Lawmakers start ironing out budget differences

Brendan Riley

Monday, May 3, 1999 | 2:44 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Nevada Assembly and Senate budget panels held their first joint meeting to iron out budget differences Monday, but there wasn't much to talk about.

During the brief meeting, Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means members resolved a handful of differences over minor items in the proposed $3.2 billion spending plan for the next two years.

After that, Senate Finance Chairman Bill Raggio, R-Reno, adjourned the meeting without scheduling another one.

Raggio said there are few differences between the Assembly and Senate on their respective versions of the Nevada budget, largely because of extensive work by joint subcommittees since the start of the session.

What's left out of the equation at this point are any session "endgame" tactics by senators and Assembly members to push for what little extra money is available after main budgets are approved.

One dispute is developing over class-size reduction funds. Democrats want to preserve funding, but say a proposal in Senate Finance could gut the effort by letting school districts use the money for any purpose.

Lawmakers must adjourn by May 31, and only last week learned from the state Economic Forum that there's $105.5 million more in tax revenues available for this year and the next two fiscal years.

The state revenues are higher than what Gov. Kenny Guinn had expected. But the governor and key lawmakers say it's still not a lot and won't do much more than restore numerous budget cuts Guinn proposed earlier.

The new estimate includes $39.1 million that will be added to the $1.5 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Another $66.4 million will be added to the $3.1 billion in taxes projected to flow into state coffers in the coming two fiscal years.

Guinn has said much of the extra money will be needed to fix the state's NOMADS computer system, shore up Medicaid funding and restore several social services programs he had cut earlier.

Benefit increases for state workers are still being discussed, Guinn chief of staff Pete Ernaut said. Guinn had promised earlier to make some sort of benefit for the workers a top priority.

Raggio says the Economic Forum's projections - which by law must be followed by lawmakers as they complete work on the budget - hasn't left "a lot of wiggle room."

Assemblyman Richard Perkins, Speaker Joe Dini's majority floor leader, says the projections aren't as high as the lawmakers' fiscal experts had estimated, and that means there's little room for special "pork" projects.

Raggio, Perkins and Ernaut all said the Medicaid funding problem alone takes a large chunk of the extra money. The governor's plan is to spend $35 million this year to restore a Medicaid reserve fund.

Under Guinn's proposal, millions more would be spent on K-12 and university system projects, and a NOMADS welfare computer project. For NOMADS, that includes $4.6 million in fines due the federal government for not having the welfare computer system up and running on time.

Guinn also wants to spend another $4.6 million over the coming two years for an internal audit division to help keep track of state agency funds.

Small amounts will be restored for programs including one for foster grandparents, Holocaust education, a Classroom on Wheels project, and the Retired Senior Volunteer program.