Vehicle registration will cost more

The cost of registering motor vehicles will increase sharply this summer under a new law signed yesterday by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. — part of the governor’s plan to devote about $237 million annually to build and repair the state’s congested highway system.

Registration will increase from $81 every two years to $128 every two years for passenger vehicles weighing less than 3,700 pounds and $108 to $180 for larger passenger vehicles.

The fees, paid when vehicle owners renew their license tags, will bring in $153 million a year and will go toward the governor’s plan for state’s highways and bridges.

Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, had hoped to spend $320 million on highways and bridges, but the legislature rejected his bid to add a surcharge of $200 on fines paid for drunken driving and $50 on fines for moving violations.

“The glass is two-thirds full,” said Robert L. Flanagan, secretary of the state’s Department of Transportation, of the partial approval for the plan.

Mr. Flanagan’s comments came as the governor signed the transportation-revenue bill and 63 other new laws.

The bill also allows the Motor Vehicle Administration to increase miscellaneous fees, producing $20 million a year in new revenue. The new fees, along with an unexpected increase in existing transportation revenue, will enable the state to undertake the governor’s plan.

Mr. Flanagan said some projects will be delayed because lawmakers did not approve the surcharges on traffic violations. However, Mr. Flanagan said he did not have a list of what projects will be postponed.

Other bills signed by the governor dealt mostly with local laws or minor changes in state laws.

One new law will require the state Department of Education to assign a rehabilitation counselor to each public high school. The counselors will develop plans for students with disabilities to help them “become very, very productive citizens” when they leave school, the governor said.

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Lawmakers approved several measures in the final days of the General Assembly to help victims of Tropical Storm Isabel.

They passed a bill to keep mortgage companies from requiring homeowners to buy flood-insurance policies worth more than their homes. Many Isabel victims discovered they had been paying for more coverage than they needed.

Another bill ensures victims of natural disasters they will be protected from property-tax assessment increases as long as they rebuild homes of the same quality and size. The assessments would be frozen until the next regular evaluation.

Responding to complaints that flood-insurance agents are unfamiliar with the details of their policies, the lawmakers also approved a bill requiring agents to be educated about the programs. Congress is considering requiring more education for flood-insurance agents.

The lawmakers also approved a bill making it a criminal violation to act as a public adjuster without a license. Adjusters advocate on behalf of property owners in insurance disputes and generally are paid a portion of the settlement.

Earlier in the session, Mr. Ehrlich signed into law a measure that provides low-interest loans for Isabel victims. The National Flood Insurance Program has agreed to evaluate again the 24,000 claims filed after Isabel hit.

America Online, one of the country’s largest Internet service providers, yesterday hailed another last-minute bill passed by lawmakers as a strong, comprehensive bill to prevent junk e-mail.

The bill specifically prohibiting tactics that spammers use to trick Internet service providers and their customers into opening junk e-mail.

If Mr. Ehrlich signs the bill by Delegate Neil Quinter and an identical Senate bill, outlaw spammers could be sentenced to 10 years in prison. The bills also provide for fines up to $25,000 and allows personal assets of spammers to be confiscated.

Mr. Quinter, a Howard Democrat, said the Maryland bill was patterned after a federal law signed by President Bush in December and a Virginia law that Gov. Mark Warner signed a year ago. Mr. Quinter said he and Senate sponsor Rob Garagiola, Montgomery Democrat, conferred with lawmakers working on similar legislation in Minnesota, New Jersey and Ohio.

The Maryland bill would make it illegal for people who send unsolicited e-mail to disguise their identities by using false return addresses or misleading subject lines. It also would prohibit spammers from harvesting addresses from Web sites.

The governor will decide whether to sign the bill after his policy advisers and the state attorney general’s office determine whether there are legal problems with the legislation.

The criminal penalties imposed would be based on how many mailings were sent.