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PHOENIX — The last word on photo radar on state highways may be up to voters.

The head of the Senate Transportation Committee said Wednesday he wants a referendum on whether Arizona's speeding laws should be enforced by automated equipment rather than live police officers. Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, is drafting a measure to put the issue on the 2008 ballot.

Gould's proposal follows the announcement by Gov. Janet Napolitano that she intends to have the state Department of Public Safety deploy photo- radar cameras along freeways and other state roads. Napolitano said a nine-month experiment by the city of Scottsdale using photo radar on the Loop 101 freeway through the city convinced her that the system of automated enforcement makes roads safer.

But Gould said the decision is not the governor's to make alone.

"Our government is based on government by the consent of the governed," he said. "So I think the governed should give their consent that they should be policed by photo radar."

Napolitano made it clear Wednesday she opposes what Gould wants to do.

"I would caution the Legislature about putting too many things on the ballot," she said. The governor said there are ways to debate public policy short of a referendum, including legislative action.

Gould's referendum would affect only photo radar on state roads. He said cities would remain free to use the technology on local streets — assuming their own voters did not approve similar bans at their own elections.