New year means new laws take effect in Oregon

From plastic bag ban to boating and DMV rules -- and just maybe some day, no more time changes

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- As we welcome a new year, there are many new laws that took effect in Oregon on New Year's Day.

The single-use plastic bag ban means retail stores across the state will replace them with paper bags, or recyclable plastic bags.

 The bags are not free, as the law requires you to pay a 5-cent fee, per paper bag.

The Oregon DMV says if you give notice that your car is totaled or substantially altered, you can keep the plates and registration, or transfer them to another vehicle.

With this new law, tow companies are required to let you remove your plates after your car's towed.

Among other new laws, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is banning alcohol infused with CBD, though the move does not affect CBD-infused sodas. The OLCC said it's a precaution due to the unknown impacts of CBD, a chemical compound extracted from marijuana that is not psychoactive and won't give you a high.

The Oregon Bottle Bill also is expanding in the new year. You can now return for deposit drinkable yogurt, milk-based smoothies and other drinks with milk and fruit in them, as well as kombucha and hard seltzer beverage containers, up to 3 liters.

Also as of Wednesday, U.S. Highway 26 across Oregon is officially designated a POW/MIA Memorial Highway, in a bill sponsored by Central Oregon lawmakers.

The state also has increased the cost of fishing and hunting licenses, adult angling tags and recreational vehicle campsites. And anyone operating a non-motorized boat more than 10 feet long in any boatable waterway must buy a waterway access permit.

One more new law that has been in frequent discussion is an end to those twice-a-year time changes.

Gov. Kate Brown strongly endorsed making Daylight Saving Time a permanent switch.

So far, both Washington and Oregon lawmakers have approved such legislation, but California's proposal got hung up and a lawmaker plans to reintroduce it in 2020.

Even if California makes it happen for the whole West Coast, the wait is still on for Congress to sign off on the deal.