The new year is right around the corner, and so are some new laws for our region. Here’s what you can expect to take effect in D.C., Maryland and Virginia starting on Jan. 1, 2025.

DC laws

Banning right turns at red lights

D.C. drivers will no longer be allowed to turn right at a red light, unless the District Department of Transportation has installed a sign permitting it under certain circumstances.

This comes as a provision of the Safer Streets Amendment Act of 2022. DDOT will have to post on its website which intersections will allow right turns at red lights. Additionally, the rationale behind choosing said intersection and the date the sign will be posted.

Cash payments

D.C. retailers must accept cash payments. The law prohibits businesses from refusing cash payments, from putting signs up denying cash payments and from charging a customer more for using cash. Exceptions include if the customer is shopping online, if the business sells liquor, or if it’s open late at night.

Health care coverage for home visiting programs

Home visiting services will be required to be covered or reimbursed through health care coverage like Medicaid, the DC HealthCare Alliance and the Immigrant Children’s Program, as long as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approves it. The services must be through an eligible home visiting program.

Home visiting programs are services provided to young children and parents by the DC Department of Health, such as providing in-home parenting education and home visitation for pregnant or postpartum people.

Health care data transparency 

A utilization review entity, which provides authorization reviews for health insurance, has to make information regarding approvals, adverse determinations and appeals readily and publicly available on its website.

For access to all of D.C.’s new laws in effect on Jan. 1, 2025, click here.

Maryland laws

Maryland work zone fines

Speed cameras will be placed and fines will increase in work zones through an expansion of the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act. Fines for speeding in work zones range from $60 to $500, depending on how fast the driver is going. Those fines will double if there are workers present.

The bill is due to recommendations from the Governor’s Work Zone Safety Work Group, a group created after a speeding incident in March 2023. On I-695 near Woodlawn, six construction workers were struck and killed in a work zone by a driver going over 100 mph.

Housing expansion and affordability 

This requires jurisdictions to permit the placement of “a new manufactured home or modular dwelling” in areas that are meant for single-family homes, given said area meets multiple requirements. It also requires jurisdictions to increase uses in certain zoning areas for “qualified projects.”

The goal of this law, signed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore earlier this year, is to make housing more affordable by making construction more accessible.

Opioid overdose and opioid-related hospital treatment

Every Maryland hospital must have the capability of treating a person who shows opioid-related symptoms or overdose in the emergency room, have the proper treatments for opioid-use disorder and must have appropriate intervention policies before releasing a person who was admitted for opioid-related illness.

Hearing aids for adults

Health insurers, nonprofit health service plans and health maintenance organizations must provide coverage for adult hearing aids. There may be a limit of $1,400 per hearing aid for every 36 months. The hearing impaired adult may choose a more expensive hearing aid and pay the difference.

For access to all of Maryland’s new laws in effect on Jan. 1, 2025, click here. 

Virginia laws

Minimum wage increase

Virginia’s minimum wage will increase from $12.00 per hour to $12.41 per hour. The law requires all employers under the Virginia Minimum Wage Act to adjust their pay accordingly.

Ethnic origin discrimination

Ethnic origin is now a protected class as an addition of the Virginia Human Rights Act. This expansion prohibits any discrimination or harassment in the workplace or in public in the Commonwealth.

Data controllers transparency

Data controllers are required to restrict the collection of data to only what is necessary as it pertains to the context of the data collected. It requires that controllers do not use personal data outside of the scope of what is “reasonably necessary,” as it is disclosed to the consumer, unless direct consent is given otherwise.

It also requires that controllers do not process certain data of a known child for targeted ads, selling personal data or gathering information about a precise geolocation, unless it is considered “reasonably necessary” or parental consent is given.

Coverage for colorectal cancer screening

Health insurers are required to provide coverage for colorectal cancer examinations and testing. This law requires that following a noninvasive screening test, a follow up colonoscopy must be covered — meaning it’s exempt from deductibles and other costs of service.

Procedure for preelection withdrawal resulting in an unopposed race

If a person running for an elected position chooses to drop out 44 days or less before the primary election, which results in one person in the race running unopposed, the unopposed candidate will immediately become the nominee for the political party, and the primary election will be canceled.

For access to all of Virginia’s new laws in effect on Jan. 1, 2025, click here.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Move over, Moo Deng.

A Virginia zoo got a hippopotamus for Christmas because only a hippopotamus would do.

A female pygmy hippopotamus calf was born at the Metro Richmond Zoo in early December, marking the third calf of the endangered species to be born at the zoo in the last five years, officials said.

The mother hippo Iris gave birth to the yet-to-be-named calf on Dec. 9 and the zoo is currently holding a contest to name the new calf.

A whopping 14,000 people flocked to vote on a potential moniker, and the options have been narrowed down to Poppy, Juniper, Hammie Mae, and Omi.

The baby girl is the river horse’s third calf shared with her current mate, Corwin.

Iris keeps to a schedule. The new hippo is the second she has given birth to in December, according to the zoo. All three of her offspring have been female as well.

“Most people don’t get a hippopotamus for Christmas at all, so we feel lucky to have received two over the years,” zoo officials said in a news release Tuesday — in a nod to the famous holiday tune.

The new baby had a neonatal exam and weighed in at 15 pounds, a mere fraction of the 600 pounds officials say fully grown pygmy hippos can boast.

Hippos are usually a naturally polygamous species, but it’s been slim pickings for the pygmies over the last few decades.

When the hippo was declared endangered in 2015, there were only about 2,500 mature ones left, and even then officials were pulling that from a 1993 population estimate, according to the Zoological Society of London.

“This birth – like all of Iris’ births – plays an important role in helping protect this rare and elusive species. Unlike common hippos, pygmy hippos do not live in groups and are usually solitary or in pairs. For this reason, once Iris’ two previous calves grew up, they were moved to other zoological facilities to live with future mates and continue contributing to the conservation of their species,” the zoo wrote in the news release.

Earlier this year, another baby pygmy hippo took the internet by storm. Moo Deng, a newborn at a zoo in Thailand with a penchant for trying to bite people, captured the hearts of people far and wide and became one of the most prolific memes of the year.