Guinn orders Legislature back to work

Erin Neff

Tuesday, June 3, 2003 | 1:44 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn ordered the Nevada Legislature back to work this afternoon and said they must agree on $860 million in new taxes by 5 p.m. Friday.

"What we've been working on is historical," Guinn said this afternoon at a press conference in his Capitol office. "We need to set the sail straight to turn the ship around."

Lawmakers adjourned at 1 a.m. today without even bringing tax proposals for a vote due to the inability to find two-thirds support for the plan on the table.

Guinn will issue a proclamation later today outlining the parameters for the session, but stressed that taxes will be the key issue. Several other bills, including the $1.8 billion K-12 education budget, No Child Left Behind and class-size reduction, will also be considered.

The governor said today it is now time to put disregarded tax proposals back on the table -- plans that would tax payroll, net profits, services, retail sales and hotel rooms.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, declared dead the Unified Business Tax pushed by the gaming industry and Assembly Democrats during the regular session.

"Any form of a gross receipts tax is dead on arrival," Raggio said this afternoon. "It's not going to happen."

Raggio said his 21-member Senate will convene at 4 p.m. today as a committee of the whole to consider the tax proposals.

While he did not express support for any particular tax, Raggio said there will be greater room for agreement without having a gross receipts tax forced upon lawmakers.

"What we need to do is focus and get on with it," Raggio said.

Neither Guinn nor Raggio faulted anyone for the lack of consensus reached in the regular 120-day session.

"Nobody won this endgame," Raggio said. "There were Pyrrhic victories for any one group, but now the public has to win and it shouldn't be driven by any special interest."