Look ahead

Lawmakers start their fifth week of the 2009 session today with a review of the nearly $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funds coming to Nevada and debate on how much it will actually reduce a huge state revenue shortfall.

A joint Senate-Assembly hearing and a separate Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee hearing are scheduled for the review, covering topics including use of the money for unemployment benefits along with renewable energy and other economic development projects.

Preliminary staff analyses indicate that only a third of the stimulus dollars can go into the state general fund for education and Medicaid, while the state budget shortfall has been pegged at $2.4 billion.

Also today, Senate Finance plans a hearing on the Public Employee Retirement System and potential impact of Gov. Jim Gibbons' proposed budget cuts on benefits for former and current government workers.

Representatives of the system have said that benefits could be cut or the retirement age could be raised to help hold down costs.

The system has incurred big investment losses stemming from the worsening recession.

Assembly Judiciary plans a hearing on measures dealing with domestic violence and battery; while Assembly Ways and Means reviews a bill appropriating funds for public health programs that help people with traumatic brain injuries.

Also Monday, the Senate may vote on a bill to bring Nevada into compliance with the federal Real ID law that's aimed at making it tougher for terrorists, illegal immigrants and others to get official identification; and Senate Judiciary reviews a bill excluding the judiciary from state laws governing access to public records.

On Tuesday, the state's welfare programs and the potential impact of Gibbons' budget reductions on those programs will be discussed at a joint Senate-Assembly subcommittee meeting.

Senate Judiciary members will discuss a bill to expand investigative powers of police before they're armed with a search warrant from a Nevada judge. SB51 was held up previously because of the constitutional concerns it raised.

And an Assembly Health and Human Services subcommittee will discuss AB6, which revises the provisions governing emergency admissions to mental hospitals.

On Wednesday, Nevada's economic development efforts will be discussed during a Senate Finance hearing; and SB152, the "green jobs" initiative pushed by Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, will be debated in Senate Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation.

AB187, which would set up a specialized court for veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life, will be reviewed in Assembly Judiciary. The court plan, sponsored chiefly by Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, with dozens of co-sponsors, would be geared toward substance abuse and mental health treatment.

On Thursday, Senate Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation takes up SB115, which would require the state and various local governments in southern Nevada to work cooperatively on plans for a light rail system between Henderson and North Las Vegas.

Also, a joint Senate-Assembly Taxation hearing is scheduled to hear comments on Nevada's financial structure; and a joint budget panel reviews the state Department of Agriculture.

On Friday, a Senate-Assembly budget hearing is scheduled on Nevada's K-12 school system; and another joint budget hearing is planned on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, targeted for cuts in the governor's spending plans for the coming two fiscal years.

Also Friday, Assembly Commerce and Labor reviews AB148, which requires more safety training for construction workers.