Address should be satisfying to most legislators

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2001 | 10:28 a.m.

Despite troubling economic signs on the horizon, Gov. Kenny Guinn delivered a State of the State address Monday with raises for state employees, bonuses for teachers and enough specific funding to please lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Lobbyists and state employees crushed into the Assembly chambers for the address, interrupting Guinn's 33-minute speech some 30 times with applause beginning with his announcement that he would not raise taxes.

And while the one-time 5 percent bonus for teachers, an 8 percent raise for state employees and funding for the Henderson State College proved popular, Guinn's vow to fight Yucca Mountain with $5 million in additional funds won the most fervent applause.

"With this $5 million, we will launch a media campaign to rally our neighboring states, because the transportation of nuclear waste is a danger to everyone," Guinn said. "We will continue to pursue all legal avenues.

"We will expose the unprincipled tactics used by the industry in their attempt to force us to accept this deadly waste," he added.

Guinn then called on each city and county and the private sector to contribute to the effort. Immediately after his remarks, Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman agreed to help.

"I will be happy to ask my board to join this effort," said Herrera, who watched the speech from a front and center seat with Las Vegas Councilman Lawrence Weekly. "Given that we believe it's the most pressing issue, I shouldn't have trouble getting the support."

Goodman, who made headlines after his State of the City speech when he threatened to sue the Energy Department, pledged the city's resources to Guinn's effort.

"Right now we are pledging our city attorney's office to handle the lawsuit, at a great savings to taxpayers," Goodman said. "It is a substantial contribution."

Guinn said he has received support from Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to stand against the transportation of nuclear waste away from where it was created.

Leavitt has included more than $1 million in his budget to fight nuclear waste transportation, Guinn said.

Although the speech largely mirrored the features of his state budget, Guinn did not discuss any specific policies to address the electric crisis in California or ways to change funding for state programs given a projected shortfall eight years from now.

And while she was pleased with many of the programs Guinn decided to fund, Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said she would have liked more specifics.

"There wasn't a lot of public policy," Titus said, adding that she thought he showed a "lack of leadership" on the energy crisis.

Guinn said Nevada must learn from California, so not to repeat the "colossal and dangerous" failure of electric deregulation there.

"Let me be very clear and to the point," Guinn said. "I cannot and will not support deregulation until I am assured that power supplies are secure and those who would be hardest hit by rate increases are protected."

Guinn's budget sets aside $5 million to assist low-income families with utility bills and another $41 million to offset the expected increases in the state's power bills.

The largest portion of Guinn's $3.85 billion budget, and of his speech, focused on education.

Guinn pledged money for technology and textbooks, early childhood education and remediation for under-performing schools in addition to the $58 million one-time teacher bonuses.

One of the biggest reliefs to local higher education proponents was Guinn's decision to fully fund the proposed Henderson State College. His budget includes $16 million for construction, $1 million in one-time start-up costs and another $5.8 million to fund the first-year's anticipated 1,000-student enrollment.

"With your support, the state college in Henderson will become a reality and go a long way toward ending the teacher shortage in Nevada and creating an institution of learning that produces Nevada teachers for our Nevada children," Guinn said.

In addition to education funding, Guinn pledged significant state resources for health and human services, including $86 million to overhaul child welfare programs.