Maryland General Assembly

A proposed repeal of the death penalty in Maryland, which seemed to gain momentum when Gov. Martin O'Malley said he would sign a bill, appears headed for defeat in a key Senate committee. "I think it's an uphill battle either in committee or on the Senate floor," said Sen. Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, which will take up the measure Wednesday. Death penalty opponents sensed an opportunity to end executions after the state's highest court effectively imposed a moratorium and voters elected O'Malley as governor last fall.

Deadly trend continues in city Baltimore remained one of the deadliest cities in America last year, with 275 homicides recorded in 2006, up slightly compared with the number of killings in 2005. Miller backs tougher emissions Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller threw his support behind legislation to require tougher emissions standards for new cars sold in the state. Meanwhile, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler pledged at his swearing-in ceremony to do battle with those who spoil the environment, signaling a more aggressive approach for the agency.

Marylanders took the first step yesterday toward a major reshaping of the state's political leadership, replacing veteran office-holders with a new generation to confront growth and other challenges through the rest of the decade. Outcomes were delayed in many of the high-profile primary election contests by voting problems in several key parts of the state. But no matter what the result, the election would mark the departure of Paul S. Sarbanes, Maryland's longest-serving senator, and J.

Ask people which states have a horrible language problem, and they are likely to name Florida, Texas and California. Maryland won't be mentioned. It should be. In 2002, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law requiring all state agencies to offer oral interpretation and written translation "into any language spoken by any limited English proficient population that constitutes 3 percent of the overall state population within the geographic area served...

Getting warmed up for a second act? If Larry Young isn't plotting a political comeback, he's going to have some explaining to do. To the Rev. Al Sharpton, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, gubernatorial hopeful Doug Duncan, Congressman Elijah Cummings and a couple of hundred others who gathered for a $100-a head "appreciation" dinner in the former state senator's honor this week at New Shiloh Baptist Church. And if he is running, he'll have some explaining to do to Sen. Verna Jones. Was the event really a campaign fundraiser?

Electrical power is proving costly to Maryland in more ways than one. A Harvard School of Public Health researcher estimates that Maryland's six largest coal-fired power plants are causing about 700 deaths and 30,000 asthma attacks each year. And the sad fact is that these findings aren't even particularly controversial. Past studies have drawn similar conclusions. The state's aging coal-burning generators are an environmental embarrassment that has been tolerated far too long. Even Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who has earned poor marks from environmentalists for his air quality policies (or lack thereof)

Since this session of the Maryland General Assembly began Jan. 11, delegates and senators have introduced approximately 2,500 bills for consideration by the legislative body. Hundreds of copies of each bill are collated and counted by hand each day in the Bill Room, which is located in the basement of the Legislative Services building in Annapolis. Eleven bill collators organize these copies. The group, led by Edgar Bowen, assembles each bill at specially designed motorized tables. Ten bills are put together at a time at each table.

NATIONAL Terms of port sale criticized U.S. terms for approving an Arab company's takeover of operations at six major American ports are insufficient to guard against terrorist infiltration, said Rep. Peter T. King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. pg 3a WORLD Israel suspends fund transfers A day after members of the Islamic militant group Hamas were sworn in as Palestinian lawmakers, Israel's Cabinet suspended the transfer of tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue to the Palestinian government.

1648: remarkable Margaret Brent Talk about audacity. On Jan. 21, 1648, Margaret Brent, then 47, appeared before the Maryland General Assembly and requested two votes: one for herself as a landowner and one as Lord Baltimore's attorney. Her request was denied, but she is remembered as a remarkable woman of the 17th century. Brent and other family members came to the Maryland colony empowered with a land grant, hailing from a landed Catholic family in Gloucestershire, England. Her single status was unusual because in Maryland she entered a society in which men outnumbered women about six to one. The governor, Leonard Calvert, did not fare well during a period of religious strife.

Workers' rights groups claimed victory yesterday in the Maryland legislation that would require Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to pay more for employee health care but said they don't anticipate widespread changes in the retailer's labor practices. Still, labor activists hope the law will force the retailer to improve benefits for employees as more states consider legislation similar to Maryland's Fair Share Health Care Fund Act. "I'm sure it will take some time to see major change," said Jill Cashen, a spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers, one of the labor groups behind the first-of-its-kind bill.