Raggio, a fellow Republican, calls Gibbons’ speech ‘strictly political’

By David McGrath Schwartz

Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 | 3:32 p.m.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, criticized today Gov. Jim Gibbons' State of the State speech, saying it amounted to finger pointing and was "strictly political."

"I don't think it was helpful, hearing the governor's speech last night, to point fingers," said Raggio, the state's longest-serving senator. "To blame the Legislature - to say the Legislature caused the problems? It's an incredulous, if not a strictly political, statement."

Raggio noted that 30 other states are facing budget shortfalls, and noted that the governor didn't suggest repealing the temporary tax increases passed in 2009. "If he did that, we would have twice the budget hole we see today," he said.

Gibbons used the Monday evening speech to address the state's $881 million budget gap and in the process ripped the Legislature for raising $1 billion in taxes.

"They made the wrong call," Gibbons said. "I thought it was wrong then. I know it's wrong now. I planned responsibly. They gambled on new taxes and we all lost."

Raggio, who has had a rocky relationship with Gibbons, pushed back today, as legislators began hearing about proposals to cut the budget for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Raggio said the Legislature's tax increase "was able to delay some of the impacts on the lives of a lot of Nevadans who need services. If you look at the quality of services in the state, it's certainly at the low end."

"I think partisan and political stuff, whether it's coming from the Legislature or governor, is not helping us get through a difficult time in the state's existence," he said.

He noted the state was looking at rationing diapers for incontinent adults.

"Anyone involved in this process, whether the governors office or Legislature, should have heavy concerns," Raggio said. "It's a very distasteful process, and disheartening."