Governor reaffirms veto promise

Gov. Jim Gibbons Friday reaffirmed his promise to veto the legislation making up the state budget and the tax package designed to fund it.

"I want to say a $1 billion tax increase in a recession is the worst thing they could do and I'm going to veto this bill," he said as he accepted the final two bills in the tax and spending plan.

Gibbons made the comments as he and his staff accepted the final two bills in the package. There are about a dozen pieces of legislation that make up the budget " nearly all of which Gibbons is expected to veto since they either raise taxes and fees or spend more than he has said should be spent in different areas of state government.

Asked it he was pleased with the budget and the tax package, Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said "pleased is not a good word."

"It's the least onerous tax increase we could have done in this situation," he said. Raggio described the 2009 session as "the toughest session I've served in since I came here in 1973."

He said there are still two pieces of the puzzle remaining. One is bills reforming the public employee retirement and benefit systems. Those changes have been agreed to by both sides but had to wait until the budget package was finalized.

The other piece, Raggio said, is agreement between himself and Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, on a "meaningful and impartial" study of Nevada's tax system to present to the next Legislature.

He said those two issues must be settled before his caucus will support the override to a Gibbons veto.

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