HARRISBURG — The first proposed update of Pennsylvania’s distressed-municipality law since it was passed in 1987 drew wide-ranging testimony Thursday about not only the law but the financial pressures facing the state’s cities and towns.

The law, administered by the Department of Economic and Community Development, is designed to rescue local governments struggling with chronic budget deficits, having difficulty paying employees, or facing default on bond payments.

Two central objectives of the proposed amendments are to encourage early state intervention to help struggling municipalities avert a crisis and limit the duration of “distressed” status in the worst cases to eight years. The intervention provision and the time limit on distressed statuses would both be added to the law, known as Act 47.

“Cities get into Act 47 too late and then they linger there too long,” said Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-Dauphin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Local Government Committee.

Twenty-seven municipalities have been declared distressed since the law took effect and only six have succeeded in getting off the list. Of the rest, 10 have had been distressed for at least 20 years, according to the state Local Government Commission.

The proposed amendments, stemming from task force recommendations last year, are in separate pending House and Senate bills.