Archive for August, 2010

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Under Fire, State Senate Majority Leader Pulls Plug On ‘Pay To Play’

By Sean Whaley | 10:03 am August 18th, 2010

CARSON CITY – Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, today criticized a fund-raising “pay to play” letter sent out recently by Majority Leader Steven Horsford, saying it borders on an ethics violation.

“I have always avoided that kind of a fundraiser,” he said. “I think it is inappropriate. The perception is that to have access to a leader or chairman you have to pay. I think that sends a terrible message.”

The Nevada News Bureau first reported Tuesday the existence of the letter sent by Horsford, D-Las Vegas, seeking as much as $25,000 in contributions to his political action committee in exchange for access to himself and committee chairmen and women.

Horsford did not return a call seeking comment on the email solicitation. But in a statement released to KRNV Channel 4 in Reno in response to the story, Horsford said he will pull the plug on the fund-raising plan.

“This really was a poor action,” Horsford said. “I take full responsibility for it. I have directed my staff to discontinue the program. It was never our intent to send a message that in order to gain access to our chairs that people needed to make donations, but clearly the optics show that, and at a time when we need confidence and responsibility among our elected officials, I pulled the plug.”

“I just thought it was inappropriate, offensive,” Raggio said. “It’s a very poor way to campaign. This is really strong-arming.”

Raggio said he has also been told by Republican candidates that their efforts to raise money for their campaigns are being hampered by intimidation tactics aimed at lobbyists.

“I’m told there is a lot of intimidation out there,” he said. “My GOP candidates are being told by lobbyists that if they contribute to their campaigns, they won’t get anything done in the session.”

The Nevada News Bureau has been unable to confirm with any lobbyists directly that such tactics are being employed by Democratic legislative leadership.

Neither Horsford or Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, returned calls seeking comment on the claims.

Horsford has a 12-9 majority in the Senate but is seeking a veto-proof 14-seat majority.

Oceguera is seeking to hold on to his current 28-14 veto proof majority. The Assembly 40 seat is a key race in that effort. Incumbent Democrat Bonnie Parnell is not seeking re-election.

Both Pete Livermore, a Republican candidate for the Assembly 40 seat in Carson City, and Michael Roberson, the Republican candidate challenging Democrat incumbent Joyce Woodhouse in Clark District 5, say they have been told the same story by lobbyists.

“The bulk of the lobbyists I talk to tell me the same thing,” Roberson said. “He (Horsford) is definitely playing hardball.”

Nevada State Republican Party Chairman Mark Amodei said he too is aware of the effort by Democrats to prevent campaign donations to GOP candidates.

“It’s not even an if or a maybe,” Amodei said. “Lobbyists have been told that if you contribute against my candidate, don’t bother showing up. I absolutely believe it to be true.”

Amodei, a former state Senator from Carson City, said in an interview Tuesday that such an edict borders on an infringement of constitutionally protected free speech rights.

“I don’t know if it is illegal or not but it sends a clear message about the ability of people to participate in the process,” he said.

No such edicts came from Republicans when they were the majority in the Senate, Amodei said.

“I think it falls under the category of a sad state of affairs for Nevada politics,” he said.

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Nevada Senate Democrats Offer Access In Exchange For PAC Contributions, GOP Criticizes ‘Pay To Play’

By Sean Whaley | 12:26 pm August 17th, 2010

CARSON CITY – Money may not buy happiness but a sizable five-figure donation to Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford’s political action committee will get you some serious face time with Democratic leadership.

Horsford, D-Las Vegas, is seeking financial support for Senate Democrats in an effort to build a veto-proof 14-seat majority in the 21-member upper house for the 2011 legislative session. Democrats have a 12-9 edge now with the potential to pick up two more seats.

In an effort to achieve his goal, Horsford has sent out an email to potential contributors offering access to himself and the Senate leadership in exchange for cash.

Donations can get contributors into the Victory Leadership Circle for $25,000 or more, or into the Chairman’s Leadership Circle for between $10,000 and $25,000, or into the Caucus Leadership Circle for between $5,000 and $10,000, or into the Friends of Nevada Senate Democrats for between $1,000 and $5,000.

