Three Butler County senators are backing a plan to make major reforms to the two-year-old state gambling law.

The 21-bill Senate Republican package is designed to eliminate loopholes, enhance the accountability of the Gaming Control Board, and improve oversight by the attorney general and the Legislature over gaming in the state.

Among the sponsors of the bill package are Sens.

Jane Orie, R-40th;

Mary Jo White, R-21st; and

Bob Robbins, R-50th.The Senate recently approved an Orie-sponsored measure that would eliminate a controversial provision in the 2004 gaming law that requires Pennsylvania casinos to use "middlemen" to buy slot machines from manufacturers.Orie claims using middlemen is unnecessary and will enable politically well-connected individuals profit from the state's new gambling law.The same bill would increase the tax on gambling entities by 4 percent and create a fund to help the attorney general and county district attorneys to carry out gaming enforcement.One measure sponsored by White would strengthen limits on closed-door discussions by board members and employees.Her bill, White noted, reflects New Jersey's closed-door ban.Robbins, meanwhile, has sponsored legislation that would grant the attorney general the power to investigate applicants for gaming licenses and review regulations drafted by the gambling board.———The U.S. Senate last week passed pension protection legislation that includes language introduced by U.S. Rep.

Melissa Hart, R-4th, to make tax-free college savings accounts permanent.The provisions will ensure that deposits into college savings plans, like Pennsylvania's Tuition Account Program, will remain tax free.Without this legislation, Hart noted, deposits into these accounts, also called 529 accounts, would be subject to taxes again after Dec. 31, 2010. With both the House and the Senate having passed the legislation, it has been sent to

President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law.