Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Arm twisting adds a late touch to ‘07

In the end, it was probably not worth going into a special session and turning the state budget over to the likes of Sen. Bob Beers, especially with so little money at stake.

As the story goes, the constitutionally mandated 120-day legislative session neared its end in the past few days, and negotiators came close to a budget agreement, reached an impasse, came close, and so on. They were only a few million dollars apart, out of $7 billion over two years.

And then Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, told people he'd had enough.

He told Assembly Democrats to make a deal, or he was turning the negotiations over to the conservatives in his unruly caucus, led by Beers, who loves nothing more than saying "no" to all things government, especially if there's a TV camera around. Beers made his reputation as an anti-tax Republican during the difficult tax session of 2003.

Beers expressed head-shaking disbelief at this depiction of his role, saying Raggio never said anything of the sort to him.

But in any event, Raggio's tactic moved the process along.

"Raggio was exhausted from having to deal with the Beers faction," said a source close to the negotiations, referring to the small coterie of conservative Senate Republicans aligned with Beers.

They had little interest in settling with Democrats if it meant giving too much to all-day kindergarten or not extending a cherished, although small, tax cut on business set to expire this year.

Those Republicans had to be kept in the fold, however, because the budget includes small fee increases, which means the budget bill must receive two-thirds of the votes in both the Assembly and the Senate.

So, although the love-in news conference was postponed once, and then again, and again, and again while the final details were worked out, Democrats assented to some demands from the conservative Republicans, who in turn compromised, and a deal was done Tuesday.

Among the highlights:

Both sides shared credit on more money for higher education.

Fittingly, the news conference was preceded by Gibbons unveiling a portrait of former Gov. Kenny Guinn, who was in attendance. Although the two share party affiliation, they've long had an icy relationship. The scene seemed to match the news conference, which was warm, at least on the surface.

Although it appears the Legislature has a real shot at finishing on time, there's still work to be done, especially on tax breaks for environmentally friendly, or "green," buildings passed in 2005, which have cost far more than expected and must be fixed.

In 2005 state lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that gave tax breaks of up to 50 percent for 10 years to commercial properties as an incentive to build green.

Although the plan was hailed as the most "radical" in the country and put Nevada on environmentalists' map, the fiscal effect of the tax breaks started to sink in earlier this year. Based on just seven projects, including the $7.4 billion CityCenter on the Strip, the state stood to lose almost $1 billion in tax revenue over the next 10 to 15 years.

So Assembly Democrats Marilyn Kirkpatrick of Las Vegas and Debbie Smith of Sparks were assigned to fix it. After drafting two versions, and squaring off against the full force of lobbyists for casinos and developers, the duo came up with a third draft over the weekend. It was described as a compromise between builders that wanted to keep as much of their tax breaks as possible and lawmakers fearful of giving away too many tax dollars.

Under the new draft, builders could obtain a 25 percent property tax break by reaching a silver level, 30 percent break for a gold level and 35 percent for a platinum level. The bill passed through a committee 3-2 and will be heard on the floor of the Senate this week.

The clock is ticking on the end of the session, but at least now everyone isn't standing around watching it tick and tock.

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