On Tuesday, Oct. 1, gun owners who never owned a pistol will have to get a pistol permit, certificate of eligibility, a long gun permit, or the new ammunition certificate if they want to purchase bullets, shells, or magazines.

The new ammunition certificate will cost $35 and will be good for five years. The certificate was part of the stricter gun laws passed by the General Assembly in April in response to the shooting of 20 first graders, and six educators in Newtown.

Another part of that bill that goes into effect Tuesday addresses the mental health issues raised by the shooting. The new law reduces the time health insurers have to make initial determinations on requests for treatments for certain mental or substance abuse disorders and asks the company to review claim denials and other adverse determinations of such requests.

There’s also a new human trafficking law that increases the penalty for patronizing a prostitute and allows anyone convicted of prostitution to apply to vacate the conviction if they were a victim of trafficking.

Another law closes a loophole in the state’s sexual assault act and extends the definition of “physically helpless” to include people who are physically unable to resist an act of sexual intercouse. Yet another law requires more law enforcement organizations to collect traffic stop information and to adopt a profiling policy. The law stems from the long ignored Alvin Penn Racial Profiling Act.

Then there’s a new law that establishes a mattress stewardship program to manage discarded mattresses and funds it by imposing a fee on mattress sales. There’s also a law that prohibits tanning facility operators from allowing anyone under age of 17 to use a tanning device. Violators are subject to a fine of up to $100.

Also going into effect Tuesday is a law that changes how nursing homes are able to recover funds owed them for providing care to individuals who apply to receive Medicaid. Currently, the funds are owed to the Department of Social Services rather than the individual nursing home.

Highway workers are celebrating a new law that stiffens penalties for drivers who violate certain laws within highway work zones, and makes other changes concerning highway work zone safety. Among other things, it doubles the fine for drivers who use hand-held cell phones in a highway work zone.

These are a just a few of the new laws that take effect Oct. 1. For more information on the major acts passed during the 2013 legislative session, click here to read the list compiled by the Office of Legislative Research.