Here are 5 hot-button laws taking effect in 2025

States across the country are bracing for new laws set to take effect as early as Wednesday, including some that have stirred controversy.

In Louisiana, a new law will require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools, including universities and colleges. Some areas won’t be required to enforce it amid a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, California passed legislation that blocks municipalities from requiring voter ID in elections, a move made in response to one city passing their own voter ID requirement.

Here’s a look at five controversial laws going into effect in 2025:

Ten Commandments in Louisiana schools

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed legislation in June that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public classrooms.

The law specifically requires that it “be displayed on a poster or framed document that is at least eleven inches by fourteen inches.” The legislation also adds that “the text of the Ten Commandments shall be the central focus of the poster or framed document and shall be printed in a large, easily readable font.”

“I believe this is a step in the right direction to restore morals and values for current and future generations in Louisiana,” Landry said in a post on the social platform X after signing the legislation into law earlier that month.

But the legislation hit a snag after several civil rights groups sued to stop the implementation of the law. A federal judge temporarily blocked the law in November as the case winds its way through the court system.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) noted in a statement on X that she would be publishing guidance around the law given the ongoing litigation, but she noted in a separate statement later on that “the injunction does not bind schools who are not parties to that litigation.”

“Accordingly, I look forward to working with the remainder of our schools as they come into compliance with” the law, she added.

California voter ID rules

California passed legislation this past summer that stops localities from requiring voters to present identification when voting.

“A local government shall not enact or enforce any charter provision, ordinance, or regulation requiring a person to present identification for the purpose of voting or submitting a ballot at any polling place, vote center, or other location where ballots are cast or submitted, unless required by state or federal law,” according to the bill text, which was introduced by California state Sen. and Rep.-elect Dave Min (D).

The legislation was passed after Huntington Beach voters earlier this year passed a charter amendment measure that would allow the city to require voter identification in elections. The move came amid a broader fight between the two parties around what voters should be required to have on hand at the ballot box. 

The measure, which would take effect in 2026, would also provide more in-person voting locations and allow ballot drop boxes to be monitored.

Law firm Perkins Coie noted in a blog post that there was ambiguity surrounding whether an already existing California law — which says it’s illegal to engage “in mass, indiscriminate, and groundless challenging of voters solely for the purpose of preventing voters from voting or to delay the process of voting” — applied to local jurisdictions. Min told CalMatters in April that his legislation was intended to correct any confusion around state law.

California officials sued Huntington Beach to block enforcement of the charter amendment measure, though a local court rejected the lawsuit. California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) have vowed to appeal.

New Hampshire gender-affirming surgery for minors

The Granite State will outlaw gender-affirming surgery for minors beginning Wednesday.

“A physician shall not perform genital gender reassignment surgery on minors in the state of New Hampshire,” according to the text of the legislation.

The legislation, however, does not impact “reconstructive surgeries on the genitalia of minors to correct malformation, malignancy, injury or physical disease”; “removal of malignant, malformed, or otherwise damaged genitalia”; “genital surgeries on minors with disorders of sex development”; or “male circumcision,” according to the law.

Physicians can also be disciplined if they make any referrals regarding a gender-affirming procedure.

“This bill focuses on protecting the health and safety of New Hampshire’s children and has earned bipartisan support,” Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said in a statement after signing the legislation in July. “There is a reason that countries across the world — from Sweden to Norway, France, and the United Kingdom — have taken steps to pause these procedures and policies. Even the Biden Administration opposes these youth surgeries, citing the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

Though these procedures for minors are reported as rare, issues involving transgender women playing in women’s sports and gender-affirming procedures for transgender individuals have stoked controversy in recent years.

The Biden administration also garnered backlash over the issue after it said in July that it was against gender-affirming surgeries for minors.

Texas vehicle safety tests

Noncommercial cars in Texas won’t be required to pass a safety inspection test each year, according to legislation that goes into effect starting Wednesday.

The state still requires Texans to pay a safety inspection fee each year of $7.50, or $16.75 for drivers registering their vehicle for the first time, which covers two years. The name of the fee is being changed to the "Inspection Program Replacement Fee."

Some counties will still continue to require emissions testing.

“Texans are responsible, fiercely independent, and I trust them to keep their cars and trucks safe while on the road,” the bill’s author, state Rep. Cody Harris (R), said in a statement to ABC13 in 2023.

But some law enforcement groups and other organizations like the Texas State Inspection Association don’t agree with the new law, which they say could make driving more precarious.

Guns on employer property in New Hampshire 

Employees in New Hampshire will be allowed to have their firearms with them on an employer’s property if they’re properly locked and stowed away in their vehicles, according to legislation set to take effect Wednesday.

“An employer or an agent of an employer may not prohibit an employee who may legally possess a firearm from storing a firearm or ammunition in the employee's vehicle while entering or exiting the employer’s property or while the vehicle is parked on the employer’s property as long as the vehicle is locked and the firearm or ammunition is not visible,” the bill text says.  

“An employer or agent of an employer is prohibited from requiring an employee to disclose whether or not the employee is storing a firearm or ammunition in the employee's vehicle, and no searches of the employee's vehicle for a firearm or ammunition may be undertaken except by a law enforcement officer pursuant to a warrant or pursuant to a recognized exception to the warrant requirement,” the text adds.

At the same time, the law also says that an employer isn’t liable for anything that happens with the firearm, including if it gets stolen.