State Republican Party Chairman Mark Amodei criticized the “pay to play” email and said everyone should have access to Nevada’s citizen Legislature.

Past practice has been to provide access to all, he said.

“Who do you think you are,” Amodei said. “You are supposed to be a citizen Legislature.”

Amodei, a former state Senator from Carson City, says he is well aware of what is at stake in November and that both parties are working hard to win their races. But Republicans, who controlled the Senate from 1993 until 2009, never tied access to political contributions, he said.

The latest approach by Democrats is an unfortunate development in Nevada, Amodei said.

“It’s too bad we have to import this full time professional Legislature view for access to leadership in the Nevada Senate,” he said.

Horsford did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Horsford’s email is quite specific about what type of access will be available for each level of support:

“Organizations or individuals that contribute $25,000 or more will receive a private dinner with the Senate majority leader and chairs of all the standing committees,” the email solicitation says. “The dinner will permit up to 10 invited guests to accompany the Victory Leadership Circle Member.

“Organizations or individuals that contribute between $10,000 – $25,000 will receive a private dinner with the Senate majority leader and a chair of a standing committee of their choice. The dinner permits up to seven invited guests to accompany the chairman’s leaders member.

“Organizations or individuals that contribute between $5,000 – $10,000 will be entitled to a private reception with the Senate majority leader and Nevada Senate Democrats.

“Organizations or individuals that contribute between $1,000 – $5,000 will be entitled to a luncheon with the Senate majority leader,” the email says.

In a letter accompanying the contribution information, Horsford says Democrats are poised to do well in November, particularly with the primary loss by long-term Republican incumbent Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, to a political newcomer in Clark District 9.

“This game changer provides a direct path for Benny Yerushalmi, a life-long Nevadan and small business owner, to increase the majority in the state Senate come November,” he said.

Senate Democrats are also looking for an upset of Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, and holding on to the seat now held by Joyce Woodhouse, D-Henderson, who is in her first re-election campaign.

“In this election cycle, the stakes have never been higher,” Horsford says in the email. “Reapportionment, the budget and major policy issues affecting the working families and small businesses of Nevada are too important to be held hostage by the Republicans who will now be controlled by an even more conservative membership moving forward.

“Growing the majority and obtaining at least 14 votes will be critical in ensuring that we are able to put Nevada back on the path to prosperity,” he said.

Horsford’s PAC didn’t see much financial support up to the June primary. The contribution and expense report for Victory 2010 showed only one major contribution of $10,000 from the AFSCME labor union in Washington, DC.

___

Copy of mailer signed by Senator Horsford here:

Horsford Victory Leaders Mailer

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Nevada State Board Of Finance Approves Debit Card Payments For Collections

By Sean Whaley | 5:50 am August 17th, 2010

CARSON CITY – The Nevada state Board of Finance today voted to make it easier for those who owe money to the state to pay their debts.

The board voted to give state Controller Kim Wallin the authority to allow those who have outstanding debts to pay by debit card. The controller’s office is now the central point for collection efforts as a result of legislation passed in 2009 that seeks to do a better job of collecting what is owed to the many different state agencies.

It had previously been voluntary for agencies to turn over old debt to the controller’s office for collection, Wallin said.

But the collection efforts are sometimes hampered because the controller’s office cannot accept payment except in the form of a check or cash. The debit card option will soon allow people to pay over the phone and on-line. Debtors choosing to use a debit card will also have to pay a $5 fee.

The option should be available within about two weeks over the phone and next month online via the controller’s website, which is in the process of being redesigned.

“What this does is it allows the agencies to concentrate on providing services for our citizens and not have to be worried about the back end of it; to collect it,” Wallin said. “Anything to get the money in here quicker is better.”

The effort to collect the outstanding debt comes as the state is facing a severe financial crisis in the upcoming two-year budget.

Assistant Controller Mark Taylor said the office expects to see about 200 debit card transactions a month with an average value of about $250.

The office has not yet sought the use of credit cards for payment, but Wallin said that option will be pursued as well.

