Nevada Legislature debates process of future budgets

Lawmakers readily concede their handling of the budget this session is a dramatic shift from previous sessions.

Because of the deep economic recession and Gov. Jim Gibbons' adamant refusal to consider raising taxes, the budget was nearly $2 billion below the amount needed to provide current services when it arrived in January. With changes, Gibbons' proposed budget was, itself, about $100 million out of balance.

The combination caused lawmakers to go deeper into the details of the budget and make far more changes than in previous sessions.

While governors normally get about 95 percent of what they recommend, this session there were changes in nearly every major program as the money committees added more than $600 million in General Fund spending to what Gibbons recommended.

But the question to lawmakers was, now that they know they can go that deep into the proposed spending plan and make major changes, will they do so again in the future?

"It depends on who we have in the governor's office," said Senate Majority leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas. "If we have a governor with a vision for the state, it won't be necessary."

"This was unusual because we haven't had a governor so disengaged before and haven't seen a budget so unworkable before," said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas. "I don't think it we'll have that happen again."

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, predicted legislative handling of the budget would return to historic patterns in the future.

"In most cases, you're going to find in ordinary times the executive and Legislative branches are going to be pretty much in sync. This time they weren't," said Raggio adding that the problem is not just the fault of the governor but legislators as well.

Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, described what happened this session as a product of the governor and the economic downturn.

"You can't say no new taxes when the budget comes in $2 billion short," he said.

Once economic conditions change, Goicoechea said lawmakers will return to depending more on the governor and the governor's proposed budget.

Senate Finance co-Chairman Bernice Mathews, D-Sparks, agreed with Raggio. She predicted future legislatures would delve deep into the details of the budget.

"We set the precedent for them," she said. "That doesn't mean they'll change it."

"I think this is an anomaly," said Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas. "These limited circumstances are just like the number of vetoes."

But Ways and Means Chairman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, said future legislatures will take a much stronger hand in developing the final budget. This session, he said, opened that door and showed lawmakers they can make major changes to what the governor recommends.

"I think it's inevitable," he said. "For years we've wanted to do a legislative budget."

Senate Taxation Chairman Bob Coffin D-Las Vegas, said now that lawmakers know they can make major changes to the proposed budget, they will be less hesitant about doing so if necessary.

"You can't predict what a future governor will be like," he said.

Coffin said it depends on the individual who succeeds Gibbons as governor.

He argued that lawmakers went deeper into the details of the budget before the joint subcommittee system was created to review spending programs 15 years ago. Before then, the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees heard everything separately and developed their own recommendations on the proposed budget. Then they met to resolve differences between decisions made by the two committees.

"We did a better job of ferreting out problems," said Coffin, who has been a lawmakers more than 20 years.

The subcommittee system, he said, "became a nice control device for the majority leader and speaker."