By
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - The Arizona Senate approved a $26.5 million bill to add 116 more highway patrol officers to the Department of Public Safety, mainly in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.
The Senate passed the bill (SB1243) Wednesday after a vote of 28-2. The House had been scheduled to consider a similar bill (HB2464) yesterday.
The Senate version would provide $12.2 million over the next two years for 116 new officers, $2.6 million for additional overtime pay and $11.7 million for new squad cars.
The money would come from the state's highway revenue fund from dollars that would otherwise have gone to increase allotments to local governments for transportation.
If passed by the full Legislature and signed by Gov. Jane Hull, the bill will take effect immediately. That would allow DPS to recruit new officers for a training academy that would start as soon as the money becomes available in July.
DPS officials have said nearly all the additional officers will be assigned to the two major metropolitan areas because of the growth in traffic and the construction of new freeways.
Rural areas got nearly all the officers added to the Highway Patrol during the 1990s.
