State Sen. Bob Coffin has dropped his bid for a Legislative Commission lawsuit over Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons' authority to make million of dollars in cuts in government spending because of a downturn in tax collections.
Instead, Coffin, D-Las Vegas, hopes to persuade the Legislative Commission to authorize a study on the powers of the governor and the Legislature when it comes to cutting budgets when the lawmakers aren't in regular session.
The change in direction came after a face-off between Coffin and the commission chairman, Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, failed to materialize at Wednesday's commission meeting. Townsend said the issue should be taken up by the 2009 Legislature.