Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
AP Photo/Cathleen Allison
Dale Erquiaga, senior adviser to Gov. Brian Sandoval, gives a press briefing Friday, May 27, 2011, at the Capitol in Carson City. Sandoval and his staff are determining their options after Thursday’s Supreme Court decision preventing them from siphoning money from local government to solve state budget problems.
Friday, May 27, 2011 | 5 p.m.
KSNV: Sun's Anjeanette Damon on state budget cuts
Viewing video requires the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player
The Las Vegas Sun's Anjeanette Damon speaks with KSNV about the state budget, one day after the state supreme court ruled the state government could not take $62 million in user fees from the Clark County Clean Water Coalition for a scuttled water project. The precedent-setting decision blows a $656 million hole in Gov. Brian Sandoval's budget plan, which his advisers said Thursday night might be plugged by extending 2009 tax increases set to expire. KSNV: May 27, 4 p.m.
Brian Sandoval
Sun archives
- Governor might seek clarification on Supreme Court ruling (5-27-2011)
- Court decision changes footing on state budget (5-27-2011)
- Sandoval adviser: Court ruling blows hole in budget 10 times larger than expected (5-27-2011)
- Teachers union wants more than extending taxes set to expire (5-26-2011)
- Timing of court ruling breaking budget stalemate no coincidence (5-26-2011)
- In a reversal, Sandoval to consider extending 2009 tax increases (5-26-2011)
- Oceguera: Sunsetting taxes the ‘best we’re going to do’(5-26-2011)
- Court rules Legislature’s $62 million grab unconstitutional (5-26-2011)
Sun Coverage
CARSON CITY - As Gov. Brian Sandoval eeks further clarification on the effect of Thursday’s game-changing Supreme Court decision, his senior adviser said today that the governor will only consider raising the taxes set to expire in exchange for reforms of government.
Dale Erquiaga said at a news conference today that Sandoval does not support raising the complete $679 million that would come with lifting the sunsets on taxes passed in 2009. Sandoval would consider raising a portion of it.
Sandoval had campaigned and been a consistent voice against raising taxes or extending the 2009 taxes. But the Nevada Supreme Court decision to invalidate the state taking money from a Clark County water fund — which had a $62 million effect — creates an unforeseen circumstance.
The decision could put as much as $656 million in revenue that was in the governor’s budget at risk.
“The Supreme Court changed everything,” Erquiaga said. Taxes, he said, are “a last resort.”
Making an additional $656 million in cuts would mean “layoffs of hundreds of teachers ... The budget already contains difficult decisions,” he said. “We think this is a budget we can live with.”
Sandoval thinks that extending the sunsets must come with changes in how government spends money in the long term.
“It’s a last resort to go there. They have to come with reforms,” he said.
Interpreted most broadly, the Supreme Court decision means a number of budget maneuvers including taking school districts’ debt reserves and diverting property tax money from Clark and Washoe counties could be ruled unconstitutional by the court.
“That will forever change how we balance the budget in the state of Nevada,” Erquiaga said.
If the Supreme Court is interpreted narrowly and only applies to this instance, the hole could be just $62 million. In that case, “We’re back to where we were at 8 a.m. yesterday,” he said.
Sandoval’s switch on the expiring taxes is a huge step to resolving the impasse at the Legislature, where Democrats couldn’t find votes for taxes and Republicans didn’t have votes to pass Sandoval’s budget. But there are still plenty of negotiating left to do between factions, including over how much to raise in those expiring taxes, and what kind of government reforms the Legislature will pass.
Erquiaga said Sandoval still wants lawmakers to adjourn by June 6, the 120th and final day of the 2011 Legislative session.
Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, and Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, have publicly expressed support for extending the taxes.
Sandoval still wants clarifications of the effect of the Clean Water Coalition vs. State of Nevada decision.
Sandoval spoke to Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto at 1 a.m. today about filing a brief with the Nevada high court asking it to clarify its intent, Erquiaga said. He has also asked Cortez Masto to prepare an interpretation of the opinion.
The 400+/- million they found a few months ago in new revenue was the result of a renewed business faith that the government was gonna get out of their pocket a little. They invested a little more and hired a little more. Just a little.
If that faith is broken by not trusting the governor at his word, I bet you will see a new sense mistrust and the 400+/- million they planned on WON'T materialize.
So here is the problem:
1) Raise the taxes and destroy the trust, and you have a new 400-500 million hole in budget as projections will go back down and businesses will keep failing at an increased rate.
2) Don't raise the taxes and you still have a 400-500 gap, but at least you keep the businesses that support the entire system on life support.
Businesses make decisions based on the predictability of the government.
If the Governor wishy washes on his pledge, Hold on! The un-intended consequences of businesses moving, closing or not moving here will be far reaching. And the effect will be much greater than the .35%
dale erquiaga...
governor "my kids don't look hispanic so i could care less about you frickin losers that have to deal with racial profiling even though i am a mexican american" sandoval...
just look at how this greasy slimy maggots are back tracking already...
24 hours...
back it on up boys...
nevada is screwed...
because little itty bitty children like bri bri and dale are completely full of crap!!!
This is what we have come to accept as a Nevada Governor? "Yes, elect me, but I won't tell you my plan" What??? Here's the plan, kids- balance the budget on the back of Clark and Washoe Counties with unconstitutional money grabs, see, and don't even think about making my sponsor- er, Big Mining, pay their fair share, ok? Oh, and we're gonna cut education to make our children more beholden to the low skill jobs of my OTHER sponsor- er, Big Gaming- everybody on board with that? And while we're at it, let's cut vital services to make Nevada really the pits at quality of life- am I right?
SERIOUSLY FOLKS- this guy has got to go.
RECALL SCAMDOVAL NOW.
