State legislative leaders, governor reach budget deal

By David McGrath Schwartz

Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 | 11:32 p.m.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as Gov. Jim Gibbons, reached a tentative deal to close an $887 million shortfall late Saturday, suggesting an end to the legislative special session by Gibbons’ Sunday night deadline.

The tentative deal would cut K-12 and higher education by 6.9 percent, add roughly $25 million in one-time mining fees, increase a bank fee for foreclosures from $50 to $200 and spare current gaming operators from having to pay a higher additional fees, according to two sources speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the deal.

While leaders are optimistic, members of four different caucuses still need to sign off, said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio.

“Everyone made concessions. There are parts no one likes,” said Raggio, R-Reno.

The imperfect nature of the deal was a theme repeated by Buckley, Raggio and Robin Reedy, Gibbons’ chief of staff.

“There are parts in there that everyone hates,” Reedy said. But, she said,

“We have come to an agreement.”

Buckley said, “If we dig in our heels and say we’re not going to support this, we’d get as much done as they do in Washington, D.C... This is a plan none of us would have written.”

The plan brings small victories and concessions from many legislative leaders.

Gibbons had resisted the additional fee increase on mining claims, despite the support of the Nevada Mining Association. Many smaller prospectors are not represented by the association.

Combined with pre-paying some taxes and higher-than-expected revenue from existing taxes, mining will take credit for contributing about $100 million to the state’s budget.

Assembly Democrats had set a goal of taking Gibbons’ proposed 10 percent cuts to 5 percent.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, had made a push Friday to increase fees on gaming to $32.5 million a year to cover the cost of regulating the industry.

The gaming industry pushed back, arguing that it paid an oversized portion of the state’s taxes already.

Gaming lobbyist Billy Vassiliadis stepped to the microphone Friday and told lawmakers: “I’m sorry to say, this year, for the first time, we just can’t help.”

Horsford, in an interview with reporters Friday night, went after gaming directly.

“Look, $30 million is three $10 million high rollers,” he said. “To the average person who is really struggling to make basic decisions about how to keep their families together, the idea that the entire gaming industry can’t pay” rings hollow.”

Multiple sources said Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn called Horsford on Saturday about his comments.

“Steve Wynn reamed him out,” one source said.

Representatives of Wynn lobbying in Carson City did not respond to requests for comment.

The only increased gaming fee that remains in legislators’ plan is on new applicants, according to one source.

A plan to leverage the state’s unclaimed property fund for as much as $91 million is apparently dead, according to the sources.

The full details of the deal won’t be made public until Sunday morning, and only if the caucuses sign off on it.

According to one source, more conservative Republicans wanted deeper cuts to K-12 and higher education.

It also appeared state workers would be spared an additional pay cut. The Assembly amended a bill to convert most state government agencies to four-day, 10-hour-a-day work weeks, so that state employees do not take two additional furlough hours.

Additionally, the Legislature passed a bill Friday allowing school districts to expand class sizes by two students in first through third grades.

Staff writer Michael J. Mishak contributed to this story.