As we first reported last week, Millcreek township supervisors planned to pass a ban on hand held cellphone use in the car as early as next month.

But a meeting last week with state legislators convinced them to put that plan on ice, and instead throw their weight behind a statewide ban.

"They're saying that it shouldn't take very long," said Millcreek Township supervisor Brian McGrath, "but something that could help their cause is if the local municipalities would pass individual resolutions to support the statewide action, so that's what we did today.

Erie city councilwoman Rubye Jenkins-Husband was at the same meeting, but she wasn't convinced -- partly she says because this same ban has been floating around the state capitol for nine years now.

"It is still some ways away before the state takes action," Jenkins-Husband said. "This is about public safety, and we need to move as quickly as possible to help save lives."

"Ii know there's a lot of frustration because it's not a quick process," said PA Rep Pat Harkins (D-1st). "But sometimes in haste you make decisions that come back to haunt you in the future and that's something we don't want to go down the path of."

Like what? For one thing, state representative Pat Harkins says hand held cellphone bans at the city level are probably illegal, and can only be passed by the state.

"The first person cited that decides to challenge it, the city will incur the legal fees and the time spent trying to fight this in court," Harkins said, "and [the city] will lose it."

But Jenkins-Husband points out Philadelphia has had a ban in place for two weeks now, and says city solicitors are confident an Erie ban would hold up in court.

"We've gone through the legal review," she said, "and we're just ready to help save lives."

And the public seems to support that. A Triple-A poll shows 94% of Pennsylvanians support a ban on texting in the car. 70% support a ban on all cellphone use.