As the fireworks went off to celebrate the arrival of 2000, an array of new state laws went into effect across the United States. Observers say they often ranged from the ridiculous to the frightening.

• A law in New York now allows motorists unlucky enough to strike and kill a moose on a highway the right to drag it home as a trophy.

• Since many insurance companies now cover the cost of the male impotence drug Viagra, California, North Carolina and New Hampshire required them to cover the costs of contraceptives and birth control drugs for women.

• North Carolina's auto mechanics must provide written estimates for repairs and cannot charge more than 10 percent over the estimate without notice -- while service station operators in California must provide free water for overheated cars and air for tires, so long as the motorist purchases fuel.

• Unmarried girls under 18 who want an abortion in Texas must tell a parent first, or a physician must do so for her.

Finally, even computer-generated images of child pornography can land the perpetrator behind bars in Illinois for up to 15 years.

Source: Robert Tanner (AP), "New Laws Accompany the New Year," USA Today, January 3, 2000.