MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Texting while driving, smoking in public and cooking with artery-clogging trans fats will be that much harder under a bevy of new state laws set to take effect Friday.
Faced with huge budget shortfalls and little extra money, state lawmakers exercised their power to clamp down on impolite, unhealthy and sometimes dangerous behaviors.
Among the most surprising new laws set to take effect in 2010 is a smoking ban for bars and restaurants in North Carolina. It is the country's largest tobacco producer that has a history steeped in tradition around the golden leaf.
Texting while driving bans go into effect in New Hampshire, Oregon and Illinois.
And California becomes the first state to partially ban the use of artificial trans fats in restaurants in 2010.
