ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s transportation bill that would substantially increase biannual vehicle registration fees appears destined for passage after state officials committed to an array of road and mass transit projects for Montgomery County.

Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Vice Chairman Patrick J. Hogan (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village said Tuesday that Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan agreed to "move aggressively" on key Montgomery County mass transit projects to gain his support for the governor's transportation initiative.

The bill, which is identical to the version that passed the House last month, cleared the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Monday and is expected to receive preliminary approval from the full Senate on Thursday.

Ehrlich (R) is calling for a $23.50 hike in biannual vehicle registration fee to generate $153 million in new revenue to pay for road and mass transit projects throughout the state. A typical passenger car that costs $81 every two years will now cost $128 to register with the state. Owners of pickup trucks, minivans and SUVs will see a more substantial increase with their fees going from $107 to $179 every two years.

Ehrlich's bill also calls for an additional $20 million generated from various fees to be collected by the Motor Vehicle Administration.

Hogan said Flanagan committed planning dollars for the Corridor Cities Transitway (connecting Metrorail's Red Line terminus at Shady Grove to Clarksburg and, later, to Frederick by adding light rail or fast buses) and the Bi-County Transitway (also known as the Purple Line, linking Bethesda and New Carrollton) while promising construction money for the widening of Md. 124 near Damascus and a new intersection for Montrose Parkway in North Bethesda. The state is also committed to adding eight-car trains to the Metro system, another top priority for Washington-region lawmakers.

"I decided to vote for the bill after the administration committed to move aggressively on a number of key projects for Montgomery County," Hogan said.

The governor's bill generates about $175 million in new road money -- a little more than half of the $300 million that Ehrlich's blue-ribbon transportation commission determined was needed to pay for two-thirds of the state's transportation needs.

Paul E. Schurick, Ehrlich's communications director, said the governor is "generally pleased" with the bill and how it is progressing, but warned that it is not complete. The House stripped out additional surcharges that would be tacked onto drunken driving offenses and moving violations that would have generated an additional $50 million.

"The amount of money this bill generates is less than the governor feels is necessary, but it's an amount the governor can work with," Schurick said.

Saying the measure will pass, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach called the governor's transportation bill "too little, too late, but it's all we have."

Miller refused to slam the door on a possible increase in the gasoline tax or increase on the vehicle titling tax as a part of an overall transportation and/or budget solution.

"We need to keep everything open," he said.

Meanwhile, a bill that would authorize more than $34 million in federal spending for road and transit projects in Montgomery and Prince George's counties passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.

That bill earmarks $9 million for planning and environmental assessments required to build the Intercounty Connector, a controversial highway that would run from Gaithersburg to Laurel and connect Interstate 270 to Interstate 95.

In Montgomery, the bill also calls for $5 million toward engineering and construction of an improved interchange at Route 355 and Montrose Road/Randolph Road, $4 million for an intermodal transportation access project at Maryland Avenue and Market Street in Rockville and $1 million for intermodal access programs in Silver Spring and Wheaton.

In Prince George's, the bill calls for $5 million to improve intersections on Indian Head Highway from Route 228 to the Capital Beltway and $10 million toward designing and building an interchange that would connect Branch Avenue, Route 373 and Brandywine Road.

The House bill would make two proposed mass transit extensions eligible for preliminary funding. They are the Corridor Cities Transitway and the Purple Line.

The U.S. Senate has approved a $318 billion transportation authorization bill, without such earmarks, against the House's $275 billion package and the $256 billion that the White House has backed.

"We're going to have to work very closely with our senators to see that the final bill includes these important initiatives," said U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington.

Beyond those differences, a later appropriations bill will determine actual funding.

Flanagan called the federal House proposal a "terrible" bill that micromanages the state's transportation money, but he declined to mention specific earmarks that the administration opposes for fear of upsetting key lawmakers.

ICC supporters are also lobbying the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' Transportation Planning Board to vote to include the ICC in an upcoming air quality study -- a requirement for the project to be eligible for federal aid. The board vote is scheduled for April 21.