State running low on emergency money

Another bad fire season could burn up the state's emergency fund.

Members of the Interim Finance Committee will be told today that, once they approve expenses on their agenda, the legislative contingency fund will be down to $600,000.

Budget Director Perry Comeaux said that will go up to about $1.8 million once federal reimbursements for last summer's fires are all received, but another bad fire season this summer could easily run the state's emergency account into the red.

"You do have the emergency powers that would allow you to incur the cost," he told Gov. Kenny Guinn at Tuesday's Board of Examiners meeting. "Whether you can pay the bills is another thing."

The 1999 Legislature started the contingency fund with $8 million but $3.7 million was eaten up almost immediately by last summer's wildfires which hit all corners of the state - Las Vegas to Elko to Reno - and consumed more than a million acres.

Since then, most of the rest has gone to pay debts such as stale claims - bills owed by the state but paid after the close of the year's budget - and such things as "post conviction relief" - costs of appealing court decisions and convictions by the Public Defender's Office.

Comeaux said post conviction relief bills have been coming in three times as high as projected and stale claims are up from $1.8 to about $2.1 million a year.

As a result, the interim finance contingency fund has been disappearing much faster than expected.

Comeaux asked and the examiners - Guinn, Secretary of State Dean Heller and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa - voted to ask lawmakers today to restore the claims and contingency accounts to $300,000.

Also on the list are claims for the Public Defender's Office and other bills totaling nearly $200,000.

Comeaux said what's left could be quickly eaten up if this summer's fire season is as bad as last year.

"You can't go through this process of fighting fires without paying your bills," said Guinn, asking whether they could use money from a "rainy day" fund.

Comeaux said there is more than $120 million in that account but no easy way to get at it.

He said the fund can be used when revenues fall more than 5 percent below budget forecasts or "if the governor and Legislature agree that a financial emergency exists."

"But I'm afraid that would take the entire Legislature," he said.

If fire bills run higher than the money left in the contingency fund, Comeaux said, "our options would be to delay payment or have a special (legislative) session."

"We just have to cross our fingers and hope for a mild fire season," he said.

Interim Finance Committee members are expected to approve the transfers to contingency and claims funds today.