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PHOENIX — It's the legislation that keeps on chugging.

More than a year after the issue reached the Legislature, the state Senate gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill to require public hearings before Union Pacific can build a rail yard near Picacho Peak.

House Bill 2156, sponsored by state Rep. Jonathan Paton, a Tucson Republican, would require the railroad to provide environmental-impact information before building a major project such as a rail yard.

It would also require between one and three public hearings, conducted by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The bill still faces final approval in the Senate and House and needs to be signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano, who vetoed a more stringent bill last year.

Union Pacific opposes the bill, saying it violates federal law as railroads are not controlled by the state.

But advocates of the legislation argued Tuesday that the bill, which can't stop the railroad from eventually building what it wants, is necessary, given concerns about the impacts of the Picacho development.

"They're going to have their way one way or another," said Sen. Paula Aboud, a Tucson Democrat. "It creates the opportunity to at least understand what the rail industry is doing."

The vote Tuesday amended the bill with some minor changes, including shortening the window of time in which the public hearings must be held from 180 days to 120 days and creating a Freight Advisory Council that would keep track of railroad development and information on sites.

Opposing the bill was Sen. Rebecca Rios, a Democrat who represents Pinal County. Rios said that because county officials have already signed off on the project, the state should leave the decision up to them.

"This would ultimately take away and try to override that local government's decision," she said. However, Rios later indicated that she didn't think the bill would do much.

"You're getting people excited and worked up and giving them a false sense of hope," she said.

Responding to critics of the bill, Aboud said, "This is not about more regulation; this is about more transparency."

Union Pacific says the yard, which would be east of the peak near Red Rock, is needed because the number of trains that cross through the area daily is expected to nearly double in the next 10 years.

Critics, however, remain concerned about the environmental impact, particularly the proposed rail yard's proximity to a Central Arizona Project canal that delivers water to Southern Arizona. Farm and business owners worry it could harm them, since Union Pacific is seeking to purchase state land leased by Herb Kai, a cotton and pecan farmer.

And while the bill's supporters, like Paton, say the bill doesn't violate federal law because the railroad can build what it wants after the hearings, the bill could prompt a legal fight if it passes and is signed.

"They are still legislating in the realm where the federal government has exclusive authority," said Luis Heredia, public-affairs director for Union Pacific.