If a state agency was embroiled in political scandal even before it was formed, it might be called to fully account publicly.

If a state agency disregarded the law establishing it by letting a license applicant ignore a state ban on campaign contributions, its legitimacy might be called into question.

If a state agency failed to fully release public documents BEFORE holding a series of public hearings statewide on a controversial issue - only to disclose redacted and incomplete records months later, it might wind up in court.

But the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board isn't most state agencies.

For one thing it's unclear whether it's covered by the state's Sunshine Law ans Open Records Act, which means board members can potentially make decisions affecting billions of dollars in secret.

And there may be no appeal.

Take for instance today's "release" of race-track applications for seven slots parlor licenses.

"Citizens throughout the Commonwealth should have access to information pertaining to applicants for slot machine licenses," Executive Director Anne LaCour Neeb said in a press release. "As we approach the next phase of the licensing process, the Gaming Control Board is committed to providing as much information as possible."

So long as anyone interested is willing to drive to Harrisburg and wade through the mess of papers at the board's office.

Lord knows that Internet thing isn't good for anything and nobody in the far corners of the state knows how to use a computer.

Since I won't be making the 120-mile trek there from Bucks County any time soon, I'll take the Associated Press' word that the trip isn't worth making.

"Much of what the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board released consisted of documents that the public companies involved with the slots applications have filed previously with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Many other original documents were heavily redacted or missing, such as the criminal histories of directors, owners and top managers involved in the applications.

"The documents also revealed little about the privately held companies involved in the applications, and do not always make it clear which investors will own what portion of a proposed slots parlor."

And that's entirely on purpose.

"The Board must balance its obligations under Act 71 with the public's right to know," Neeb said.

No, it doesn't.

One month away from deciding who gets a slots license forever in this state, the board should have posted everything it knew about the applicants online - with the only exceptions being for anything that would have made it criminally or civilly liable.

And there should have been a list made of what was left out/redacted as well as an explanation as to why.

The board has had these applications since Dec. 28 - a more than adequate amount of time to get all of that accomplished and still carry out its mission.

Is it any wonder now why legislators are in such a hurry to rewrite the board's rules BEFORE it decides who gets a license, that they might actually call their summer vacations short?

Although Pennsylvania Senate leaders Bob Jubelirer and David Brightbill insist the state's slots parlors should let gamblers smoke in violation of local bans, Atlantic City may soon be headed in the opposite direction.

New Jersey banned smoking in almost all public places in April, but the state excluded the shore gambling halls after casino executives railed against it.

N.J. Senate President Pro Tempore Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, wants to reverse that and is pushing Senate bill 1089, which would eliminate that exclusion and Gov. Jon Corzine has vowed to sign it if it makes his desk.

"I'm in favor of an overall smoking ban," Corzine told NJBIZ.com.

Corzine also favors placing slot machines in the state's race tracks in order to compete with Pennsylvania and New York.

If that happens, most of the quarters to be pumped into Pennsylvania's machines will more than likely come from Pennsylvanians.

Labels: casino, slots

As I wrote on Saturday, the success or failure to reform Pennsylvania's slots gambling law hinges on two legislative leaders who lost in the May primary.

Senate President Pro Tempore Bob Jubelirer and Senate majority leader David "Chip" Brightbill remain large and in charge, despite their lame-duck status.

As if to affirm it, the pair sent Gov. Ed Rendell a letter that more of an ultimatum last week, telling him they favor passing Senate Bill 862 along with an amendment.

The pair of quakers had 17 points the amendment addresses included in any legislation that is moved forward, according to a copy of an Aug. 2 letter posted on the StopTheCasinos.com Web site. Among them:

• Requiring the state Gaming Control Board to adopt a code of conduct and require a conflict of interest review prior to its approval of any of the 14 slots parlor licenses.
  
  
• Subject the board to the state budget process. (It's currently running on money borrowed from other departments.)
  
  
• Require the board to be subject to the state's Sunshine Law, Open Records act and other laws, require it to hold public input hearings and classify any state gaming official to be listed as a "public official" in those laws and prevent them from receiving complimentary services or discounts.
  
  
• Stripping Philadelphia of the right to zone where a slots parlor go and requiring it to give $5 million of its annual local share of slots winning to the city's school district. (I can't say I agree with that one.)
  
  
• All slots parlors would be exempt from local smoking ordinances. (I can't disagree with this one more. It's bad enough the state is running roughshod over local zoning ordinances, but this creates a double-standard.)
  
  
• Prohibit public officials and their immediate families from owning any interest in gaming entities including facilities, manufacturers, and suppliers. (Your Executive Order did not limit investments by family members of Executive Branch personnel.)