Those who owe the state money will soon receive some public attention, whether it is wanted or not.

Wallin said that in September her office will be posting the name of every individual and entity that owes the state money on the controller’s website. The names will be available for the public to view in yet another effort at improving transparency in state government, she said. The list will be updated monthly.

The list of debtors is for money owed that has gone uncollected over time, by at least 60 or 90 days and often much longer.

The debts can range from a few dollars owed by a paroled inmate to hundreds of thousands of dollars owed by a financially troubled company, and include delinquent taxes, fees and fines, judgments, overpayments, and tuition. Money is owed to all types of state agencies, from the Division of Forestry to the Department of Corrections.

The controller’s office is working on about $72 million of uncollected debt. Much of what is owed the state is likely uncollectible, but every effort is being made to recover as much as possible, she said.

In testimony to the 2009 Legislature in support of Assembly Bill 87, Wallin said her office takes on about $7 million a year in debt, but only about 11 percent of the debt valued at less than $25,000 and only 4 percent valued at $25,000 or more is collected. The new law, which is intended to improve these efforts, received strong support from the Legislature.

Wallin said she wants to work with cities and counties to assist them in collecting debt as well. Nevada governments cannot afford to leave money on the table, she said.

___

Audio clips:

State Controller Kim Wallin says centralizing debt collection in her office makes sense:

081610Wallin1 :11 to collect it.”

Wallin says state and local governments can’t afford to leave debt uncollected:

081610Wallin2 :07 on the table.”

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Las Vegas Chamber President Says Business Community Will Demand Reform Before New Taxes

By Sean Whaley | 6:24 am August 13th, 2010

CARSON CITY – Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce President Matt Crosson said Thursday the Nevada business community will not accept tax increases in the upcoming 2011 legislative session without “meaningful” reforms in a number of areas including taxes, education and public employee benefits.

“It is fair to say the business community, led by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, is going to be demanding serious and significant reform before any kinds of taxes are imposed on the business community again,” he said.

In an interview on the Nevada NewsMakers television program, Crosson said it is premature to detail the specifics of what those reforms might entail.

“They are rather detailed reforms with respect to taxes and tax policy,” he said. “With respect to education and public employment I think we are looking at some very basic reforms. Things related to accountability, to responsibility, to work rules, to pension contributions, to a variety of different things.

“We have to take advantage of the crisis that we are in right now to set the state on the right course into the future,” Crosson said. “And in part that requires reform.”

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, told the Las Vegas Sun last week that as much as $1.5 billion in tax increases may be needed in the 2011 session to help balance the state’s budget. The budget is expected to be about $3 billion short of the $6.5 billion considered necessary to fund state government operations.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, also said this week that taxes, while a last resort, cannot be rejected out of hand. Tax increases approved by the 2009 Legislature that are set to expire next year may have to be extended, he said.

The Legislature raised the sales tax by 0.35 percent and nearly doubled the tax on Nevada’s largest businesses to help balance the current budget.

The comments by Horsford and Raggio are in stark contrast to the positions of both major candidates for governor, who have rejected any call for tax increases to get the state out of its budget crisis.

Crosson said he has been involved in private discussions with Democratic leaders – who are expected to again control both houses of the Nevada Legislature – regarding the need for reforms and the need to minimize the impact of any tax increase on the business community should a consensus emerge that such an increase is necessary.

In those conversations, Crosson said he has found “a strong sense of responsibility so far.”

Imposing taxes on small business may extend the recession and make it more difficult for Nevada to recover, he said.

And before any talk of taxes can occur, lawmakers have to look at making “responsible cuts” in state programs, Crosson said.

Involving local governments in any budget review process is also worth a look, he said. There are reports of excess spending at the local government level in Clark County, Crosson said.

“Pension contribution levels are extraordinarily high,” he said. “In circumstances like that, given the difficulties facing the state, I think you really have to look at those kinds of things to see whether some changes can be made and need to be made.”

Crosson said Nevada’s position as a low tax state does put it in a good position to recover from the recession compared to other states such as California.

