Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons answers media questions Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009, at his Capitol office in Carson City. Gibbons is considering another round of budget cuts and a possible special legislative session to deal with Nevada’s fiscal woes.
Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 | 11:55 a.m.
Sun Coverage
CARSON CITY - Gov. Jim Gibbons said today that layoffs will be part of the next round of budget cuts if state tax revenues continue to fall below projections.
In the first three months of the fiscal year, taxes have come in $53 million below projections earlier this year. So far, the state has cut programs and furloughed state workers to deal with the recession, and Gibbons had maintained that he wanted to avoid layoffs to prevent a further increase in the state's unemployment.
When asked today at a news conference in the capitol whether layoffs would be part of the next round of cuts, Gibbons didn't hesitate to say yes.
How deep the job cuts could be is still unclear.
Gibbons has asked departments to prepare proposals to cut 1.3 percent and 3 percent. Those scenarios will be presented to the administration by Dec. 15, Gibbons said, and could include further program cuts, extended furloughs or pay cuts or layoffs as agency heads see fit.
"Each agency has the authority to deal with the shortfall the best they can," Gibbons said.
Additionally, Gibbons said he will sign an executive order calling for the state's Economic Forum, made up of business leaders, to meet and report back by Jan. 19. The Economic Forum looks at the various taxes and predicts how much money will come into the state. Their projection binds how much money the Legislature can spend.
There are many things Gibbons can do with approval from the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee. Gibbons said as a "last resort" he would call the Legislature into a special session to deal with the shortfall.
Nevada's part-time Legislature is not scheduled to meet again until early 2011.
Lawmakers from both parties have downplayed the need for a special session to deal with the economic shortfall, arguing that financial moves such as transferring funds from one fiscal year to another are enough to limp by.
The Legislature last year authorized the governor to tap a $160 million line of credit, but they also built that money into the state's budget.
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