PA. GAMBLING Legislator drops call for provision

HARRISBURG (AP) -- A key Democratic state senator said he has dropped his demand that any legislation to expand legalized gambling in Pennsylvania include gambling licenses for American Indian tribes.
Sen. Vince Fumo, D-Philadelphia, said he expects gambling to be passed by the June 30 budget deadline. The legislation is designed to raise $1 billion for lower property taxes by legalizing and taxing slot machines at horse-race tracks.
Republicans in the Legislature had refused to agree to grant gambling licenses to Indian tribes, saying they'd rather see the tribes try to prove a land claim in federal court.
But Democratic senators, following Fumo's lead, had insisted that it made sense to license a slots parlor to be run by a tribe with a potential Pennsylvania land claim as a way to ensure that any Indian-run gambling will be taxed by the state. Should the Indians prove successful in federal court, they could set up gambling operations that are tax-free.
Fumo told the Bucks County Courier Times for Wednesday editions that most policy differences between Democratic and Republican lawmakers and Gov. Ed Rendell have been resolved.
XInformation from: Bucks County Courier Times, www.phillyburbs.com