1,000+ NEW LAWS EFFECTIVE JAN. 1.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

Public high school students will have more reasons to earn good grades this school year when more than 100,000 merit-based state scholarships become available starting Monday.

Legislation supplying funds for the scholarships, which range from $1,000 to $2,500 each, was included in the more than 1,000 new laws that will take effect in 2001. Some other changes to expect are a raise in the minimum wage, broader rights to sue health maintenance organizations, a new state holiday, and a window of opportunity to reopen Northridge Earthquake insurance claims.

A $13 billion budget surplus during the 1999-2000 fiscal year allowed both Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature to acquire funding for numerous initiatives in the coming year.

Some key new laws include:

--Prohibition on the manufacture, sale or transfer of cheap handguns, often called ``junk guns,'' that officials say are predominantly used in carrying out crimes.

--A 50-cent raise in the minimum wage to bring it to $6.25 per hour.

--Increased ability for HMO patients to sue their provider for denial, delay, or change in service if the managed-care plan's decision led to loss of life, loss of bodily functions, chronic pain, financial loss or disfigurement.

--A 50 percent reduction of vehicle license fees, the largest portion of the annual registration fees paid by vehicle owners. Motorists will receive the reduction in the form of a rebate check mailed about two weeks after they register their vehicles in the coming year.

--More than 500,000 Northridge Earthquake insurance claims could be reopened under SB 1899 after legislative hearings that revealed widespread claims-handling violations.

--A new paid holiday for state employees was declared for March 31 in honor of the late civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, an important labor figure from the '60s who helped found what eventually became known as the United Farm Workers union.

--A cut of one-quarter of 1 percent in sales tax, estimated to result in a $1.2 billion reduction in state revenues.

--New requirements for police officers to undergo training to prevent ``racial profiling,'' in which a person is detained by an officer solely because of his or her race.

In education, $118 million was set aside in the budget to create the Governor's Scholars and Distinguished Mathematics and Science Scholars programs, which will award scholarships to ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade students for high test scores. That money also provides for expansion of a state college grants program.

Under the program for high school students, 100,000 students who either score in the top 5 percent statewide or the top 10 percent at their school on the Stanford 9 exams will automatically qualify for $1,000 scholarships.

In addition, up to 2,600 scholarships of $2,500 each will be available for those with the highest Advanced Placement Exam scores.

``These bills say to California students, if you do your part by studying hard, we'll do our part to help you afford college,'' Davis said in a prepared statement.

The awards would be put in trust accounts for the students.

Additional funds will also be available to some 100,000 students through expansion of the Cal Grant program. Under an expansion bill, SB 1644, Cal Grant A scholarships will be awarded to financially eligible students with a B grade average to be used at public or private four-year institutions. Cal Grant B scholarships will go to students with a C average to be used at a community college.

To qualify for the Cal Grants, students must also meet income eligibility requirements ranging from $23,500 annual income for an independent student to $74,100 for students from a family of six or more.

Students can apply for Cal Grant awards within one year of high school graduation.