State could tap ‘rainy day’ fund

Erin Neff

Friday, March 22, 2002 | 11:16 a.m.

Nevada officials are considering declaring an emergency to shift $10 million from the state's "rainy day" fund to the fight against a proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.

On Thursday Gov. Kenny Guinn said he is deciding whether to call a special session of the state Legislature to ask for the money from the $136 million fund.

"These are tough times, but I still think it's worth looking at," Guinn said. "We need to look at all the ramifications."

Guinn said Thursday that he and Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., are exploring the legality of taking the money from the state's emergency fund and using it to buy advertising in other states to show the dangers of transporting nuclear waste cross country.

State Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said this morning that he is not convinced that the state has more money to add to the Yucca Mountain fight, and he said the state can't legally access the "rainy day" fund for that purpose. Raggio said he was being heavily lobbied to support a special session but remained skeptical.

"We don't have it in the state," he said. "Maybe they can look in Clark County or to private industry."

Guinn would need Raggio's support to get the money because Raggio leads the Senate and is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

The discussion over a special session comes as the state is in the middle of a budget crunch fueled by the economic downturn worsened by the tourism dropoff after Sept. 11. Guinn ordered state departments to prepare "flat" budgets with no growth.

Raggio is critical of the new request, questioning the fight in Washington, D.C. and wondering whether it would be money well spent.

"I'm still at a loss to understand what's going on in the U.S. Senate on this," Raggio said. "I'm not sure how they will use $10 million. I want to be convinced that any money spent would be useful."

Raggio called the issue a "political football."

"If Sen. (Tom) Daschle, who runs the Senate, and Sen. Reid, who is second in the Senate, are telling us that they can't get the votes, what good is the money?" Raggio asked. "(Nevada is) looking at a $100 million shortfall. Where are we going to get this money?"

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins said he spoke Monday with Reid about the possibility for a special session but has not had a chance to discuss the matter with his Democratic Assembly Caucus.

"I think it's certainly something we have to think about," Perkins, D-Henderson, said."Yucca Mountain is the biggest crisis facing the state, but we have to weigh spending the money with the chance for success."

Perkins said he was not sure if the state has $10 million it can free up for the fight. However, he added, if the money is available and lobbyists are able to show evidence that it could make a difference, he would be willing to support its expenditure for the Yucca Mountain battle.

"We would have to know, and they would have to show us that they think it can make a difference," Perkins said.

Guinn said he will decide next week on the special session. He said that dipping into the emergency fund is only under consideration at this point.

"I don't know if it's what the people want," Guinn said. "We're going to have to ask them."

Outside of the rainy day fund, another possible avenue for Guinn is to try to tap into the emergency fund controlled by the Legislative Interim Finance Committee. There is presently $8.8 million in the fund, and Guinn could ask for some of that money.

Perkins, who serves on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, said he would like to look at the issue and possible sources of money before committing to a special session.

The state's rainy day fund can only be tapped if both the governor and the Legislature declare a fiscal emergency.

Greg Bortolin, Guinn's press secretary, said the governor is conducting legal research into whether the fund can be tapped for Yucca. One issue is whether this is an emergency.

Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, said he thinks his constituents would support spending millions more to fight Yucca Mountain because U.S. 95 -- a potential route for the nuclear waste -- travels through his district.

"We need to be competitive and we need to get our point across," Manendo said. "Obviously that's done through money, and the people would support that."

But not every lawmaker is so convinced.

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said he didn't think the Yucca fight should be the state's top spending priority given the "cash-strapped" schools and doctors leaving the state because of skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance.

"I don't see that there's any money to find," Hettrick said.

Assemblyman Joe Dini, D-Yerington, said he would not object to a special session for Yucca Mountain.

"If we're going to make a last stand, we better have enough dough to do it." Dini said, but added the rainy day fund was not set up to take care these types of things.

The most recent special session was in 2001 to take care of reapportionment and bills left over from regular session. It lasted two days. Before that there was a one-day session in 1989 to repeal a legislative pension increase.

State leaders said while issues such as medical malpractice and the state's educational funding crunch lie ahead for the next Legislature, they didn't expect anything beyond Yucca to come up in a potential special session.

Guinn, who sets the agenda for any special sessions, said he isn't considering those issues because of the complexity involved.

He said he doesn't want a marathon session.

Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said today there have note been any preparations for a special session. He said it would cost about $70,000 to $75,000 for a one-day special session. The cost would be about $30,000 a day for any following day.

Sun reporters Jace Radke and Cy Ryan contributed to this story.