NEWPORT — A gambling watchdog group is opposed to state legislation that would extend Newport Grand’s video-slot contract with the state and weaken the city’s ability to regulate the gambling facility.

The bill before the General Assembly was requested by The Procaccianti Group, which has agreed to purchase Newport Grand for $155 million as part of a $1.4-billion plan to redevelop the site and surrounding land.

Yesterday, Citizens Concerned About Casino Gambling issued a statement asserting that the bill would strip the city of the authority it needed to regulate expansion at Newport Grand.

The bill “is an arrogant attempt to usurp the jurisdiction of the city of Newport by transferring control over a huge section of the city to the Procaccianti Group through the state Division of Lotteries,” the Rev. Eugene McKenna, president of the group, said in a statement.

“The bill would remove the Newport Grand gambling facility and any ancillary properties from city zoning regulations, thus allowing the Procaccianti Group, which seeks to purchase Newport Grand, to expand the facility in any way it saw fit and to control the development of adjacent properties it might acquire. This move to circumvent city jurisdiction is a transparently obvious effort to overcome years of opposition by Newporters to expanded gambling.”

In 2005, the General Assembly approved a contract that freezes the tax rate on video slots for 10 years and requires Newport Grand to complete $20 million in improvements. But the city refused to issue a building permit, saying the plans violated local ordinances restricting gambling. Newport Grand sued, and a Superior Court judge agreed in February that the city’s actions were illegal and ordered a building permit issued. The city has appealed.

In April, Cranston-based Procaccianti, owner of the Westin Providence and many other hotels in Rhode Island and across the country, announced its intent to buy the 24-acre Newport Grand site and its interest in acquiring an additional 30-plus acres of nearby state and federal land.

“Because the sovereignty of every community in Rhode Island is threatened by this bill and the goal of the Procaccianti Group to transform Newport into Babylon and extend its schemes to the rest of the state, Newport County’s voters and their elected officials must take the lead in opposing Procaccianti pernicious plans,” said Father McKenna, a Catholic priest who founded the group in 1977.

The bill was introduced in the House by state Rep. Henry C. Rose, a Democrat who represents Pawtucket and East Providence. He said the developer asked him to submit the legislation.

rsalit@projo.com