Guinn likely to face strong opposition on some issues

Kirsten Searer and Cy Ryan

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn received moderate praise for his 50-minute State of the State message Monday but he's going to encounter strong opposition from state legislators on a number of points, particularly from Democrats who hold the majority in the Assembly.

The Republican governor's speech was interrupted by polite applause more than 35 times but the only extremely enthusiastic reponse came not for any budget or policy announcement but for the the introduction of Sgt. Henry Lujan of Henderson who is a member of the Nevada National Guard and was wounded in Iraq.

Many lawmakers had a lukewarm reaction to the speech , and Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, described the crowd's reaction as a "little flat."

"I'm not sure why the applause lines were perhaps not so enthusiastic," said Perkins, a potential candidate for governor in two years.

But Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, called the speech impressive and noted that it addressed some of Nevada's most pressing issues, including mental health services, health care in general and restoration of the "Rainy Day" fund to $200 million.

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Minden, said the governor has proposed an expansion of a "lot of programs," but it's clear the governor wants education to be his legacy. The governor stressed the need for improvement in education.

Perkins said Guinn's speech was "reflective of the times." It recognized that, during a robust economy, the state needs to take the opportunity to address some social issues.

Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, who opposed the $833.5 million tax increase in 2003 said he thinks Guinn's proposals this year are "more in line with the state's growth."

One of the times in the speech when Guinn drew less applause than expected was when he talked about his previously announced plan to refund $300 million to taxpayers through vehicle registration. Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said people don't know exactly how the refunds would work and some have concerns that people with more expensive cars would get much larger rebates than people with older ones.

"The way it's outlined, the people with the Hummers and the sailboats get the most money," said Titus, also a possible candidate for governor in 2006.

Some of the strongest criticism came in reaction to his plan to eliminate health insurance coverage for future state workers when they retire. And there were questions about issuing a $100 million bond issue to save the financially faltering Millennium Scholarship program.

Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, said, "I can't go along with a lot of it." Arberry, who is chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, complained that Guinn is treating future employees of the state "like second-class citizens," by eliminating health insurance coverage when they retire.

But Raggio, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he understands the need for cutting back the benefit. The plan is not to take away any insurance coverage from existing workers. He said it looks like the prudent thing to do.

But another Republican, Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, of Gardnerville, called the insurance proposal "problematic." He said when the state employees retire they would have a hard time finding insurance. For instance, he said, a person with cancer probably would not be able to secure a health policy to cover such a pre-existing condition.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said she is reluctant to take people off of health insurance when the state already has the fourth worst insurance rate in the nation. Some of the retirees would not qualify for Medicaid and could be left without any insurance, Buckley said.

While lawmakers agreed the Millennium Scholarship must be saved, they were lukewarm to his suggestion about a issuing bonds. While praising the program, the governor introduced Candice DeGuzman of Las Vegas who was sitting in the gallery. She was heavily recruited to go to USC but chose UNLV because of the scholarship.

DeGuzman is in her first semester at the school of medicine in Las Vegas. "USC got the national championship and we got you Candice. We would rather have you," Guinn said as she stood up to be recognized with a round of applause.

Raggio said the solution may be putting $100 million in cash into the program instead of bonding. "It's a high priority but bonding costs a little more," Raggio said. It would cost about $50 million more in interest, state officials have said.

Hettrick, while he supports the Millennium Scholarship, said he does not want to use bonds to finance the program.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said Guinn's proposal is "fraught with problems." She said the program may have to be converted into one that rewards children based on their needs rather than those who gain a "B" average in high school.

Scott MacKenzie, executive director of the Nevada State Employees Association, said the governor's suggestion for a 2 percent cost of living raise in each of the next two fiscal years was a "good starting point." He said it was better than two years ago when the employees received a cost of living adjustment of only 2 percent in one year of the biennium.

MacKenzie also said the governor's suggestion to abolish the insurance benefits for new employees who retire later will hurt recruiting and retaining state workers. "We will have to oppose that," he said.

Terry Hickman, president of the Nevada State Education Association, said he was glad to see Guinn made education a priority in his speech. He said the suggestion to give teachers a 2 percent raise each of the two years was a "step in the right direction" but "it doesn't go far enough."

He said new teachers being recruited to Nevada see the salary schedule and decide not to come.

Hickman also commented on Guinn's proposal to pump $100 million into grades 1-6 in the failing schools of Nevada. He said there should be extra money for middle and high schools. "All of Nevada's children are a priority," he said.

Buckley said the governor included some of the suggestions from Democrats in his message on mental health. They included increasing money for mental health care as well as increasing health care for pregnant women and small business employees.

Buckley said it is unclear if Guinn plans to devote some of the $45 million in new money for mental health towards triage centers that could screen mental health patients if they need to go to the emergency room in a hospital or straight to a mental health facility.

Emergency rooms in hospitals in Clark County have been clogged with mental health patients before they are sent to the state facilities.

Assemblywoman Leslie said she was pleased with some of Guinn's recommendation on mental health. But there are still gaps that are resulting in a "serious crisis," in Clark County. She wants money for triage centers and crisis units.