that might have fallen through the cracks. Luckily, NPR's Colin Dwyer has been spending his new year looking into them for us. Hey, Colin.

COLIN DWYER, BYLINE¹: Hello.

MCEVERS: So what are the ones we might have missed?

DWYER: Well, you mentioned minimum wage increases, but that's not the only workplace change afoot. In fact, maybe the most notable has to do with mandated³ paid leave. Washington state is now requiring all employers to provide paid sick leave. That makes it one of just a handful of states plus Washington D.C. to mandate² paid sick leave. And Rhode Island will join that list too in just a couple months. Meanwhile, New York is instituting a paid family leave mandate of its own. But also, there are a number of hot-button issues nationally that are being treated in states, including some stricter voter ID laws in Iowa and West Virginia. And meanwhile, in Tennessee, they are requiring colleges to offer broad First Amendment⁴ rights for speakers on campus. And that follows a number of months of speaking engagements resulting in protests and sometimes violence.

MCEVERS: Of course, not every state law has so much appeal. Have you found any strange ones in your research?

DWYER: So there is some bad news for exotic pet owners in South Carolina, unfortunately. Normal residents there can no longer acquire new exotic pets. So that means no apes, no lions, no tigers anymore. But that said, the 25 estimated exotic pet owners who currently reside in the state will be grandfathered into the new rules under certain new conditions. Also, in Illinois, Barack Obama is getting his own holiday. That is August 4. The former Illinois senator is getting a state holiday on his birthday. Now, unfortunately, you will not be getting any work or school off for that holiday. You will just be able to observe in his honor.

MCEVERS: Nice. And just give us one more that you might have found interesting.

DWYER: Yeah. So this one might be my favorite. This one brings us back to Tennessee, where, happily, barbers can now make house calls.

MCEVERS: Oh, phew (ph).

DWYER: Yes, exactly. Before, they were only able to do so if the client happened to be sick. But it turns out now that as long as you have your residential⁵ barber certificate, you can do business in private homes as a barber.

MCEVERS: NPR's Colin Dwyer. Thank you very much.

DWYER: Of course.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

3 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。