HARRISBURG - Elements of the state's slot-machine gambling law thrown out by the Supreme Court on Wednesday may be resurrected this fall when lawmakers are expected to consider a host of revisions to the law.

The state's highest court upheld the substance of the law, much to the relief of Gov. Ed Rendell and others who pushed it through as a way to create jobs, fuel economic development and fund property-tax relief.

But the 6-0 ruling also invalidated the power of the Gaming Control Board to override local zoning as it decides where to place slots parlors. The high court also struck down as unconstitutional the use of gambling money to subsidize volunteer fire companies and municipalities that house state forest land.

Some lawmakers also want to keep members of the General Assembly from holding any interest in a gambling operation, give the attorney general more power to investigate criminal activity at casinos, improve gambling addiction programs and distribute money to the 80 percent of school districts that have rejected the revenue-sharing system known as Act 72.

With lawmakers rushing to complete the state budget by the July 1 start of the fiscal year, there is "no chance whatsoever" that the gambling law will be amended before the General Assembly recesses for the summer, said House Minority Whip Michael R. Veon, D-Beaver.

As for priorities, that depends who you ask.

Gov. Ed Rendell wants to restore $25 million in annual grants to volunteer fire and rescue companies and restore the gambling board's authority to ignore local land-use regulations.

At the top of Senate Majority Leader David Brightbill's agenda is the ownership provision, oversight by the attorney general, loosened rules for casino suppliers and tougher antiracketeering language.

The firefighter grants appear to have wide support, but the zoning and land-use authority may prove far more difficult to pass outside the context of a wider compromise.

"We're not going to allow this to become some sort of political football that everyone who has a gripe about gaming are going to come to the table and screw up the process," said Mike Manzo, chief of staff to House Minority Leader H. William DeWeese, D-Greene.

Legislation to counteract the overwhelming rejection by school boards of Act 72, which divides the $1 billion in projected annual revenues for school property-tax cuts, could be folded into a larger compromise or addressed on its own.

At a recent Senate Republican caucus, Act 72 was discussed for more than three hours, said Erik Arneson, Brightbill's chief of staff.

"And if 20 senators spoke, there were 20 different variations on what we should do," he said.

Those who, like Rendell, want to restore the zoning authority of the gaming board say gambling opponents could otherwise slow casino building to a crawl, delay tax cuts, and force casinos into less favorable locations that would not maximize revenues or other benefits.

"You cannot have one venue subject to local zoning or a political subdivision's whims as another venue may move forward with their plans," said Kate Philips, Rendell's press secretary. "You set an uneven playing field."