New year, new laws: What states are doing differently in 2026

Here & Now Anytime

NPR

News

4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

New laws are taking effect across the country on Jan. 1. In Hawai'i, there is now a new tax on tourists that will fund efforts to fight climate change. And in Utah, a new law took effect that restricts some people with drunk driving convictions from purchasing alcohol. The Associated Press’ David Lieb breaks down some trends in state laws.

And, Zohran Mamdani is now officially the mayor of New York City. He took the oath of office shortly after midnight on Jan. 1. Vox host Astead Herndon interviewed Mamdani days before his inauguration, and joins us to talk about Mamdani’s policies and how he may influence the Democratic Party.

Then, piano bar pianist Jesse Rifkin explains what popularly requested songs say about the state of our politics.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for here and now anytime comes from MathWorks, creator of MATLAB and Simulink software for technical computing and model-based design.
0:09.2	MathWorks, accelerating the pace of discovery in engineering and science. Learn more at MathWorks.com.
0:17.5	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:27.9	Utah already has some of the nation's strictest alcohol laws, and it's getting even stricter.
0:31.0	Many states welcome the new year with new laws. It's Thursday, January 1st, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR
0:45.2	Boston. I'm Shiko Fuluti.
0:49.9	Today on the show, Zoran Mamdani is officially sworn in as New York City's mayor.
0:55.1	We have an opportunity to show that by serving New Yorkers, we can also showcase a politics that can serve working people wherever they may be.
1:03.2	And there's a new popular song at piano bars these days. What does that say about our evolving society?
1:10.0	I think we're not producing culturally unifying songs in the way that we might have as much
1:16.0	in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, even up to and including the 2000s.
1:24.6	But first, new state laws go into effect today.
1:28.2	If you're planning a trip to Hawaii this year, you'll have to pay a new fee that will help fund the battle against the effects of climate change.
1:35.4	And in Utah, a new law prevents certain people with DUI convictions from purchasing alcohol.
1:41.7	Let's get into more of these new laws with David Leap. He's a reporter
1:45.1	covering trends in state governments across the country for the Associated Press, and he spoke to
1:50.0	Celeste Headley. So let's talk about this new Hawaii law. You report that it's the first in the
1:55.5	country of its kind that will help deal with climate change. What does it do? Well, that's correct.
2:00.4	Now, many cities and states
2:01.7	already charge a special tax on hotel stays or vacation rentals, but what's new about Hawaii's is that
2:07.8	it is the first tax dedicated to helping fight the effects of climate change. Anyone staying at a hotel
2:14.4	there will pay an extra roughly 1% more per day, a little less than that, on their daily room rate.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.