Gov. Kathy Hochul signed roughly 900 bills in 2023. Those laws — many of which are scheduled to take effect in the new year — touch nearly every aspect of New Yorkers’ lives. There are measures recognizing additional school holidays (the Lunar New Year and Diwali), and others that establish broader protections for freelance workers and create new requirements for licensed cosmetologists.

What else will change in 2024? Here’s a look at some of the most consequential laws taking effect this year.

The minimum wage will increase

New York’s minimum wage will rise to $16 per hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County and to $15 an hour everywhere else in the state. Both rates will increase by an additional 50 cents in 2025 and 2026, with future increases statewide pegged to inflation.

The decision to add $2 to the city’s $15 minimum wage by 2026 — a plan included in last year’s state budget agreement — was not universally supported. Some Republican lawmakers warned the move could lead to job losses, while progressive Democrats pushed for a rate of over $21.

The state’s wage will remain more than twice that of the increasingly meaningless federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Medicaid will cover doula services

A new law taking effect this summer will require Medicaid to cover doula services for New Yorkers. It also mandates that the state’s Department of Health create and maintain a directory of doulas.