$20 million added to Guinn budget

Monday, Feb. 24, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Although Nevada already was facing a $700 million budget shortfall, Gov. Kenny Guinn has called for $20 million in additional spending for the coming biennium.

Guinn's budget office today submitted to the Senate and Assembly budget committees 46 amendments to the proposed $4.8 billion budget. Some of the changes are due to mathematical errors, they said.

The only immediate reaction to the announcement was a long, soft whistle of exasperation from Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas.

In the memo from Deputy Budget Administration Andrew Clinger, an additional $20.7 million is listed for the retirement costs of Nevada's schoolteachers.

The original budget had only included the state contributing 50 percent of the cost of the monthly retirement premium.

The budget division also says an additional $1.3 million is needed for medical care at the state prison system. The change was made to reflect medical inflation costs, officials said.

But there is a $910,000 million reduction in medication costs for the Nevada Mental Health Institute in Sparks. And there is a $970,000 reduction in the budget of the University and Community College System to reflect that 2 percent of positions will be vacant, rather than 1 percent in certain job categories at the system.

And $300,000 has to be added to the budget of the state Parole and Probation Division because the motor pool did not correctly calculate their projected costs in the use of vehicles, officials said.

Legislative Fiscal Analyst Gary Ghiggeri said the governor also wants to reduce from $50 million to $45 million the amount to be restored to the state's "rainy day" fund.

Guinn is recommending the state take $100 million of the $136 million out of the fund to meet the deficit this year. He then wants to start to restore the amount over the next two years.

The governor's tax plan for an increase of $1.1 billion is expected to be introduced this week in the Legislature.