Council Bill

The Baltimore City Council approved a measure Monday night that would require crisis pregnancy centers that do not provide referrals to abortion or birth control to post a disclaimer. The bill, which is opposed by anti-abortion groups, would affect four city centers that offer counseling, prenatal care and baby clothes to pregnant women. An amendment that would have forced abortion clinics to also post disclaimers was not approved. The measure is slated for a final vote before being submitted to the mayor.

Baltimore Councilwoman Agnes Welch -- who was bitten by a dog two weeks ago -- retaliated yesterday, introducing a bill that would allow the city to kill dogs found to be vicious.The measure is one of three bills introduced to crack down on vicious dogs in the city, which health officials say is a growing problem.Welch's bill would prohibit the training of attack dogs in Baltimore and create a hearing board to review complaints against vicious dogs and order euthanasia for those found to be involved in three attacks.

The Howard County Council may have a choice of limiting annual increases in property assessments to 5 percent or 10 percent, as a result of a bill filed yesterday by Councilwoman Shane Pendergrass, D-1st.Ms. Pendergrass initially had filed a bill to limit increases in assessments to 5 percent, but said yesterday that "it would be better for the council to have a choice in light of the county's $17 million revenue shortfall this fiscal year and the slumping economy."Earlier this fall, Councilman Charles C. Feaga, R-5th, had proposed a 5 percent cap, but action was delayed until after the November election.

The county tax on boat slips, which was cut in half last year, could be headed for extinction.A bill introduced last night by the entire County Council would cut the 5 percent slip tax, which is assessed as part of each docking or storage fee charged by a marina, by 1 percent this year.In July 1996, the tax would fall to 2 percent and by July 1997 it would be eliminated.Proposed elimination of the tax is bad news for Annapolis city officials, whose own slip tax is set by law at the same rate as the county's.

Howard Thomas is all for the proposed dusk-to-dawn curfew in Baltimore for children 12 and under -- and so is his daughter Rikki Li."When it's dark, a child should be at home. Things aren't the way they used to be," Mr. Thomas said yesterday."That's true. Near where I live -- and most places -- there's like shooting and stuff. When it's dark, I stay in the house and play Sega [video games] or play in the basement," added Rikki Li, 9.Mr. Thomas and his daughter were among several parents, students and teachers surveyed yesterday afternoon outside Margaret Brent Elementary School at 26th and St. Paul streets in South Charles Village.

The controversy over the possible closing of the tiny Highland library in Street heated up last week when four members of the County Council introduced a bill to prevent the Harford County ++ Library board of trustees from closing a branch without the council's approval."

A County Council resolution expected to come up for a vote as early as Tuesday has angered the owners of the two proposed rubble fill sites whose projects would be jeopardized by the measure.The resolution, proposed jointly by all seven council members, would amend the county's Solid Waste Management Plan "to delete the Gravel Hill Road rubble landfill and the Fort Hoyle Road rubble landfill from the plan."The move could ultimately kill the two projects because a rubble landfill must be included in the county's master waste disposal plan to be eligible for a state operating permit.

Baltimore County Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill to bring public hearings on proposed developments closer to residents in nearby neighborhoods. The new legislation now requires meetings to be held within three to eight miles of proposed developments, or in Towson if other sites are unavailable. The hearings, known as community input meetings, allow residents to get information — about a proposed development's size and effect on traffic, schools and infrastructure — before the plan is submitted for approval.

Anne Arundel County police lieutenants now have the chance to organize. The County Council has unanimously approved a bill that allows lieutenants to join a union or form their own, in an effort to provide greater fairness in compensation. Lieutenants, who occupy key supervisory roles, often are paid less than some of their subordinates because they are not part of a union and cannot earn overtime. The department, including Police Chief James Teare Sr., has sought to keep the lieutenants from unionizing, arguing that lieutenants joining less-senior officers in a union could present a conflict.