"The 400+/- million they found a few months ago in new revenue was the result of a renewed business faith that the government was gonna get out of their pocket a little."
The bulk of the additional money came from a FORECAST of FUTURE revenue, not current revenue. Not only is this comment misleading, it's really, really bad spin.
The economic forum projections included nearly $100 million in additional projected sales tax revenue... and - in particular - pointed out the increase in visitors to Nevada. The largest part of sales tax revenue and taxable sales are consumer-driven, not business driven.
Furthermore, voting to extend the sunsets actually KEEP some tax breaks for small businesses in effect. Extending the sunsets protects those small businesses from a tax increase.
Now, why doesn't tbvegas mention that pesky little fact?
Whatever. Sandoval is another Republican joke. Call his bluff and shut it all down, close the government.
Sandoval gets all his talking points from advisors, the Koch Brothers write scripts for him. He is a sock puppet for the teabags.
We have already seen in recent days businesses testifying in support of extending the sunsets on certain taxes. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has come out in support of a broad based business tax that is linked to education reform. However, there is still an area that needs to be addressed. The Constitutional protection for the mining industry and the state laws that allow huge deductions need to undergo changes. I am not advocating the Alaska solution of a 25% royalty on oil companies, although based on recent earnings reports, that doesn't seem to have had a negative effect on their profits.
The issue was highlighted in a recent power point presentation at the Barrick Mining annual meeting. One of the mines highlighted in the power point was the Cortez Hills Mine in Northern Nevada. According to the power point, in 2010, the mine produced 114,000,000 ounces of gold (over 35 TONS) at a production cost of $312 per ounce. During the first quarter of 2011, the mine produced 366,000 ounces (over 11 TONS) of gold at a production cost of $220 per ounce. If you project a sale price of $1000 over cost of production,that results in a profit of over $1,500,000,000. Based on what the mining industry paid in taxes in 2009, the tax payment to the state of Nevada will probably be less than 50,000,000 The power point goes on to point out that the projected production from Cortez Hills for 2011 will be between 1.30 to 1.45 MILLION ounces (40-45 TONS)at a production cost of $235-245 per ounce. This is natural resource that should provide significant benefits to the citizens of Nevada. Unless the Legislature acts quickly, another two years will pass without any significant action to change the tax structure of the state.
Actually, mred, I think you are being unkind to sock puppets.
Remember the flap about "extending the Bush tax cuts...and tax predictability?" Of course, the tax cuts were set to expire, so that was "predictable."
Now look at the mess in Nevada, we know that the courts might get involved in the budget, they did in the past when Sandoval was AG. He just wasted every one's time, and why didn't he have a "plan B?" What was the reason for the shift anyway? Why didn't he say if this doesn't work out then, blah blah..." He had no back up plan, and why did he want to mess with everything anyway? This guy does not know what he is doing, he is a simpleton.
Sandoval "They have to come with reforms"; which actually means "I need sound bites that I can feed to my loyal followers who know literally nothing about which reforms work."
To make it worse he's still being a sock puppet for Dale Erquiaga who, coincidentally, knows less than nothing about education reform.
I am tired of uneducated, anti-government, tea bagger, right-wing nut jobs.
Dale and Brian are in no position to make "demands" of anyone in the legislature.Their budget they submitted and have been trying to shove down our throats was just thrown out as unconstitutional. Time to be adult and negotiate with other adults, not stamp your feet like children.
Keeping taxes low does not make a person a right wing nut job and not a tea bagger. The truth is that we are competing with other states that have low taxes and we need to be in a competitive position to get more jobs and more industry in the State. The Governor is pushing for educational reform which is needed. Too many administrators doing essentially nothing for children. The money is going for these bozos instead of the teachers. This is due to a money hungry teachers union. We need reform here and that does not make me or thousands of Nevadans tea baggers.
This is like arguing about a broken mirror on the sinking titanic.
Enjoyed the article that delved into the mindless machinations of Republicans in power in the Sovereign State of Nevada.
What I came away from this article is that Mr. Dale Erquiaga is just as creepy as Governor Sandoval.
They are definitely two peas comfortably nestled in the same pod; both having some alternate universe vision of Nevada that, when you put their combined vision down on paper, makes no sense and surely destined to fail...because the means to achieve the ends are basically impossible to use to achieve any type of goal at all.
I say we get it over with right now and re-name Nevada to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Jones Vargas (DPRJV).
Because that's who those two work for. They clearly don't work for Nevada.
@nvfisherman. For years Nevada has ranked in the 10 ten of the most business friendly states. Where are all the businesses coming to Nevada? Why haven't companies left California in droves to come to Nevada? The Governor made a big announcement a few weeks ago, and announced a new distribution center for Urban Outfitters in Reno. Ikea and Earth link chose not to come to Nevada because of concerns about education. Since 2008-2009 School Year, CCSD has had cuts of 800,000,000 and the projected budget for the 2011-2012 School Year is 1,800,000,000, after another 400,000,000 in cuts. Approximately 90% of the budget is personnel costs. What else do you want to cut?
Dale worked at R & R and Howard Hughes apparently. I'm not voting for anyone connected with R & R, Jones Vargas or NPRI, guess I'll have to vote for "none of these candidates."
Mred and Birdie,
Who do you think Rory worked for and still does?
How many CCSD administraitors have salaries well above the Governors? Teachers should be proteting their bosses why the money isn't making it to the classroom.
When something is positive about the economy the Governor can not take credit and if it is bad news it is all his fault.
Sandoval knows he is in a pickle, despite whatever blustery rhetoric he tries to offer. He's officially lost control of the budget conversation, and he and his advisors know it.
Masto just does not get it. She is so political it is not funny. Next election she will be voted out. She has no concept about economics. Where is the money going to come for these stupid social programs? Let her be attorney general in California.