County Democrat

Over the objections of Baltimore lawmakers worried about the safety of pedestrians, the House of Delegates approved legislation yesterday that would legalize "left turn on red" at some Maryland intersections.Approved 90-44 -- with 24 of the nay votes cast by city delegates -- the measure now goes to the Senate.The bill would permit a left turn at a red light only at the intersection of two one-way streets and only if there were no sign prohibiting the turn.Vehicles would have to come to a complete stop first.

A statewide ban on using hand-held cell phones while driving appeared headed for failure in the Maryland Senate yesterday but was resurrected amid fierce debate and a dramatic reversal by one lawmaker. The bill would prohibit talking on cell phones or other wireless communications devices while behind the wheel unless drivers use hands-free accessories such as headphone sets equipped with microphones. It also would ban texting while driving. Lawmakers have tried to pass such legislation for a decade but have met with stiff opposition.

With just four months to go before Marylanders have a chance to choose their power company, the General Assembly is being asked to tinker with the complex deal it worked out last year for opening the electric utility industry to competition. A half-dozen bills have been introduced in Annapolis seeking to provide extra protections for residential customers and the environment when electricity is deregulated July 1. Consumer advocates want lawmakers to let local governments buy power on behalf of their residents, supposedly at cheaper prices than homeowners could get on their own. Environmentalists want at least a small percentage of the electricity sold in the state to come from renewable energy sources, such as solar generators.

A bill that would put new teeth into Maryland's campaign finance laws survived a near-death experience in a House of Delegates committee yesterday as advocates turned aside an effort to shelve it for this year.But the legislation still faces an uncertain future at the hands of a skeptical subcommittee chairman.The bill, sponsored by Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, would make it easier to prosecute people who make illegal campaign donations by extending the statute of limitations for such violations.

Legislative auditors who uncovered serious financial mismanagement at Morgan State University want to broaden their investigation to more construction contracts at the public Baltimore campus, a key lawmaker said yesterday. Del. John L. Bohanan Jr., a St. Mary's County Democrat, said he spoke with auditors before a contentious three-hour hearing he chaired yesterday. During the hearing, legislators sharply criticized Morgan officials for lax financial oversight of public money and raised the possibility that the General Assembly could rescind Morgan's hard-won authority to manage its own construction projects.

After coming closer to becoming law than it has in a decade, a bill that would have banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving died yesterday in a House of Delegates committee. National momentum has been building for such bans, which traffic safety advocates say prevent accidents and save lives, and this month the legislation passed in the Maryland Senate for the first time. But it was defeated by a 12-9 vote in the House Environmental Matters Committee, which has killed similar bills in recent years.

Amid a criminal investigation into its contracting practices, Morgan State University's control over its construction projects is shaping up to be one of the major debates in the final two weeks of the General Assembly session. A House of Delegates subcommittee is poised to rein in the school, but key senators say they are reluctant to act so quickly. At a hearing scheduled for today, the House panel that oversees Morgan State's budget is likely to recommend limiting the school's hard-won autonomy over campus projects, said Del. Adrienne A. Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat.

Del. Jane E. Lawton, a Montgomery County Democrat who spent most of her career in elected and appointed offices, died suddenly yesterday in Washington after giving a presentation before a federal agency. She was 63. Delegate Lawton, who was appointed to fill a vacant House of Delegates seat in 2005 and was elected last year to her own term, was known for her advocacy of affordable housing. The former Chevy Chase mayor had worked for the Montgomery County government since 1992. "Jane Lawton was a lifelong public servant who dedicated her energy and talents to enriching the lives of others," House Speaker Michael E. Busch said in a statement.

Nearly everyone in the State House seems to want to see Mayor Martin O'Malley succeed in putting Baltimore back on its feet. But some lawmakers are wondering if he knows how to take advantage of that goodwill. The mayor's office let an invitation to meet with another county delegation go unanswered for weeks. O'Malley has appeared before legislative committees only a few times -- and the first time he did, he announced that comments by the state's chief judge made him want "to throw up."

Hoping to win support of legislators worried about the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the Ehrlich administration is revising crabbing regulations released last month that allow the capture of smaller blue crabs for part of the season. At issue is whether Maryland will meet a goal of reducing its crab harvest by 15 percent to allow replenishment of the valued but threatened crustacean that is synonymous with life along the Chesapeake. This month, the Department of Natural Resources announced new crab size limits and capture dates that would reduce the take by an estimated 14.6 percent.