A proposal to set limits on searches and seizures by Pennsylvania Game Commission officers has passed the state Senate and is on its way to Gov. Ed Rendell's desk.

The bill, authored by Rep. Bryan Cutler of Peach Bottom, would allow wildlife conservation officers to stop vehicles or conduct searches only when there's "reasonable suspicion" of a violation.

The measure also allows for searches at routine road checkpoints.

"This brings the searching and seizure provisions of the game code in line with state police and any other law enforcement official," said Cutler. "The statute as drafted was unconstitutional."

The state Senate unanimously approved House Bill 181 on Monday. The House unanimously passed the measure in June of 2009.

Gary Tuma, a spokesman for Rendell, said the governor intends to sign the legislation into law.

"The administration supports the bill, so pending a full legal review of the final version sent to his desk, the governor expects to sign it," Tuma said.

Both the Game Commission and Cutler have said that the agency follows Constitutional guidelines used by police agencies.

But Cutler's bill would amend the game code to clearly state that hunters could be stopped only with reasonable suspicion and that vehicles could be stopped and searched only with reasonable cause.

The game commission helped draft the language in Cutler's bill, which has the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Rifle Association, Allegheny County Sportsmen's League, Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania and others.

Cutler's bill grew out of a failed attempt by former state Sen. Gibson Armstrong of Refton to strip deputy wildlife conservation officers of many of their law-enforcement powers.

Armstrong sought the change in July 2008, several months after one of his sons had an encounter with a deputy game warden on a farm the Armstrong family owned in York County.

Armstrong's legislation went nowhere.

tmurse@lnpnews.com