HARRISBURG (CBS) – Philadelphia already has them and now, the city of Chester would be among the Pennsylvania cities eligible for red light traffic cameras under legislation approved by a state Senate committee yesterday.

The bill approved by the state Senate Appropriations Committee would set aside revenues from red light cameras for transportation safety initiatives. Erik Arneson, spokesman for Chester Republican Dominic Pileggi, the Senate majority leader, points to that fact to underscore his assertion that the bill is not a revenue scheme for municipalities.

“A lot of municipalities, particularly in the current financial situation that we’re all facing, don’t have money set aside for transportation safety improvements,” Arneson said. “This is not a situation where in most cases at least, and maybe even in all cases, the municipality is going to be able to shift funds around.”

The bill would make Pittsburgh, Scranton and cities of the third class with populations above 18,000 that have full-time police departments eligible for red light cameras.

Reported by Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio 1060