“If we need to raise more revenue we have to be very clever about how we do it and we’ve got to be sure the impact is as minimal as possible, particularly on the small business community,” he said.

___

Audio clips:

Las Vegas Chamber President Matt Crosson says reforms must be part of solution to state budget crisis:

081210Crosson1 :16 reforms in education.”

Crosson says reforms must be implemented before tax increases:

081210Crosson2 :15 business community again.”

Crosson says budget crisis is ripe opportunity for reform:

081210Crosson3 :22 that requires reform.”

Crosson says imposing taxes on small business could extend recession:

081210Crosson4 :11 to come back.”

Crosson says tax policy a balance:

081210Crosson5 :19 that that matters.”

Crosson says involving local governments in state budget fix is worth a look:

081210Crosson6 :19 worth a look.”

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Governor Gibbons Evaluating Strings Tied to Federal Support Before Accepting Funding

By Sean Whaley | 1:56 pm August 11th, 2010

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons said today he wants to see what strings are attached to the $82 million approved by Congress this week to hire teachers in Nevada before agreeing to accept the funds.

“What we want to do is study the requirements for taking that money,” he said. “I’m prepared to say ‘thank you’. I’m prepared to say ‘thank-you but no thank-you’.”

The funding would save 1,400 teaching jobs in Nevada this year.

But Gibbons said such appropriations typically require a “maintenance of effort” that means the state has to continue to support programs after the federal funding goes away. The funding for the teachers does include a maintenance of effort requirement.

Gibbons said the state may not be able to afford to comply with the maintenance of effort requirements, hence the review.

Gibbons said he would also prefer more flexibility with the funding. Some Nevada school districts might need a computer system or textbooks rather than staff, he said.

The law appropriating the funds is still being reviewed and once the state’s obligations are clear, Gibbons said he will make a decision on whether to accept the funding.

State budget Director Andrew Clinger said another issue is that the funding is for only one year.

“So what do you do with those teachers you hire for this school year,” he said. “Come a year from now you’ve got to lay them all off because you don’t have the funding to continue the positions?”

But Gibbons acknowledged that any funding that would keep 1,400 Nevadans working, even if only for one year, has to be given serious consideration.

Nevada leads the nation in unemployment with a rate of 14.2 percent in June.

While Gibbons has yet to commit to funding, the Nevada State Education Association welcomed the action by Congress and the President.

“We commend and thank our friends in Congress who stood firm on this issue which provides federal dollars to Nevada in order to save jobs,” said NSEA President Lynn Warne. “We look now to state legislative leaders to work in the same proactive manner in creating funding sources to strengthen K-12 public education in Nevada.”

Gibbons said he is also evaluating the nearly $80 million in Medicaid funding Nevada will receive from the legislation. The money was included in the budget approved by the Legislature for this year.

___

Audio clips:

Gov. Gibbons says the federal funding may require a commitment the state can’t afford:

081110Gibbons1 :31 the matching dollars.”

Gibbons said he is prepared to accept or reject the funding after his review:

081110Gibbons2 :05 but no thank-you.”

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Nevada Pronunciation Debate Continues, Governer Chimes In

By Sean Whaley | 12:26 pm August 11th, 2010

CARSON CITY – A proposal by an out-going Nevada lawmaker to officially recognize an alternate pronunciation of the name of the state as an acceptable second-choice has generated a lot of comment, with most residents not surprisingly opposed to the idea.

But some of those posting comments on various news sites also support the idea that maybe Nevadans should be more tolerant of those who “mispronounce” the state’s name.

Others have suggested the resolution sought for drafting by Assemblyman Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, is a waste of time and money.

Asked for his opinion on the pronunciation issue, native Nevadan and Gov. Jim Gibbons said the Ne-vah-da version does bother him. Asked how he reacts, Gibbons said: “Well, I tell them if they want to be socially acceptable they should say ‘Ne-vaaa-da’. We have a Ramada Hotel, but it is in Nevada.”

Mortenson, who won’t be returning to the Assembly due to term limits, said his resolution is intended only to acknowledge the alternative pronunciation of the state’s name used by people around the world. It is not an effort to change the accepted pronunciation of Nevada, which is Spanish for “snow-capped,” referring to the Sierra Nevada.

