HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania slots law isn't even 4 years old, but one conservative lawmaker from Central Pennsylvania thinks it needs a major overhaul to improve its integrity.

State Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, picked an unusual place yesterday to outline his criticism of the law -- a conference of gambling industry officials sponsored by Spectrum Gaming Group of New Jersey.

In July 2004, Mr. Piccola voted against Act 71, which legalized up to 14 slots casinos -- seven at racetracks, five free-standing (including one for Pittsburgh) and two at resort hotels.

Mr. Piccola said he's not trying to get rid of casinos because he knows they're here to stay, and they should even do some good by generating revenue for modest properly tax relief for homeowners and senior citizens.

But he said there still are major problems with the current gaming law, so he's drafting a list of what he calls "necessary reforms" to the law.

Perhaps the most far-reaching revision would be his plan to shift the Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement from its current location under the seven-member Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and move it over to the state attorney general's office.

The gaming board and its investigation bureau have been under severe criticism recently for granting a slots license in December 2006 to wealthy Scranton-area businessman Louis DeNaples, 67. In October he opened the $415 million Mount Airy Resort Casino in the Poconos.

When the board gave Mr. DeNaples the license, it didn't know the Pennsylvania State Police were investigating him for perjury -- allegedly lying under oath about his relationships with reputed organized crime figures in northeast Pennsylvanian and in Philadelphia.

The state police, the FBI and Attorney General Tom Corbett have all said they are forbidden, by law, from telling "non-law enforcement agencies," such as the gaming board investigators, about pending criminal investigations. Moving the investigators under the attorney general would correct that problem, Mr. Piccola said.

The Dauphin County district attorney recently charged Mr. DeNaples with four counts of perjury. The gaming board suspended Mr. DeNaples' license, but the Mount Airy casino remains open under the supervision of a board-appointed trustee.

Other key provisions of the Piccola bill, some of which were recommended by the grand jury that investigated the DeNaples case, are:

• Cutting the number of Gaming Control Board members from seven to five, and having them all nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Currently, the governor names three and the top four legislative leaders each name one, but the Senate confirms none.

The 2004 gaming law says that if the composition of the gaming board is changed within five years (by July 2009) the state would have to refund the one-time license fee of $50 million paid by each successful slots applicant. So far 11 such fees, totaling $550 million, have been paid to the state. So that could be a disincentive to changing the board's makeup.

• Empowering the attorney general to do "a thorough background investigation" of each appointee before the Senate votes. Now, the board's investigation bureau and state police do the background checks.

• Ending what is called a "qualified majority veto" provision. Now, all four legislative appointees and at least one of the governor's appointees must approve any slots license; this, in effect, gives each of the four legislative leaders veto power over any slots license.

• Banning gaming board members from having any outside employment while they are on the board.

• Banning anyone who has ever had a felony conviction from getting a slots license. Currently, the ban goes back for only 15 years before the license is issued. Such a provision would have prevented Mr. DeNaples from getting a license because he had a conviction in 1978.

• Permitting the gaming board, if the attorney general agrees, to grant immunity from criminal prosecution, if needed, to get a witness to provide necessary background information about a casino applicant.

• Holding board deliberations on an applicant's "character and integrity" in public, rather than in private, as they have been up to now.

Mr. Piccola's bill is along the lines of another measure, House Bill 1450, sponsored by Rep. Doug Reichley, R-Lehigh. He would also transfer background investigation power to Mr. Corbett, a Republican.

House Republicans will hold a hearing today on the Reichley bill to hear opinions from state police.

Mr. Piccola expects to introduce his bill in a couple weeks.