IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL PALE MINORS IN ILLINOIS:

Get your indoor tanning sessions in now because starting Wednesday, they're strictly forbidden. A new state law takes effect Jan. 1 that bans anyone under 18 from using tanning salons in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois becomes the sixth state to keep teens out of the facilities, part of a growing trend of regulating tanning facilities to help reduce the risk of skin cancer, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a Washington-based group that tracks lawmaking. The new measure is one of an estimated 40,000 new laws, regulations, and resolutions approved by state legislatures in 2013, many of which take effect Jan. 1. Among them are:

• Arkansas voters must now show a photo ID at polling places, while Virginia voters for the first time will be able to register online.
• In Colorado, 16-year-olds will be able to pre-register to vote, but must still wait until they're 18 to vote.
• California students must be allowed to play school sports and use school bathrooms "consistent with their gender identity," regardless of their birth identity.
• In Oregon, new mothers will now be able to take their placentas home from the hospital - some experts say ingesting it has positive health benefits. Another new state law bans smoking in motor vehicles when children are present.
• Minimum-wage increases take effect in four northeastern states: Connecticut rises to $8.70 an hour, New Jersey to $8.25, and New York and Rhode Island to $8. In nine other states, the minimum wage rises automatically because it's indexed to inflation.
• In Colorado, drivers will see a new annual $50 fee for plug-in electric cars. Colorado is one of several states looking to capture revenue from alternative fuel, electric, and hybrid vehicles.
• In Connecticut, new gun-control laws in the aftermath of the school shooting in Newtown include mandatory registration of all assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines bought before April 2013, and creation of a statewide registry that will track parolees whose crimes involved weapons.
• Sale, possession, or distribution of shark fins will be prohibited in Delaware.
• Early voting will be expanded in Florida.
• Maine will become the 48th state to require a check-off for organ donation on driver's licenses to promote organ donation.
• In Oregon, privately run websites that feature police mug shots must take down photos for free if subjects can show they were not guilty or that charges were dropped.
• Rhode Island will become the eighth state to enact a so-called "ban the box" law that prohibits prospective employers from inquiring into an applicant's criminal history on written job applications.
• Perhaps most significantly, Colorado adults age 21 or older will be able starting Wednesday to buy up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use from a state-licensed retail store. Marijuana advocates expect many of the new stores to be up and running by then, and observers say the new Colorado regulations are a sign of things to come.

But enough about that because Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in Formula 1 history, is in critical condition after suffering severe head trauma in a skiing accident in the French Alps. The 44-year-old German, who retired from the elite motorsport for the second time in 2012, fell and hit his head on a rock, said director Christophe Gernignon-Lecomte of Meribel resort. The incident happened while Schumacher was skiing off-piste (on unmarked slopes) yesterday morning (local time) in the mountains of Meribel resort between Georges Bauduis Piste and La Biche Piste. Schumacher was in a coma when he arrived at the University Hospital Center of Grenoble and required immediate brain surgery, but doctors haven't released any details about his injuries or his prognosis. It was a bit stupid to ski off-piste, but I hope Schumacher gets better soon.