The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled recently that police are allowed to search vehicles without a warrant. Meanwhile, the state General Assembly is advancing a bill to grant police authority to arrest those with secret compartments in their vehicles.

In a 4 to 2 decision weeks ago, the state Supreme Court decided that police could conduct searches of vehicles based solely on probable cause, or an officers reasonable belief that the vehicle contained illegal goods or evidence of a crime. The new standard puts the state in line with the federal law, which allows warrantless searches of vehicles.

The PA Independent pointed out that the same day the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of warrantless car searches, the states House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation that would make it a crime for a vehicle to have secret compartments. The law would make such compartments a first-degree misdemeanor and the vehicle would be seized by police even if the compartment was empty.

Law enforcement would have to prove a compartment exists with the intent for criminal use before a vehicle could be seized. A secret compartment conviction could yield five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.