Vehicle Administration

The O'Malley administration is seeking to add new weaponry to the state's tax-collecting arsenal with a proposal to deny driver's licenses and vehicle registrations to those who fail to pay their taxes. The proposal, contained in O'Malley's budget reconciliation bill, would let the state refuse to issue or renew licenses and registrations for those who have unpaid, undisputed tax obligations. The administration expects the measure to help it collect an additional $40 million over the next two years as the state scratches for every dollar it can collect to help close a $1.3 billion shortfall.

The state Motor Vehicle Administration office in Glen Burnie used to drive customers nuts with long lines, bad directions and grouchy faces on either side of the counters.But the atmosphere during recent visits has seemed almost jovial. Could the DMV of Doom have changed its ways?"It's really a lot better than it used to be," said Tony Gaegler, 32, of Catonsville. He and his two children, ages 6 and 4, had been waiting about 30 minutes to get tags and title for his new car."The last time I was here, it was just horrible," he said.

RESIDENTS of Carriage Hill Village Apartments in Randallstown woke up to a most unpleasant holiday surprise Dec. 15 -- courtesy of the Motor Vehicle Administration and Baltimore County police.From 5 a.m. until 11 a.m., a squad of seven police officers and five MVA investigators set up shop outside the apartment complex, dispensing tickets and checking out-of-state plates in the lot in search of proof of car insurance and legal licenses.Scofflaws had to pay towing costs, impound fees, tickets and fines, which totaled hundreds of dollars for some.

Jason Pharmaceuticals Inc. grew fat when Oprah got thin, and thin when Oprah got fat again.That much is agreed upon by everyone connected with the Owings Mills-based marketer of the Medifast diet plan. But the agreement ends there.After rising to $51 million in annual sales during the late 1980s, the skyrocket that was Jason Pharmaceuticals landed last month in Baltimore's federal bankruptcy court, asking for protection from creditors while it reorganizes.Members of Jason's founding Vitale family say the company can recover from the slump that hit the liquid-diet industry after television talk show host Oprah Winfrey regained the weight she had lost on a rival plan called Optifast.

A Hanover-based trucking company with a long history of safety violations — including a fatal crash in August — has been ordered off the road after federal regulators found it to be an "imminent hazard" to the public. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which oversees interstate trucks and buses, said Wednesday that Gunthers Transport LLC must cease operations immediately. The regulator alleges Gunthers failed to follow traffic safety rules, ensure its drivers were qualified and keep its trucks well-maintained.

Even moderate drinking before driving could become illegal if a federal safety panel's recommendation Tuesday is enacted eventually by the states. The National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states cut their thresholds for drunken driving by more than a third — from a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent to .05 percent — to reduce highway fatalities. A 180-pound man would reach 0.05 BAC by consuming three beers in one hour, according to a Wisconsin Department of Transportation online calculator.

Imagine showing off your new car to friends and family only to get a call from the dealer — sometimes weeks later — saying your financing has fallen through. You're given the option of returning the car or signing a new sales agreement with terms that are likely less favorable. If you're like many buyers, consumer lawyers say, you will be too embarrassed to send the car back and opt to pay more instead. Consumer lawyers call this yo-yo financing, when dealers let buyers leave with a car and then reel them in again to say the agreement has changed.

An interesting detail emerged after a gray Chevy Cobalt hit two Baltimore police officers Wednesday and led dozens of patrol cars and a police helicopter on a chase: the state license plates affixed to the car started with "FPD" and carried a law-enforcement style, star-shaped insignia. Baltimore police said the car was driven by Alycia Marie Hoffman, 25, a Bel Air woman with a lengthy arrest record, according to court records. She has no known law enforcement background and did not own the car. Released through the Fraternal Order of Police Maryland State Lodge, the plates were issued to a retired Harford County deputy sheriff who owns the car, Maryland FOP president Rodney Bartlett said.

A Circuit Court judge has ruled that Baltimore County's contract with its speed camera vendor is illegal, because it pays the company a cut of each citation issued — a ruling that could help others challenge their citations in court. While Judge Susan Souder's ruling dismissed only a single speed camera ticket, the opinion is believed to be the first time a judge has ruled against the legality of the so-called "bounty system," one of the most controversial elements of the law. The ruling could help other motorists fight speed camera tickets, even though it has no direct effect on other cases, said John A. Lynch Jr., a professor and associate dean at the University of Baltimore School of Law. "It's not binding precedent," he said.

Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration of the Department of Transportation recently has increased fees.The most significant increasewill be the renewal of a driver's license, which is good for a four-year period.The cost will be $16.