Hundreds of new state laws set to take effect
In states across the country, hundreds of new laws take effect when the calendar switches from 2016 to 2017. Some new laws will raise wages. Others will broaden the availability of marijuana, either for recreational or medicinal use. Many states are cracking down on opioid prescriptions, by limiting the number of pills doctors can give a patient, or by limiting the potency of those pills.
But among the new codes on the books, a few legislatures took time to tackle measures that might not appear so crucial to the smooth sailing of the ship of state.
As budget negotiations between Democrats in the state legislature and Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) raged in Illinois, members took advantage of lazy summer days to update a state law, adding catfish to the list of species that may be taken with a bow and arrow, a speargun or pitchforks. Some legislators, especially from the Chicago area, were surprised that pitchfork fishing was even a thing.
"I would imagine there's not a whole lot of people off Michigan Avenue near the Chicago River taking fish with pitchforks," state Rep. Tim Butler, a Springfield Republican, told the Illinois News Network. "We might have people going to the capitol with pitchforks for some reasons, but certainly this probably was news to some of my colleagues from the city of Chicago."
When the new year rings in, Illinois will also have an official State Artifact — the pirogue, a long, narrow canoe used by Native Americans. The pirogue will take its place alongside the official state snack food (popcorn), the official state fossil (the Tully Monster), the official state dance (the square dance) and the official state insect (the monarch butterfly) ...
