The Legislature went too far in barring casino owners and executives from making any political campaign contributions, Pennsylvania's highest court ruled Thursday in wiping out what had been touted as a major bulwark against the gambling industry's influence.

The Supreme Court said the law's approach to banning all contributions was an overly broad and harmful attempt to combat corruption -- or even just the appearance of corruption -- that violated the state constitution's guarantee of free speech.

Writing for the 5-1 majority, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille also said the blanket ban was out of step with the law's intent. In the law, lawmakers wrote it was necessary to prevent corruption that may result from ''large campaign contributions,'' but went on to prohibit all such contributions.

Castille did not rule out the constitutionality of a limited ban that capped political campaign contributions from the gambling industry at a certain amount.

''A statute that limited the size of contributions, rather than absolutely prohibiting any contributions, would be more narrowly drawn to accomplish the stated goal,'' he wrote.

Gov. Ed Rendell's administration received a cool reception from Republicans yesterday when he took the first step toward legalizing video poker in bars as a way to raise up to $550 million for college students in the state.

"We have an immediate need for tuition relief for college students," Kathleen Shaw, a deputy secretary of education, told a House panel during the initial public hearing on the legislation. "Incredible educational benefits would come to our state if the Tuition Relief Act is passed."

She said many families are racking up debt of $40,000 or more to meet the rising costs of college, and the state needs to help them.

But critics, such as Rep. Curt Schroder, R-Chester, attacked the proposal, which would put up to 70,000 video poker machines in 14,000 bars and clubs around the state that have state liquor licenses.

"Video poker is one of the most addictive forms of gambling," he said. "It will be destructive of our neighborhoods by turning thousands of bars and restaurants into mini-casinos."

Stephen Drachler, executive director of A United Methodist Witness, also was critical, saying video poker "is the crack cocaine of gambling. It is a bad bet for Pennsylvania."

Mary DiGiacomo Colins, the chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board since 2007, is expected to step down from the agency within the next two months, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The governor is expected to replace Colins, 60, who is in line for an appointment as a senior judge within the Pennsylvania court system, with his chief of staff, Greg Fajt.

The move means the gaming board, which oversees the licensing and operation of slot machines in the state, would get its third leader since it was created 41/2 years ago, while also triggering changes at the top echelon of Gov. Rendell's senior staff.

Colins declined several requests for an interview. Through a gaming board spokesman, she released this comment yesterday: "There is still a significant amount of work to be done by this board and I continue to serve at the pleasure of the governor."

For two years, House Republicans, including Rep. Ron Marsico of Dauphin County, have been insisting on changes in the 2004 law that authorizes 14 slots casinos in Pennsylvania.

Now they're getting help from Mr. Marsico's cousin, Dauphin County District Attorney Edward Marsico, who wrote to Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders last week urging them to correct what he sees as weaknesses in the law.

Both Marsicos want the Legislature to revise the way that the financial and criminal backgrounds of casino license applicants are investigated. Such investigatory power should be removed from the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement, an arm of the state Gaming Control Board, they said, and given to "a real law enforcement agency," either the state police or the attorney general.

Doing so, they said, would allow state investigators to have full access to a casino applicant's criminal history, data that gaming board officials aren't allowed to see. This inability to see such data, said Ron Marsico, "has cast a cloud of Pennsylvania's fledgling gaming industry."

Last week, Edward Marsico dropped perjury charges that he'd filed against Poconos casino owner Louis DeNaples over a year ago. One reason, he said, was the "linguistically imprecise" way that state gaming officials asked Mr. DeNaples questions. The district attorney said that the poor questioning would have made it hard to secure a perjury conviction.

An investigative grand jury will form next month in Pittsburgh, and some officials believe it might gradually shift its focus toward possible corruption in the gambling industry.

Attorney General Tom Corbett is empaneling the grand jury to focus on public corruption and organized crime, and possibly environmental crimes and insurance fraud, spokesman Kevin Harley said Friday.

He would not comment about gambling, but other officials said they believe the licensing and development of casinos in Pennsylvania will become the grand jury's focus.

