After years of lobbying, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department will be one of 28 sheriffs’ departments statewide cleared to use radar if a bill passed by the state Senate Wednesday becomes law.

Passed 42-9, the bill originally was drafted to allow deputies in the state’s 15 deadliest counties – including Warren and Hinds – to employ radar to catch speeders on county roads for a two-year pilot period. Thirteen other counties were added by senators whose sheriffs requested radar.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Gray Tollison, D-Oxford, would also authorize deputies to use radar in school zones on state roads outside city jurisdiction, such as the stretch of Mississippi 27 where Warren Central High School and Beechwood Elementary are located.

The bill now goes to the House, which must approve it before it can move on to the desk of Gov. Haley Barbour. If it receives Barbour’s signature, the bill would become law July 1.

Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, said he supports the bill, but isn’t sure what kind of reception it will receive in the House.

&#8220I don’t know how it will fare with the Transportation Committee, but I’m going to do everything I can to encourage it” said Flaggs. &#8220It’s long overdue.”

The current state law gives sherriffs’ departments authority to enforce all speed laws, but specifically prohibits them from using radar, said Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace. To catch a speeder, he said, a deputy must get behind a vehicle and pace it to get an accurate speed.

&#8220That’s dangerous at best and ineffective at worst,” said Pace, who testified before the Senate’s Judiciary Committee three weeks ago and again last week. &#8220That’s not going to work in school zones or subdivisions where we get the majority of our complaints.”

The county’s E-911 dispatch received 214 complaints of speeding or reckless driving on county roads in 2005, Pace said. If the bill passes, he said certain units would be equipped with radar to respond to areas that receive the most complaints.

In 2005, 225 auto accidents were reported on county roads, Pace said, 88 of which had injuries and two of which had fatalities.

Money for fines written by the sheriff’s department goes into the county’s general fund, overseen by the board of supervisors, Pace said, though he stressed that money from citations does not affect his department’s budget.

&#8220There’s no financial incentive for us to write a ticket at all,” he said. &#8220None of the fine money is set aside for the sheriff’s department. It’s a public safety issue. Without the ability to check the vehicle, it’s impossible to enforce speed laws.”