Sunday morning shopping leads parade of new laws

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — People caught with a small amount of marijuana will no longer face jail time. Vehicles may be left unattended and idling, but pets can’t be passed off as service animals. And North Dakotans for the first time since statehood will be able to shop on Sunday mornings.

The changes are among hundreds of new state laws that take effect Thursday, representing the work of the 2019 Legislature.

Most prominent is one that repeals the nation’s toughest Sunday business restrictions — rules that are rooted in religious tradition and that have been in place since statehood.

North Dakota has had “blue laws” restricting business on Sunday since it became a state in 1889. They stemmed from fears that visiting a retail store on Sunday morning would compete with church and leave little time for rest.

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