SMITHFIELD — There might be not one, but two courthouses in Smithfield’s future.

The General Assembly has passed bills authorizing the town to create a municipal court and authorizing the state to establish a Blackstone Valley courthouse that would be home to new District and Superior courts.

The bills were sent to Governor Carcieri, who can sign them, veto them or allow them to become law without his signature.

If the measures survive their trip to the governor’s office, it may still be some time — years, in fact — before the Blackstone Valley complex is constructed, Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. predicted yesterday.

“The time frame depends on what happens with the budget and the economy,” Tassoni said. “Obviously we are pinching pennies now and will be for the next few years.” During that time, he said, “It is going to be hard to justify a courthouse anywhere.” He said the estimated cost of the project is $80 million.

“If we want to build it, we will do it the right way, with public hearings first,” he said.

The legislation was sponsored by Tassoni, D-Smithfield and North Smithfield, and by Rep. Peter J. Petrarca, D-Johnston, Lincoln and Smithfield.

The municipal court would do business in Town Hall, so no additional construction is required, Tassoni said.

But the District-Superior court project would be built from scratch on land on George Washington Highway that is owned by the state. The 12-acre site is adjacent to Washington Grove, a former state park.

Tassoni reported that the state-level court was welcomed by town officials during the journey of the legislation through committees in the House and Senate.

The municipal court would handle violations related to town ordinances, the municipal code, animal regulations and minimum-housing ordinances.

Tassoni said the municipal court, one of several scattered around the state, would more efficiently allow for local enforcement of minor police violations such as trespassing and disorderly conduct, as well as traffic violations and zoning infractions. It should help accelerate the legal process for disposition of these kinds of violations and should help cut town costs, such as those resulting when town officials, including the police, travel to courts outside the town to represent the community, he said.

The Town Council would be empowered to hire a judge and clerk and to enact ordinances governing the personnel, operation and procedure of the court. The court would be allowed to impose sentences up of to 30 days and fines of up to $500.

tmorgan@projo.com