Decision on special session unlikely until month’s end

By Cy Ryan

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 | 12:29 p.m.

CARSON CITY – A decision on whether to call a special session of the Legislature to deal with the state’s financial problems won’t be made at least until the end of November, Budget Director Andrew Clinger said today.

The state Gaming Control Board reported that casino tax collections are down 9.7 percent, or $23 million, since July -- the four months of the current fiscal year.

The number of persons qualifying for health care for low income residents is expanding faster than expected. And there could be a $42 million shortage in state funds for Medicaid by June 30, 2011.

Asked if Gov. Jim Gibbons should call a special session, Clinger said, “I don’t know yet. We still have to wait until the end of November when we will get the first quarter results for modified business tax, the real property transfer tax and the insurance tax.”

And another month of sales tax collections will be available toward the end of the month. The sales and use tax is the state’s biggest revenue producer and it has been declining by double digits each month in the last 10 months.

He said the collections from the gaming tax were “a little less than we expected.”

In gaming there was a 29.2 percent increase in baccarat win or $22.4 million over last year. But part of that win is in credit extended to high-end players. Clinger said he thinks those debts will be collected by casinos and the taxes paid.

He said there was no problem now with cash flow in the state so there is no need to tap into a line of credit.

The budget office has been meeting monthly with economists from the state Department of Health and Human Services to look at the case loads in Medicaid and welfare.

“Frankly, it is a concern,” Clinger said. “It’s more a concern to me than the revenue situation.”

The recipients on the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families have reached 27,762 in September, or 38.2 percent higher than the same month of a year ago. The Legislature approved a budget for only 25,873 for this fiscal year.

On Medicaid, there were 225,487 recipients in September. For this fiscal year, the Legislature approved money for only 213,511.