NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- A new year means new laws for both Virginia and North Carolina.
Virginia
It will be easier to vote in Virginia in 2016 for students. Student photo ID cards issued by Virginia private schools will now be considered an acceptable form of identification for voters.
Also in 2016, the DMV can ask drivers to add an emergency contact to their records, to help law enforcement in emergencies. License-holders will be able to update or delete the information online.
And while not a new law, one change that will affect many drivers in Hampton Roads is an increase in tolls for two area tunnels. Starting January 1st, it will cost an extra 25 cents for most motorists who travel through the Midtown and Downtown tunnels. That's an extra $130 a year for commuters who use the tunnel twice a day.
In one month -- starting February 1st -- the Commonwealth will no longer accept conceal and carry gun permits from 25 other states. Lawmakers say those state laws are not as strict as Virginia's.
If you go up to the nation's capital, one change you might notice is the banning of Styrofoam food and drink containers. The Washington D.C. Council and then-mayor Vincent C. Gray passed the law in 2014 as part of a set of environmental initiatives that also includes requiring businesses to use compostable disposable dining products by 2017.
North Carolina
Residents of North Carolina are seeing more than 20 new laws going into effect with the new year. But out of those 23 laws, there are really only five that will impact your daily life.
Let's start with the one impacting your wallet: changes to the gas tax. Beginning January 1st, you'll save $0.01 off every gallon - now paying only $0.35 in taxes. But in exchange, charges for various services at the DMV went up like registration and license renewal. The goal is to create more money for highway construction and road maintenance.
Next, guns could be making their way into courtrooms. District attorneys now have the right to carry in a concealed weapon... with the proper permits, of course.
Anyone getting checks for unemployment now has to show they talked with five businesses every week, trying to get a job. Before they only had to contact two places.
Doctors have always had to give out pamphlets about alternatives to abortion before the procedure. But now that information about adoption and support programs has to go out 72 hours before, instead of just 24 hours. Abortion clinic inspection reports also have to be posted online now.
You can now freeze your child's credit to keep someone from stealing their identity. It is going to cost five dollars, but the attorney general's office says that's a pretty reasonable price for the peace of mind that your child will have a clean credit report when they need it.
Taxes will also be affected by the new laws. Standard deductions are going up for individual income taxes for 2016, and corporate tax rates will decrease.
