Legislation that sought to allow divorced Orthodox Jewish women to remarry within their faith died yesterday in the General Assembly.

The House Judiciary Committee, which had overwhelmingly approved the measure, changed its mind after concerns were raised about the bill -- showing how reticent legislators can be about writing laws dealing with religion.

The measure sought to end a practice in which Orthodox men get divorced in civil court but refuse to submit to a divorce sanctioned by their faith -- creating a situation in which, under biblical law, they can remarry but their wives cannot. The legislation would have required that people seeking a civil divorce remove religious barriers preventing their spouse from remarrying.

Despite the strong support of the Maryland Jewish Alliance, some legislators expressed unease at passing a law they believed might intrude on religion. The bill appeared in trouble on the House floor, and another religious organization, the Maryland Catholic Conference, also wanted to make changes to the legislation.

So, in an unusual turn of events, Judiciary Committee members who had approved the bill 18-1 Friday voted yesterday to pull it back into their committee, effectively killing the legislation.

Several members of the committee questioned the rationale for yesterday's procedural move, arguing the legislation was vitally necessary.

"We are keeping a group of Jewish women enslaved, whereas the men can go on," said Del. Robert A. Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat. "We have a compelling state interest to get involved. This is unequal protection under the law."

But other committee members argued that, much as it took time for members of the panel to grow comfortable with the legislation, the full House needed more education on the bill.

"We have all gone through a learning process," said Del. Kenneth C. Montague Jr., a Baltimore Democrat. "I don't think we want to force people to take that vote [now]."

A key factor in yesterday's vote was that, as rewritten by the committee, the bill no longer included language sought by the Maryland Catholic Conference to clarify that the bill would not interfere with the Catholic Church's marriage laws.

The bill's supporters, including sponsor Baltimore Democratic Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg, had no problem with amending the bill to satisfy that concern. But some committee members, seizing on the legislation's already tenuous position on the House floor, objected on procedural grounds and avoided a House vote altogether.

"Certainly we're disappointed, especially given the strong committee vote originally," said David Conn of the Maryland Jewish Alliance, which backed the legislation. "It's a shame that well-meaning concerns about the bill got mixed up with confusion and misinformation."

Sun staff writer Michael Dresser contributed to this article.

In Annapolis

Highlights in Annapolis today:House of Delegates meets. 10 a.m. House chamber.

Senate meets. 10 a.m. Senate chamber.

Pub Date: 3/31/99