Responding to a rash of anthrax scares, Gov

Responding to a rash of anthrax scares, Gov. George Pataki is pressing lawmakers to adopt tough new state penalties against anyone caught with biological or chemical weapons. Those convicted of such crimes could face up to the death sentence if someone was killed with the materials. But his proposal got shelved, at least temporarily, yesterday in the Legislature, where lawmakers refused to pass it as rapidly as Pataki wanted, citing concerns that the legislation branded as bioterrorism some materials that had other purposes.