Minimum wage in Illinois will rise to $ 12 an hour, criminal justice reform will continue to update police standards, residents of public housing will be able to keep pets, and students will soon be able to take days of mental health without a medical certificate.

In addition, schools will soon no longer be able to discriminate on the basis of hairstyles, Juneteenth will become a paid holiday, and governments will soon no longer be able to close children’s lemonade stands.

These are just a few of the roughly 300 new laws that will come into effect in the new year.

Minimum wage: The increase is actually the result of a 2019 law that gradually raises the state’s minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2025. This year it will increase by one dollar to $ 12 per hour. ‘time.

Student Mental Health Days: A new law will allow Illinois students up to five excused absences to look after their mental or behavioral health without providing a medical note. These students will have the opportunity to make up for work they missed during the first absence and, after using a second mental health day, they can be referred to the appropriate school support staff.

At the same time, insurers that issue group plans will be required to ensure that the people they cover have prompt access to treatment for mental or emotional disorders or drug addiction.

Criminal justice reform: The large-scale criminal justice overhaul, spurred by the police murders of George Floyd and others, will bring the first statewide certification and decertification process for police officers. It standardizes the certification of agents to be followed by the Law Enforcement Standards and Training Council of Illinois, and allows certification of agents to be revoked for repeated erroneous or unethical behavior, at held only when convicted of a felony.

Animals in HLM: The law allowing tenants in public housing to keep pets is the result of Senate Bill 154, by Senator Linda Holmes, a Democrat from Aurora, and Representative Stephanie Kifowit, a Democrat from Oswego. It allows tenants of multi-family homes purchased, built or renovated with money from the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund to keep up to two cats or a dog weighing less than 50 pounds.

It applies to residents of housing units designated as affordable housing for low and very low income families.

Hairstyles in schools: As of January 1, schools cannot regulate hairstyles historically associated with race and ethnicity, such as dreadlocks, braids, and twists.

The new law aims to end discrimination based on student hairstyles and was inspired by Gus “Jett” Hawkins, a black college student who, at the age of 4, was asked to remove his braids because the hairstyle violated the dress code at his private Chicago school.

June 17: The paid holiday will be celebrated on June 19, 1865, the day two months after the Civil War ended when slaves in Texas finally learned they were free. President Joe Biden also signed a law making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Lemonade stands: Another law gives young business owners a little leeway. If you’re under 16 and setting up a card table on a hot July day to sell lemonade or other soft drink, you can’t be closed.

“Hayli’s Law” is named after Hayli Martenez of Kankakee, who a year and a half ago was shut down by local health authorities when at age 11 she started a business in 2017 to raise money for the ‘university.

Other new laws:

Drug prices: Pharmacies will be required to post a notice advising consumers that they can request pharmacies’ retail prices at the point of sale.

Vehicle taxes: Sales tax paid on the purchase of vehicles will increase by $ 75 for each model year the purchase price is less than $ 15,000 and by $ 100 for vehicles priced above this amount. But the registration fee for trailers weighing less than 3,000 pounds will drop to $ 36 from $ 118.

FOID card modifications: The law on the identity card of the owner of a firearm will change. Among other things, the renewal process for FOID cards and concealed transport licenses will be simplified for people who voluntarily submit fingerprints. Illinois State Police will soon be able to issue a combined FOID card and concealed transport license to qualified applicants. And a new Violent Crime Intelligence Task Force will be created to take enforcement action against people whose FOID cards have been revoked.

Admission to college: The Higher Education Fair Admissions Act prohibits public colleges and universities from requiring applicants to submit SAT, ACT, or other test results as part of the admissions process, although prospective students may choose to submit them. ‘they wish.

Organ transplants: Healthcare providers will be prohibited from discriminating against a person with a mental or physical disability by deciding that they are not eligible for an organ transplant.

Official flags: State agencies and institutions will be required to purchase Illinois and United States flags made only in the United States.

“Joint”: Married people can request a copy of their marriage certificate with the term “spouse” instead of a gender identifier. Under a different law, when listing their directors, public companies must use the director’s self-identified gender or sexual orientation.

“Sterilizing” pets: The vet will no longer “sterilize” or “sterilize” your cat or dog, but regardless of gender, they will “sterilize” your fluffy friend, in the language of animal control law.

Local journalism: A former Rockford news anchor, Democratic Senator Steve Stadelman, has won approval from a task force to study the local news industry. Thirteen members of the working group representing broadcast and print media, journalism schools and state and local governments are due to report by January 1, 2023 on ways to preserve media coverage in small and medium communities.

• Capitol News Illinois and The Associated Press contributed to this report.