Tax report backfires on Assembly Republicans

Erin Neff

Monday, Jan. 13, 2003 | 11:04 a.m.

A report submitted to Gov. Kenny Guinn by Assembly Republicans was designed to add another dimension to the tax debate.

But the dimension it has added so far is one Democrats and activists think will hurt Republican chances to cut into government spending because the original idea has been misinterpreted by some to mean that necessary programs are on the chopping block.

Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, caused an unintended uproar when he released the results of a computer model he created to examine "enhancements" to government spending over the past six years.

Enhancements are budgetary terms for spending on items that were not in previous budgets and were not covered by growth or inflation. Thus, the addition of new staff, new programs or new buildings would be an enhancement in one budget cycle, but a maintenance item in the next.

Beers simply wanted others to examine what has been added to determine if anything can be cut. He identified some $530 million in "enhancements" since 1997.

But during a press event Friday to unveil a horrible report card on children in Nevada, one member of the Henderson-based Child Advocacy Alliance called Beers' plan "an attack on innocents."

Some of Beers' highlighted enhancements were things such as Nevada Check Up, a program that provides health care for children of low income parents. The Alliance said Nevada's dismal D minus grade for children would be even lower without such programs.

Donna Coleman, president of the alliance, said she found the Assembly Republicans' tactics "disturbing."

"These lawmakers are going to have to choose," Coleman said. "I will tell you that right now it's not a matter anymore of doing the right thing for kids, it's down to doing the legal thing for kids."

Coleman said that children in custody of welfare or other programs have constitutional rights to services that are currently not provided. Her group has been meeting with the National Center for Youth Law in Oakland, which recently sued the state of Washington over inadequate funding for child welfare programs and won a $65 million judgement.

"It's down to 'you can pay be now, or pay us later,' " Coleman said.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said he thought Beers was making a judgment call with his list of programs.

"I don't know if Bob Beers speaks for the rest of the Assembly Republicans, but I can tell you that I will not balance this state's budget on the backs of education, children's health care or senior programs," Perkins said.

Perkins said that while he is interested in looking at ways to cut spending and save money, he believes some of the programs Beers listed are off limits.

"It's just empty rhetoric," Perkins said. "To me it's a smokescreen to avoid making difficult decisions in our state."

"I think we always need to look for efficiency in state government and cut where we can, but the suggestions that have been made are so extreme that I don't think mainstream Nevada will go for that," he added.

Beers said that while he thinks government must be cut, he hasn't made a decision yet on how.

"It would appear that the economy in Nevada is shrinking," Beers said, citing recent gaming figures and real estate appraisals. "The government, I believe, should be a reflection of the economy."

Beers said he cannot understand why Nevada has a $704 million deficit in the coming two years. The number, he says, is based on a 17.5 percent rate of government growth over the period. More information about his proposal is on the Web at: http://www.nevadabudget.com

"Something in the math isn't adding up," Beers said.

Perkins said it is possible "the extremes that people go through to avoid having the courage to do the right thing" could hurt some Republicans' anti-tax strategies.

On the Senate side, for example, Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, has placed five Republicans and two Democrats on both of the money committees -- Finance and Taxation.

The theory behind the appointments is to make the people who sign off on the budget in Finance find a way to pay for it in Taxation.

Raggio has consistently said some taxes will be needed to raise enough revenue to get the state out of its current budget year deficit and the coming $704 million shortfall.

"I'm still hearing some statements from people about cutting," Raggio said. "We have cut spending down to the bone. It's down to the point where there is no fat anymore."

Assemblyman Josh Griffin, R-Henderson, said he thought Beers was being taken out of perspective based on a 10-minute presentation he made to the 19-member Assembly GOP caucus last week.

"All he said was, 'If you guys want to look at the budget, this is a good way to start,' " said Griffin, the assistant minority leader.

Griffin said he does not believe the state can "cut its way into prosperity."

"Nevada's government is a relatively efficient operation," Griffin said. "I will not personally be supportive of cutting programs that provide health insurance for kids."