From minimum wage increases to animal protection to police accountability to both cutting and increasing taxes a series of new laws are taking effect across the country on Saturday, the first day of 2022. Some of the laws such as abortion restrictions in New Hampshire or police reform measures in Illinois, Oregon and North Carolina address some of the most contentious issues of our time. Others, such as the Maine law, passed in the aftermath of a western Maine explosion two years ago that killed a firefighter and injured a number of others were passed to remedy specific situations.