HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell says he would sign legislation to eliminate the use of slot machine suppliers if the bill contained four other major reforms to the state's 2-year-old casino gambling law.

Mr. Rendell has previously supported Act 71's requirement for using the so-called middleman firms.

But he said yesterday he doesn't want the single issue of suppliers to stand in the way of improving the slots law, which was originally passed in July 2004 and calls for 14 casinos to be created in the state.

"If the Legislature sends that [elimination of suppliers] to me, I will absolutely sign it,'' he told a group of reporters yesterday.

"I don't want that to be an issue that slows up the ability to pass the other [four] things,'' he said. "If they send it to me with the other things, I will sign it.''

There has been growing pressure, especially from Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, to eliminate the requirement for slots suppliers, who would buy machines from manufacturers and resell them to casinos.

Ms. Orie and other critics claim the middlemen are an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and benefit only politically connected insiders.

But other legislators, mostly Democrats, defend the requirement for supplier firms, saying it will create new Pennsylvania companies and several hundred jobs.

Sens. Orie and John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, have urged GOP leaders to call the Senate back to work on Sept. 5 to make reforms to the slots law, but so far the Senate appears likely to stick with its scheduled return from summer recess on Sept. 19.

The call to eliminate suppliers has become part of a wide-ranging effort to amend the gaming law, some of which Mr. Rendell supports and some of which he opposes.

His comments yesterday were a follow-up to a letter he sent last week to Republican Senate leaders Robert Jubelirer of Altoona and David Brightbill of Lebanon.

Mr. Rendell pressed them for speedy action on legislation to make four changes in the slots law:

Eliminating the provision in the current law that allows public officials and their immediate families to own up to 1 percent of a casino or gambling operation. Mr. Rendell said officials should be "completely precluded'' from such ownership.

Allowing provisions of the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to be used in prosecuting violations of Act 71.

Giving the state Gaming Control Board "exclusive power to regulate and control gaming operations,'' including the siting of casinos, especially the five stand-alone casinos. At the same time, the governor said "due consideration'' should be given to the concerns of local communities on the impact of each casino. Slots supporters fear that some towns might use local zoning complexities to slow the construction or location of a casino.

Banning the immediate families of casino owners and top officials, as well as the owners themselves, from making contributions to state politicians.

David Atkinson, an aide to Mr. Jubelirer, said there still isn't agreement among the Senate, House and governor about which changes to make. Without such agreement, there is little sense to coming back early, he added.

A letter that Sens. Jubelirer and Brightbill sent to the governor last week contained more than 20 ideas for change, far more than the five changes that Mr. Rendell has said he'll accept.

"Everyone is expressing good intentions but everyone seems to have a different notion of what we are going to do,'' Mr. Atkinson said.

"There are a lot of important points beyond the four the governor mentioned. It could still take a while to lock and load.''