MILWAUKEE — Ask Bud Selig to list the highlights of his 13 years as baseball commissioner, and he quickly mentions revenue sharing, interleague play and the playoff wild cards.

Now he can add a tough new steroid policy, strictest of any in American pro sports.

"It was an integrity issue," Selig said Thursday after baseball owners voted unanimously to approve an agreement that dramatically increases the penalties for steroid use. "The integrity of the sport, the integrity of everybody involved, including the commissioner. I really felt very deeply about it."

The players' association executive board still has to sign off on the deal, but that's considered a formality. The union's executive board will decide when it meets Dec. 5 to 9 in Henderson, Nev., whether all players should vote to ratify the agreement or if board approval is sufficient.

Players will be suspended 50 games without pay for a first offense, 100 for a second offense, and a third would result in a lifetime ban.

The sport's current penalties are a 10-day suspension for a first offense, 30 days for a second offense and 60 days for a third. The earliest a player could be banned for life is a fifth offense.

"It was a very easy ratification," Selig said. "As it should have been."

The new policy would start before spring training and could run for several years. Selig said he hopes it can be tied to the next collective bargaining agreement, which won't be negotiated until next year or 2007.

"I think everybody's very, very happy this is finally behind us," Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said. "It's a very strong policy, and it's great to have this behind us so we can talk about baseball, not steroids."