Pennsylvania may be speeding up a law that will slow things down — on local roads, at least.

Lawmakers again are entertaining the idea of putting radar and light detection and ranging equipment in the hands of local law enforcement.

State Senate Bill 607 amends existing vehicle codes to let municipal police enforce speed limits electronically and issue corresponding citations.

Unlike past bills, this one includes a “revenue limit.” Municipalities can’t use radar or LIDAR to generate revenues exceeding 20 percent of the their operating budgets. Extra revenue must be deposited in the Motor License Fund.

Pennsylvania Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-47th, is on the state Senate transportation committee that unanimously approved the bill June 12. Vogel said in the past, he was concerned local governments would use traffic fines to “balance their budgets.” He voted in favor of the bill this time because of the 20 percent caveat.

“They made the bill better,” he said.

Vogel recognizes some places are difficult to monitor for local law enforcement, especially in populated areas with heavy traffic.

“It’s hard to do something (sometimes),” Vogel said. “I believe this will give them the ability to slow things down.”

“It’s something that’s long overdue,” said Kevin Meyer, Cranberry Township police chief. “Speeding is ... the No. 1 complaint we get.”

Cranberry Township has three major roads that can cause havoc: routes 19 and 228 and Freedom Road. Between the region’s geography and limited-access areas like construction sites and school zones, speeders aren’t always easy to monitor.

Middlesex Township Police Department Officer-in-Charge Randy Davison agrees.

“The back roads are difficult because of the terrain,” said Davison, whose officers are responsible for roughly 55 miles of road.

Meyer’s officers use stop watches or Electronic Non-Radar Detection Devices.

ENRADD was developed in Pennsylvania because of monitoring restrictions municipal police face. It takes at least two officers to run an ENRADD unit.

“Staffing is always a concern,” Meyer added.

Another concern is how the public views the money made from traffic tickets. Thinking local police or governments use tickets to add money to their budgets is a misconception, according to Meyer.

“We have professional officers,” Meyer said. “That’s not the goal here.”

He added of any given traffic fine, half or less goes to the department. Meyer is more concerned about keeping citizens safe, educating the public and generating healthy traffic flow. Davison has similar reasons for putting radar and LIDAR in the hands of his officers.

“It would help reduce the accident rate,” Davison said. “We would be able to run traffic more efficiently.”

The Senate approved Bill 607 in a 49-1 vote on June 26, when it was referred to the state House transportation committee. No action has been taken in the House.

“We’ll see where it goes,” Vogel said.