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New laws go into effect in DC, Virginia, Maryland
A host of new laws are going into effect in the District, Virginia, and Maryland in 2020.
WASHINGTON - Several new laws take effect in the DC region in 2020, including many which take effect on January 1.
In Maryland, the minimum wage will gradually increase to $15. On Wednesday it will rise from $10.10 to $11 per hour.
Lawmakers in Maryland have also included a provision that takes effect on January 1, which requires police agencies to test all rape kits, with limited exceptions. The samples of DNA evidence from a sexual assault must be submitted to a lab for testing within 30 days of receipt.
The legislature also set aside $3.5 million to help local departments pay for the testing, aimed at cutting down on a backlog of unsolved rape cases in the state.
Residents in the District of Columbia will have to wait six months for the District's mandatory paid leave law to go into effect. Beginning July 1, private employers must offer employees eight weeks of paid parental leave, six weeks of leave to care for a sick relative and two weeks of personal medical leave.
Starting Wednesday, in Virginia sales tax is reduced on disposable diapers and feminine products. The tax rate will be 2.5 percent. It was as high as 7 percent in some areas of the Commonwealth.