Special session starts Monday

Gov. Jim Gibbons today called a special session of the Legislature to start Monday, sketching out a plan which includes another $72.8 million in cuts to agency operating budgets.

But he said there will be no layoffs as a result of the plan developed in a series of meetings with legislative leaders.

He said the goal was to "solve the problem in the most efficient and effective manner" with the least damage to governmental services. But he conceded the plan is designed just to get the state through to the start of the regular 2009 Legislature February 2. He said they are "short term solutions."

"During the legislative session in February we'll have the opportunity to look at the long term fixes that are needed," Gibbons said.

How to balance the 2010-2011 biennial budget, he said, hasn't yet been determined. That budget, according to Director of Administration Andrew Clinger, is looking at a 34 percent reduction from what was legislatively approved for the current year " a total of more than $1 billion a year.

Gibbons said no decisions have been made on how to balance that budget but, when asked how he would react of lawmakers send him a budget balanced on tax and fee increases, he said: "I would veto it."

The new reductions to this year's budget will bring the total amount cut from the current biennial budget to $1.5 billion. With the $72.8 million announced today, the total cuts to operating budgets come to just over $300 million of that. The majority of the reductions this biennium were to one-time expenses such as construction budgets along with taking the state's $267 million Rainy Day Fund.

While neither Gibbons nor Clinger would provide specifics until Monday, they said another $76.7 million of the total will come from reversions to the general fund in non-general fund accounts. Both that money and the operating cuts include dipping into or even eliminating numerous reserve accounts.

The $160 million line of credit from the Local Government Investment Pool is the biggest single piece of the total. But Gibbons and Clinger said a specific source of revenue to pay back that loan over the next four years has not yet been identified. Gibbons said that would happen during the special session.

Another $28 million will come from the minerals tax " a one-time benefit the state can claim by making Nevada mining companies pay next years net proceeds of mineral tax in advance this year.

Finally, the plan will dip into the Trust Fund for Public Health which has already been hit once in this budget crunch, and the money reverted to the Account for Programs for Innovation and Prevention of Remediation within the Department of Education. The latter contains nearly $21 million as of this week.

Clinger said there are also several other small pots of money being tapped to bring the total to $341.7 million.

Gibbons said details were being withheld until Monday when lawmakers convene. He said he wants them to complete their business by the end of Tuesday.

Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.