One month left for Nevada Legislature

With a vital revenue report in hand, Nevada legislators start the 14th week of the 2009 session on Monday with a joint meeting of Senate and Assembly budget panels trying to resolve their differences in proposed spending for the next two fiscal years.

There's only a month left in the four-month-long session, and lawmakers want to finish work on the budget, expected to include tax increases opposed by Gov. Jim Gibbons, in three weeks. That's possible now that they have revenue projections from the state Economic Forum.

Also Monday, Senate Health and Education considers AB102, which would allow Nevada, the nation's No. 1 gambling state, to have special court programs for problem gamblers charged with crimes such as passing bad checks, embezzlement, forgery, insurance fraud, or even robbery or assault.

Senate Finance considers SB330, Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford's plan for sweeping regulatory reform of the state Department of Education and the elected board that oversees K-12 schools.

Senate Commerce and Labor reviews AB95, which would expand the authority of the state attorney general to review mergers of major health insurance companies. The idea is to ensure that such deals don't lead to abuses of market power.

Senate Government Affairs takes up AB87, which would update the way that the controller's office collects debts owed to state agencies; and Assembly Government Affairs reviews SB267, which changes requirements of the state's open meeting law

that must be followed by government agencies.

On Tuesday, Senate Legislative Operations and Elections considers AB190, which calls for a study of the costs of the death penalty in Nevada. The bill was amended to delete an execution moratorium while the study is being conducted.

The panel also will consider AJR5, a proposed constitutional amendment that would let lawmakers convene special sessions on their own, without having to get the governor to do so; and AJR6, which would replace Nevada's every-other-year legislative sessions with annual sessions.

Also Tuesday, Senate Taxation considers AB492, requiring firms that get tax abatements to verify they created jobs and benefits for Nevadans.

On the net:www.leg.state.nv.us