Legislature nails down final budget differences

Kiley Russell

Thursday, May 27, 1999 | 9:24 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Nevada lawmakers have worked out final differences on a $3.2 billion, two year spending plan - leaving nearly $20 million for last-minute bill proposals and legislators' pet projects.

In a joint meeting that ended late Wednesday, Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees concluded work on four separate bills that cover state spending, funding from federal and other sources, money to be spent on class-size reduction and funds for K-12 education.

More than half the money is for K-12 and higher education, while a fourth is for various social service programs. About 12 percent goes for public safety, mainly prisons.

The class-size reduction program will cost $83 million in the first year and $87 million in the second year of the coming budget cycle. There's no change from the current funding level.

Assembly members David Goldwater and Chris Giunchigliani and Sen. Bob Coffin, all Las Vegas Democrats, voted against closing the class-size reduction budget.

They said the money for class-size reduction funds is being rolled into the overall distributive school account, and that could undermine the effort to reduce teacher-to-student ratios around the state.

But supporters say putting money earmarked for class-size reduction, special education, counseling and adult schooling into one budget pot would give local school districts more flexibility.

The new funding will include $1 million a year for summer school or after-school instruction for students who aren't performing well. This is in addition to the $3.5 million a year already set aside for schools designated as needing improvement.

Lawmakers also said districts could keep several million dollars in savings caused by staff vacancies. Additional inflation money for textbooks, library books, supplies, utilities and pupil transportation is also included in the new spending.

The budget doesn't include any cost-of-living raises for teachers.

The final appropriation act lets the University and Community College System of Nevada incorporate any dental services they offer into Medicaid and Nevada Check-Up funding plans.

That helps a plan by Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, to establish a dental school at the University of Nevada. Rawson has been working on the plan for years, but it didn't surface until the final weeks of this legislative session.

The final budget agreement also authorizes a Department of Motor Vehicles reorganization, a vital part of the administration's plan to launch a "Project Genesis" computer system to automate and streamline DMV services.

Genesis was based on the assumption that the reorganization effort was a done deal - an assumption that influenced how the program's computer code was written.

The reorganization would create four divisions within DMV: one for registration and licensing, one for title transfers and mail-in requests, one for management and one for enforcement of department regulations.

Also in the final budget is a section that will allow the state's Transportation Services Authority and the Taxicab Authority to reorganize.

Different taxi authorities would be created for the northern and southern parts of the state. The northern version would regulate Washoe County while the southern Taxicab Authority would deal just with Las Vegas. Both bodies would regulate taxis and limousines.

Funding the trouble-plagued NOMADS welfare computer system was also approved.

Lawmakers agreed to sink another $9 million into the statewide headache known as the NOMADS welfare computer project.

The $140 million project - currently $128 million over budget - has been a problem for Nevada lawmakers for 10 years and still isn't fully functional.

The authorization appropriates $9 million to the Welfare Division - in addition to the $28.3 million proposed by Gov. Kenny Guinn for completing the statewide child support monitoring system.

The money includes $5.3 million for penalties due to the federal government because the system - designed to help county officials track and recover delinquent child support payments - isn't working.