Another lawmaker will have to introduce the resolution on his behalf if it is to get a hearing in the 2011 legislative session.

Retired state Archivist Guy Rocha has argued, however, that Mortenson’s alternative pronunciation is not Spanish but one that has developed in the eastern part of the United States.

Mortenson’s proposed resolution language follows:

BDR Draft

Whereas there are two common pronunciations of the name of our great state:

(1)   the provincial pronunciation utilized by approximately two-million Nevadans, using a flat A-sound — a sound not unlike the bleating of a sheep, and;

(2)   the cosmopolitan or Spanish pronunciation used by the other seven-billion inhabitants of our planet, using a soft “A” intonation—not unlike a sigh of contentment, and;

Whereas the name Nevada is a Spanish word meaning covered-with-snow, and;

Whereas the Spanish word for covered-with-snow existed for many centuries before the “discovery” of America and the existence of our great state, and;

Whereas it is becoming a continuous, prodigious, and daunting task for the two million colloquial-speaking inhabitants to interrupt and correct the other seven-billion inhabitants of the Planet who utilize the Spanish/cosmopolitan pronunciation, and;

Whereas our colloquial State citizens accomplished their responsibility by interrupting and correcting a confused George Stephanopoulos during a world-wide television broadcast of the Democratic Presidential forum held in Carson City in February of 2007, and;

Whereas the same colloquial State citizens wisely chose not to interrupt President George Bush when he used the Spanish pronunciation during a reelection tour of our great state, and;

Whereas it is almost impossible to correct television pundits worldwide — virtually all of whom utilize the Spanish pronunciation, and;

Whereas the metropolitan area of Las Vegas has grown to exceed two million inhabitants—most of whom are composed of the afore mentioned seven-billion cosmopolitans, and;

Whereas our great state is rapidly transitioning from a colloquial status to a cosmopolitan status, and;

Whereas visitations to the entertainment capitol of the world exceed the visitations to Mecca, and these visitors to our great state should not be subjected to rude corrections of their traditional pronunciation by well-meaning colloquial individuals, and;

Whereas the citizens of our great state are universally known, not only for their fierce independence, they are also known for their open-mindedness, their neighborly attitude, their compassionate charity, and their benevolent tolerance;

Therefore; be it resolved, that henceforth, there will be two acceptable pronunciations for the name of our great state:

(1)    the preferred pronunciation will be the colloquial pronunciation, and;

(2)    the less-preferred pronunciation will be the charitably-tolerated Spanish/cosmopolitan pronunciation.

___

Audio:

Gov. Jim Gibbons on pronunciation of “Nevada”:

081110Gibbons1 :07 is in Nevada.”

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Rory Reid Calls for Reform and Consolidation to Balance State Budget

By Sean Whaley | 6:40 am August 11th, 2010

(Updated at 6:50 a.m. on Aug. 11, 2010)

CARSON CITY – Democrat gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid told the Nevada News Bureau yesterday there are other options for moving the state out of its current budget crisis besides increasing taxes and cutting programs.

In an interview at a local coffee shop, Reid pulled out two pieces of paper. One showed an organization chart for the state’s public education system from 1989. The other shows how it looks now.

The newer chart showed many more layers of government, including advisory panels, legislative committees and other bureaucratic creations that have evolved over the past 20 years.

Reid said the two charts demonstrate one way Nevada can save several hundred million dollars: by streamlining government services to eliminate redundancies and inefficiencies in state government.

Reid, who is trailing GOP candidate Brian Sandoval in the polls, said he has experience balancing budgets as chairman of the Clark County Commission, budgets that are as big as the Nevada general fund budget.

“I know how to do this,” he said. “I’ve balanced it in good times and in bad for seven years running without new taxes. There are more than two options. The third option nobody talks about is to remake our government.”

Clark County had multiple housing authorities at one time, but Reid said he worked to consolidate them into one agency. There used to be multiple public health agencies, now there is one.

