Nevada lawmakers to review big issues facing state

Brendan Riley

Wednesday, March 1, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Key legislators meet here Friday to review big issues facing the state - including budget needs, the Nevada economy, government agency organization and electric power deregulation.

The lawmakers will hear from Denice Miller, Gov. Kenny Guinn's senior policy analyst; three of their own fiscal analysts, Dan Miles, Mark Stevens and Ted Zuend; and legislative researchers Fred Welden and Scott Young.

They'll also get progress reports from numerous study committees that are considering bills for the 2001 session on subjects ranging from health care and higher education to state highways, radioactive waste, worker compensation and juvenile justice.

Part of Friday's session is likely to focus on a budget surplus that could hit $155 million by June - roughly double the projected amount - because of strong growth in casino and sales taxes.

Casino-related taxes are up about 16 percent so far this fiscal year, compared with 4.4 percent growth predicted by the state's Economic Forum last spring. Sales taxes are coming in at nearly 7 percent, compared with earlier projections of 5.9 percent.

The two levies are the mainstays of Nevada's budget, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the $1.57 billion in revenues the state expects to collect this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Tied in with the state budget discussion is the current effort to review all government operations - an effort sought by Guinn to help trim costs and make government operate more efficiently.

The review will result in a report to the 2001 Legislature, and the Guinn administration has promised the document will do more than simply suggest more cooperation or communication among state agencies.

The update on electric power deregulation follows Guinn's decision Monday to pull the plug on this week's scheduled startup of deregulation.

Instead, Guinn plans a summit meeting of major participants in deregulation negotiations to find a way to overcome legal and technical obstacles.

No date has been set for the summit meeting, and no new deadline has been set for the start of deregulation.

Some unresolved issues include how to police distribution of electricity from multiple providers over existing power lines, and access to existing transmission lines by outside providers.