A grand jury that expired and will be replaced with this one heard testimony related to casinos. When a grand jury convenes, prosecutors summarize for the jurors unfinished business from the previous jury, Harley said.

Pennsylvania homeowners outside of Philadelphia will for the second year receive at least $200 in property-tax reductions from slot-machine gambling revenue, Gov. Rendell said yesterday.

Speaking at a news conference in Pittsburgh, Rendell said that despite the recession, the amount of gambling revenue available for tax relief has remained stable, because the state's casino venues have proved to be competitive with neighboring states', including New Jersey.

He said the troubled economy makes property-tax rebates even more important to struggling homeowners this year.

"The national recession makes our property-tax relief law more valuable than ever for senior citizens on a fixed income and for families who may be suffering due to a layoff or a cut in working hours," said Rendell. "And property-tax relief will also benefit our small businesses, since the $770 million that Pennsylvanians will save this year is money that will be reinvested in the local economy."

Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. is expected to announce the withdrawal of charges today against millionaire casino owner Louis DeNaples and a priest, a source close to the investigation said Monday night.

The source said Marsico decided, after reviewing new information in the case, that withdrawal of perjury charges against DeNaples and the Rev. Joseph Sica was warranted

Marsico would not confirm the information Monday night. He did say he expected to announce an important development soon.

DeNaples was accused of lying to the state gaming board about ties to organized crime when he sought to get a $50 million slots gambling license for the Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos.

Sica was charged with perjury in connection to his testimony before the Dauphin County grand jury investigating DeNaples.

The source said the new information provided to the prosecution "changed the complexion of the case, and it was determined that the interests of justice dictated the withdrawal of the pending charges against both of the accused."

The future shape of gaming in Philadelphia will get a public review today as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) hears status reports from the city's two casino license-holders.

Meeting this morning in Harrisburg, the seven-member board will ask the casinos how they plan to move forward. Both projects have missed deadlines to be operational by now.

A busload of anti-casino residents plans to attend the board meeting.

"This is a critical issue facing all Philadelphians," Ellen Somekawa, executive director of Asian Americans United, said in a statement. "We're going to Harrisburg to make sure the PGCB and casino operators know that they are not in charge of our city. We won't let this issue go."

At a City Hall press conference Monday, the developers of SugarHouse unveiled plans for a scaled-down project on a 22-acre site on the Delaware River between Fishtown and Northern Liberties.

After opposing casinos on the waterfront, Mayor Nutter now gives SugarHouse his full support, arguing the city needs the jobs and revenue from casinos.

Casino owners seeking to bolster their case that Pennsylvania should expand gambling are citing another poll that shows most people support legalizing table games.

The Susquehanna Polling & Research survey found 60 percent of people think table games should be legal, while 35 percent do not. This follows a Franklin & Marshall College survey last week showing similar levels of support. The Susquehanna poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Armed with these numbers and the threat of Ohio legalizing slot machines, casino owners say they will press state leaders to OK games such as poker, blackjack and craps. Ohio voters could decide in November whether to legalize slots, although that state rejected similar ballot measures last year and in 2006.

"It's our intention to continually make the case that table games make sense for Pennsylvania on so many levels," said David La Torre, spokesman for The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane. "Competition in Ohio and West Virginia play a very important part in our efforts to advocate for table games."

Next month, the state must certify whether the fund has enough money to provide property tax cuts. Gov. Ed Rendell's administration said that there will be money for tax cuts.

But with a month to go, the fund hasn't reached the threshold to ensure that homeowners receive tax cuts, according to the administration.

The account had a balance of $456 million as of March 16, according to the Governor's Office of the Budget. Under state law, the fund must contain at least $570 million for the state to distribute money to reduce homeowners' property taxes.

It's not clear what will happen if that threshold isn't met by April 15, the date of certification.

"We are confident that gaming revenues will come in at a sufficient level to provide sustainable property tax relief this year," said Susan Hooper, a spokeswoman for the budget office.

Hooper said that the March 16 figure does not include gambling revenue from February and March. Hooper wrote in an e-mail that when the February gambling revenue is added in, the fund should have about $505 million.