A District law that takes effect Tuesday bans single-use plastic straws. A full list of the traffic law changes is available at ddot.dc.gov/­publication/vision-zero-regulations. ●While the federal tax overhaul eliminated penalties for not having health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, the District is among the jurisdictions that adopted a local mandate to have health insurance. ●The District is making a second attempt to ban single-use plastic straws after earlier confusion about whether a 2014 law applied to straws. Ralph Northam (D) and the Republican-controlled legislature agreed to expand the health insurance program to 400,000 additional low-income residents, a key campaign promise for Democrats in the 2017 election.

Source: Washington Post January 01, 2019 00:09 UTC