Proposed Legislation

The Anne Arundel County delegation is supporting legislation to help homebuyers who fail to ask enough questions about the neighborhood into which they will be moving. Anne Arundel delegates and senators have been deluged with calls from frantic neighbors who never expected a megamall in North County, an auto racetrack on the Solley Peninsula, or expansions at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Officials say it's time homebuyers became more careful and developers more forthcoming.

Three members of Anne Arundel County Council introduced legislation last night that would throw a speed bump in the path of developers proposing a 61,600-seat auto racetrack in Pasadena.The bill proposed by 3rd District Councilwoman A. Shirley Murphy and two other Democrats would require Chesapeake Motorsports Development Corp. to appear before a public hearing before building on bay front land south of Key Bridge.Murphy's bill would reverse a much-criticized zoning law that the council rushed through in April to allow motor racing complexes as a "conditional use" on land zoned heavy industrial.

The Anne Arundel County delegation is supporting legislation to help homebuyers who fail to ask enough questions about the neighborhood into which they will be moving. Anne Arundel delegates and senators have been deluged with calls from frantic neighbors who never expected a megamall in North County, an auto racetrack on the Solley Peninsula, or expansions at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Officials say it's time homebuyers became more careful and developers more forthcoming.

Baltimore County residents feeling besieged by cellular telephone towers and wireless communication industry representatives clamoring for more antennas found agreement on one thing yesterday: A proposal to regulate the placement of towers needs more work.At a public hearing held by the county's planning board, community leaders argued that proposed zoning restrictions were too lenient."The residential areas are under attack," said Louis W. Miller of Timonium. Holding up the proposed regulations, he added, "This is a monstrosity of nothing."

A graphic in Tuesday's editions incorrectly reported the outcome of proposed legislation to license recreational crabbers Maryland. The bill was killed in a House of Delegates committee.The Sun regrets the errors.! Pub Date: 4/12/96

State legislative leaders said yesterday they haven't decided whether to support a last-minute request by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland for legislation to convert from a nonprofit to a for-profit company and sell stock."

Emissions TestingI guess that I should be thankful that the legislature and governor are looking at legislation aimed at removing the controversial part of the new auto emissions test. However, I still take exception to two items of the proposed test.First, why does anyone have to look under the hood to see if any hoses have been disconnected if the vehicle passes the test? It seems like a complete waste of time.Second, we are now going to pay $14 for the same test that we previously paid $8.50 for.This, of course, has not even begun to address the issue of the money spent to close down and dismantle the old test sites, purchase new property, build new buildings, and purchase new test equipment (which won't even be used under the proposed legislation)

Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend unveiled yesterday a Glendening administration bill she said would keep "candy-aisle shoplifters from becoming gun-toting carjackers" by providing swifter, surer punishment for young criminals.At an afternoon news conference, Mrs. Townsend said the legislation was meant to get schools and parents more involved in the early stages of a child's delinquency.The proposed legislation -- House Bill 407 and Senate Bill 343 -- would establish a two-year pilot project allowing police in Allegany, Prince George's, Somerset and Wicomico counties to write civil "tickets" that would require youths who commit misdemeanors to do community service immediately as an alternative to criminal prosecution.

To make it tougher for drug dealers to operate, several City Council members want to eliminate push-button pay phones in Baltimore's drug-free zones.Councilman Lawrence A. Bell III says the idea behind the proposed legislation, which would require public phones in those areas to have rotary dials, is simple."

The initial cost for Harford County to limit the powers of the sheriff will be $279,000, the county executive said yesterday while unveiling proposed legislation to take control of the criminal, correctional and communications divisions of the sheriff's office.County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann said her moving to transfer operation of the Detention Center, police dispatch and road patrols from the sheriff to the county would cost taxpayers $104,000 annually.Much of that total would go to hire a police chief and for administrative support, Mrs. Rehrmann said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley laid out a blueprint yesterday for a partial return to a regulated energy industry, rejecting a decade-old policy that was intended to lower consumer prices through market competition but is widely regarded as a failure. In the midst of an outcry over budget-busting utility bills, O'Malley unveiled a plan that would allow the state to regulate future power plants if such a move is determined to be in the best interest of customers. The proposal also would allow the state to decide when new plants are built, taking that authority from utilities.

