New laws take effect Aug. 1

The following is a listing of selected new laws passed during the 2008 legislative session that take effect Aug. 1, 2008. A complete summary of all laws passed by the 2008 Legislature will soon be available online from House Public Information Services. Go to the house site.

CONSUMERS
Truth in Music Advertising Act
Performing groups wanting to be something they’re not could find themselves in trouble.

Sponsored by Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL-Inver Grove Heights) and Sen. Dan Sparks (DFL-Austin), a new law makes it unlawful for someone to use a false, deceptive or misleading affiliation, connection or association between a performing group and a recording group.

The law tightens the definitions of recording group to mean a group that has at least one member of the original group without having abandoned the name or affiliation with the group, and specifies a group must be the recording group claiming to be that group.

Exceptions exist if the performing group owns the name, if the performance being advertised takes place in another state, if it is authorized by the recording group or if it is billed as a salute or tribute.

You smoke in the room, you pay
It’s already the law that anyone who smokes in a designated nonsmoking hotel or motel room is guilty of a misdemeanor. Effective Aug. 1, 2008, the smoker may also be required to pay damages to get the room back to its smoke-free condition.

The new law, sponsored by Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Mpls) and Sen. D. Scott Dibble (DFL-Mpls), also removes the previous $100 damage cap.