Budget overview hearings begin today

Lawmakers begin learning today what state agencies did to cut spending to meet expected revenues as five days of overview hearings begin.

Legislators who believe the governor has cut many programs and services too deeply are expected to begin building their case for increasing revenues. The Gibbons administration will try to justify the cuts and explain how agencies will continue to provide necessary services.

The most controversial parts of the $6.2 billion General Fund spending plan proposed by Gov. Jim Gibbons have already been pointed out: Cutting state worker salaries by 6 percent while making them pay more of their benefit premiums and a 36 percent overall reduction in university system budgets.

Democratic lawmakers have already objected to those reductions.

The overview begins today with a review of the Capital Improvement Projects budget, administered by the Public Works Board. Agencies originally requested more than $1.4 billion in construction " two-thirds of the requests from the university system and Department of Corrections. But the board is recommending $622 million in construction and maintenance.

That doesn't include any General Fund money. It consists of bonds, grants and federal money.

The biggest project on the list is the $225 million Prison 8 at Indian Springs in Southern Nevada. That project is expected to draw some opposition from lawmakers who have already questioned why the governor plans to close Nevada State Prison then spend millions to build the new prison.

The plan also puts $148 million into the university system's top projects " including the new Hotel Administration building at UNLV. The system fought hard to include that project, saying if it wasn't on the list, they would lose the $25 million that Harrah's Corp. pledged to pay for half of it.

The rest of the university system's funding will pay for restoration of the Health Sciences Center projects, cut in budget reductions last year.

The combined Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees will also take a look at Gibbons' plans to combine some divisions within the Department of Business and Industry in order to save money. The issue there may be whether  combining the Real Estate and Mortgage Lending divisions will weaken oversight of the agencies responsible for protecting homebuyers.

And the Department of Taxation will present its budget, including plans to beef up staff to catch businesses that aren't paying all their taxes.

On Friday, the committees will begin receiving testimony on some of the most sensitive budget cuts proposed by the Gibbons budget plan " human services, including welfare, mental health, child and family services and programs for the elderly and veterans.

The Department of Corrections is before the committees Monday and the center of attention there is the plan to shut down Nevada State Prison. Tuesday the public schools, university system and employee benefits program budgets will be presented.

The agenda for the final overview hearing on Wednesday includes the Department of Transportation's plan to handle budget cuts.

The hearings are designed to give lawmakers an overview of what is in the budgets. Full and detailed hearings on each agency's budget plan will begin when the 2009 Legislature convenes Feb. 2.

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