WASHINGTON -- Despite some misgivings, Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, announced yesterday that he would support legislation allowing reporters to shield the identity of confidential news sources from prosecutors and law enforcement officials. "The shield law is, frankly, a license to do harm, perhaps serious harm, but it is also a license to do good," McCain said during an appearance before an audience of reporters, editors and publishers from the Associated Press, the Newspaper Association of America and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Forget raising taxes or legalizing slots. State lawmakers wrestled yesterday over whether to name the soybean Maryland's official crop. They debated legislation that would expand Black History Month to January and February, and proclaim Pollinator Week in June to shed light on the plight of the honeybee. And perhaps most vexing, they discussed separate bills to designate walking as the state exercise and to dub Smith Island cake the official dessert. Like any good politician, Del. William A. Bronrott offered a politically expedient reason to support both the walking bill he sponsored and the dessert measure.

Bill would extend waterfront zoning The Sun's coverage of proposed legislation to extend the Maritime Industrial Zoning Overlay District (MIZOD), which protects port-related businesses from the encroachment of non-industrial uses on waterfront property, might have left some readers confused about the bill's intent and effect ("Bill could ease sale of harbor property," Feb. 11). The bill, if approved by the City Council, would make it more difficult than it is under current law for property owners within the MIZOD to reuse their property for uses unrelated to the port.

These days, one of the most effective tools in preventing and fighting crime is a cotton swab. That's why the General Assembly should approve a measure that calls for the collection of DNA evidence from suspects arrested for violent crimes. Opponents of the bill raise concerns about privacy. To understand why those concerns are unfounded, it is important to understand not only how DNA is used to solve crimes, but also the limits of forensic DNA analysis. The forensic examination of DNA is conducted with commercially produced kits.

Halt public debate; build the tower As we celebrate Columbia's 40-year history, we also look forward to the possibilities of a vibrant Town Center, rich with activities for people of all ages. According to the Howard County Planning Board, there is "no public good" to be served by the proposed zoning regulation amendments aimed at derailing the Plaza Residences. In a public work session June 7, Planning Board members unanimously rejected proposed zoning regulation amendments No. 79 and No. 83. If adopted, the amendments could limit the height of buildings in Columbia and affect previously approved projects under appeal.

WASHINGTON -- When the Muslim world was first inflamed over images of abuse from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, President Bush took the lead in a campaign to minimize the damage by pledging that his government would speak through its actions. "There will be investigations. People will be brought to justice," Bush said May 5, 2004, speaking from the White House and into the lens of a camera for Al-Hurra, a U.S.-sponsored Arabic-language satellite network. But 28 months later, provisions in Bush's proposed legislation for detainee interrogations and terrorism tribunals could hamper potential criminal prosecutions in some of the 17 abuse investigations from Iraq and Afghanistan pending before federal prosecutors in Virginia by retroactively changing a key law. The CIA's former assistant general counsel, a defense attorney for a veteran intelligence officer under scrutiny and outside military-law experts all said Bush's proposal could make it more difficult to obtain indictments by retroactively weakening the U.S. law against war crimes.

BALTIMORE STATE'S Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. support legislation they contend would stop witness intimidation, but they have not explained how it would ensure that Maryland's citizens are safer if they become a witness in a criminal case. The short answer is they can't. The proposed legislation is not concerned with the safety of witnesses but with a witness who already has been intimidated or harmed. In most cases, once the intimidation has occurred or the witness has been harmed, it is too late to be concerned.

Proposed legislation would allow early voting in elections Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller proposed legislation yesterday that would allow voters to participate in elections up to eight days early. Other states that allow early voting have found the alternative to be successful, Miller said, because many voters have trouble finding time to get to the polls as they juggle family, work and other responsibilities. Miller's legislation would allow local election boards to determine the number and location of polling places that would be open prior to Election Day. Proposal would change BWI name to honor judge The Baltimore-Washington International Airport would be renamed the Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport under a proposal from Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat.

Harford residents could be forced to pay higher property and income taxes if the County Council approves legislation designed to slow new housing development to reduce school crowding, a top county official said. Treasurer John Scotten Jr. told members of the council Wednesday that changing the county's adequate public facilities laws could limit construction of new homes and thus cut into the county's revenue base. He said the county would be forced to increase taxes to make up the difference.