As we prepare to ring in a new year, the state is getting ready to roll out more than a dozen new laws starting Jan. 1.

The minimum wage is set to increase from $15.69/hour to $16.35/hour as part of a 2019 law signed by Gov. Ned Lamont requiring it to be adjusted annually based on the health of the economy.

“You work a full day,” Lamont says. “You deserve a fair wage.”

Also set to change is the amount of paid sick time some workers get.

Nearly all private sector employers with at least 25 employees must guarantee workers at least 40 hours of paid sick time each year.

It’s phase one of a three-step plan aiming to get nearly all private employees paid sick days by 2027.

Absentee ballot security will also be tightened. Municipalities are required to video record drop boxes during elections and release those recordings to the public. Town clerks must also track how they receive absentee ballots and report that data to the Secretary of State.

Home health workers will receive more protection starting in the new year, and Connecticut’s cannabis industry will see new regulations as well.

Starting Jan. 1, only licensed cannabis dispensaries registered with the Department of Consumer Protection will be able to sell products with 0.5 milligram to 5 milligrams of THC.