Weekend meeting planned over tax standoff

Cy Ryan and Launce Rake

Thursday, July 3, 2003 | 11:30 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Legislative leaders plan to meet Saturday in an attempt to break the standoff over a proposed tax plan.

Leaders this morning said they weren't sure what would be on the agenda. Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said it will be the first time Democratic and Republican leadership from the Senate and Assembly have met.

"It's all up in the air," Perkins said this morning. "I'm waiting for ideas from the other side. I'm not giving up."

The meeting will come before the state Supreme Court's Monday deadline for filings in Gov. Kenny Guinn's lawsuit. After watching attempts at a compromise fail in the regular session of the Legislature and two special sessions, Guinn has asked the justices to force the Legislature to act on the state school budget and a tax plan to fund it.

Guinn filed the suit Tuesday morning after the state opened the fiscal year without a school aid bill or the tax plan.

The Legislature has failed to reach the required two-thirds vote on any new tax plan. A plan passed in the Senate but has failed in the Assembly.

Perkins had talked with three of the 15 members of the GOP Assembly that are calling for budget cuts before any tax plan is enacted. He said he talked about reducing the tax to $783 million, rather than the $870 million asked for in the Senate.

But he said the GOP caucus rejected that, and Republicans are opposed to any franchise tax on general business in the mix of new taxes. The franchise tax, or gross receipts tax, is a major part of the Assembly Democrats' proposal.

Perkins said he is still working on some alternatives and has put out a number of proposals. All of those proposals have been tossed aside.

He said he's not sure that the $783 million is still on the table. He said the plan had called for deferral of some programs but that figure may have to be higher.

Some members of the GOP caucus say they would vote for a $704 million tax plan, not the $869 million that has been proposed.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, was cautiously optimistic about Perkins' and Raggio's plans for the weekend meeting.

"It would be meeting No. 7,501," Buckley said. "We're going to try again. This matter should be solved by the Legislature."

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said he would do his "darndest" and said his caucus members would go in with open minds.

"We all want to solve this thing," he said. "This is no game."

But legislative leaders said they were not aware of any movement on the issue or any breakthroughs.

Assemblyman David Brown, R-Henderson, said he hadn't heard of a scheduled meeting, but noted that "You can't get it resolved if you're not talking."

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said "Any compromise is better than going to court." Legislative staff members who handle fiscal matters have been notified to be on hand for the meeting. When one side or the other comes up with a plan, the staff runs the numbers to see how much money it will raise.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said this morning he had contacted Perkins, Titus, and Hettrick so far, and he planned to ask some others to attend.

Raggio said he wants all sides to "get together to develop a solution. This is more important than focusing on litigation." He said a court challenge is a "lawyer's dream" and would cost the taxpayers extra money.

He said the lawmakers should be trying to get agreement "rather than suing one another." Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, who was one of the main players in putting together the compromise, said Raggio has been working to get the sides together. He said he did not have a sense that there was a compromise in the offing but he's willing to meet.

He said the Republican caucus at this point has no formal proposal to solve the impasse and that he is not aware of any movement on the issue at this point.

The time, place and rules for a meeting haven't been decided. Who will meet is also up in the air, Hettrick said.

"People have to go on with their lives," he said. "Until we know when we'll meet, we won't know for sure who it will be."

Guinn's press secretary was "hopeful that any agreement can be reached." But he said the governor has not heard from leadership and he will reserve comment.

Bortolin said the governor's suit asks the Supreme Court to order the Legislature "to follow through," on its required duties of passing a bill to fund schools and approve a tax plan to balance the budget.