Games continue as NV lawmakers approve stimulus programs

The games continued Monday as Nevada's legislative Interim Finance Committee met in a special session to approve two stimulus programs the governor says IFC has no control over.

The ongoing disagreement between IFC and the governor over who controls the "stimulus czar" and aide resulted in the positions being funded twice, in the governor's office and the controller's office, nearly doubling the cost.

On a party line vote, legislators Monday approved $257,709 to hire a director and assistant in the governor's office to oversee Nevada's $2.2 billion in stimulus cash, and also OK'd the release of $10.46 million in stimulus funds for weatherization projects.

Republicans either voted no or abstained on grounds a vote was unnecessary because the governor has declared both work programs emergency measures under state law, thereby not requiring IFC approval.

Gibbons directed his staff not to attend the video-conference meeting held in Reno, Las Vegas and Elko.

Legislative Council Bureau Director Lorne Malkiewich said the expenditures were originally sent from the governor's office to IFC citing Gibbons' executive order taking control of the money, but without any indication the governor had declared them emergency items under state law.

Malkiewich said that declaration didn't arrive at LCB until nearly 4 p.m. Friday. Since the special IFC meeting was set for 8:30 a.m. Monday, that technically made the work programs seven hours late to comply with state law requiring three days advance notice under the open meeting law.

Malkiewich said the decision was made to go forward with the IFC meeting "out of an abundance of caution."

Legislative Counsel Brenda Erdoes backed that up, saying she found nothing in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that would override state open meeting law.

"These two programs are before you today because they were not submitted as an emergency," she said.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said in the meeting that IFC overstepped its bounds two weeks ago when it changed Gibbons' original request to approve the stimulus czar and aide positions in the governor's office. The committee instead put them under Controller Kim Wallin, as lower-paying positions.

"I believe the committee acted inappropriately in not passing the motion to place it under the governor's office," Raggio said. "I'm sorry to say it went down strictly on a partisan vote."

He said he would support rescinding the motion that put the program under the controller and move it to the budget office, but no one offered that motion.

Raggio said that because the governor's staff has indicated they have an opinion from the attorney general that the governor has the authority to approve these programs as an emergency without IFC approval, he would abstain from Monday's vote. He was joined by other Republicans on the committee.

Asked whether that would be his stance on all $2.2 billion in ARRA money to Nevada, Raggio said he would take up each program as it arrives.

"I think we have to vote on the two issues, get them up and get them going and out of the way," said Assemblyman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks. "Then if we want to throw rocks at each others' house for a while longer we can go back to that."

The battle started two weeks ago when, at Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford's insistence, IFC put the stimulus coordinator under the controller and held back the weatherization money to give union contractors time to qualify for some of that work.

"My hope is we don't have these confrontations going forward," said Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert. She was joined by Senate Finance Chairman Bernice Mathews, D-Sparks.

"We are here because cooler heads have not prevailed on both sides," said Mathews.

She added that, "this is the first time in 16 years I've been here we've had this where parties are not talking to each other but through the media."

Mathews also joined Yerington Republican Tom Grady in saying future IFC meetings need to be held live in Carson City, not by video-conference in Reno, Las Vegas and Elko.

"We all ought to be in the same place looking each other in the face," she said.

The governor's office still faces a major challenge in funding the ARRA director and executive assistant's positions. They need federal approval to spend part of the stimulus money for administrative expenses.

If they receive that approval, the net effect of the two-week political battle will be to nearly double what Nevada will spend on applying for, monitoring and reporting on all ARRA money the state receives since there was no vote to take back the money approved for the positions under the controller.

That means the governor's office and the controller will each hire two people to manage the stimulus programs instead of just one team being funded.

Gibbons last week hired Charles Harvey, assistant county recorder for Clark County, to oversee the federal stimulus dollars.

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