The law also includes a three-day grace period for tenants to catch up on their rent before landlords file for eviction, and it limits security deposits so they can’t cost more than two months’ rent.

Patient visitation

Caregivers for patients — such as a family member — gain a legal right to see their loved ones in the hospital or nursing home during a public health crisis such as the COVID-10 pandemic.

The law, House Bill 663, is a response to family members who weren’t allowed to see their dying parents after dropping them off at hospitals during the height of the pandemic.

Under the law, patients can designate an essential caregiver who has the right to be with them 24 hours per day, with some exceptions specified by hospitals.

Student safety

The opioid-reversal drug naloxone will be more readily available in schools, college campuses and government buildings, a response to fentanyl overdoses.

The law, Senate Bill 395, allows teachers, visitors or students to carry naloxone and administer the drug to someone experiencing an overdose. Naloxone is now exempt from classification as a dangerous drug when used for overdose prevention, according to the law.

In addition, naloxone can be sold from vending machines.

Other new education laws require an automated external defibrillator at each public school and increase the penalty for passing a stopped school bus to at least $1,000.

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