Reid did not back off his no new taxes stance, saying the state unemployment rate, the foreclosure crisis, and the overall economic situation in Nevada makes the idea of expanding such levies a nonstarter.

“We need a leader in Carson City that knows how to reform government structures,” he said. “If we do what needs to be done, we will save hundreds of millions of dollars and still maintain services by reforming our government.”

Reid said he will be putting out a proposal in the next several days addressing this issue in more detail.

Reid said Sandoval is offering no realistic solutions, instead saying he will avoid layoffs, protect vulnerable citizens and government services and still balance the budget.

“That is impossible,” Reid said.

The Sandoval campaign offered this response: “As a two-term legislator, an attorney general who returned money to the general fund and as a private law practitioner, Brian is proud of his budget experience. It’s curious that just a few months ago Rory Reid refused to say how he might balance the state’s budget.  Now he’s attacking Brian – the only candidate to lay out how he would have approached balancing our state’s short term budget deficit without mass layoffs or new taxes.”

Reid weighed in on the state’s budget problems as state Budget Director Andrew Clinger has spoken in recent days of the severity of the impacts facing Nevada when the Legislature convenes in February.

Clinger said the state is facing an estimated $3 billion shortfall in the revenues needed to sustain state government for the next two years, or nearly 50 percent of what would be a $6.5 billion general fund budget.

On Monday Clinger said new taxes might be avoided if the state and counties worked together to more efficiently divvy up the delivery of government services and the revenues used to pay for them.

Even so, both Sandoval and Reid have steadfastly rejected any notion of raising taxes as a partial solution to the state’s budget problems.

In an interview today on the KRNV Channel 4 noon news, Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said he would not reject out-of-hand the idea of new or increased taxes as one option to solving the state’s budget crisis.

“There is no question that we are facing a very severe problem, the largest shortfall in our history,” he said. “We did take money from counties last time, cities and counties, and there is a bottom to that well also.

“No one wants to advocate raising taxes, or new taxes,” Raggio said. “We will probably have to look at restoring the taxes that are going to sunset. But I don’t think anybody should take a blood oath that we’re not going to look at that.”

Raising taxes is a last resort, he said.

“But I wouldn’t take it off the table,” Raggio said.

The 2009 Legislature raised the sales tax and the modified business tax on the state’s largest employers as part of a solution to balancing the current budget. Those taxes will expire on June 30, 2011 unless they are extended by the Legislature.

Reid said there is one other way that Nevada can get out of its budget crisis, and that is “growing” out of it through economic development. There are $5 billion worth of energy projects getting close to construction that will generate construction jobs and tax revenues to the state, he said.

___

Audio clips:

Rory Reid says the state can save millions by remaking an outdated state government:

081010RoryReid1 :17 21st century economy.”

Reid says he has experience in reforming government structures:

081010RoryReid2 :15 reforming our government.”

Reid says Sandoval promising more than he can deliver:

081010RoryReid3 :23 that is impossible.”

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Outgoing Nevada State Lawmaker Seeks To End State Pronunciation Debate

By Sean Whaley | 3:21 pm August 10th, 2010

CARSON CITY – If there is one thing near and dear to the hearts of many Nevadans, it is the pronunciation of the name of their state.

For most Nevadans, it is pronounced Ne-vaaa-da. The middle syllable rhymes with glad. It is not pronounced Ne-vah-da. And many Nevadans don’t mind letting people know when they err.

In 2003 then-President Bush was criticized for what many considered his mispronunciation of the state’s name during his first visit to Nevada as president.

The mispronunciation by then-NBC news anchor Brian Williams in 2008 even generated a report by the news agency itself that addressed the proper pronunciation of the state’s name, which is Spanish for snow-capped, referring to the Sierra Nevada.

While many Nevadans take this pronunciation stuff seriously, one state lawmaker just wants to call the whole thing off.

Out-going Assemblyman Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, wants to end the pronunciation debate for good. He has requested the drafting of a concurrent resolution that, “resolves that there are two acceptable pronunciations for the name of the state of Nevada.”

Mortenson said the description of the resolution on the Legislature’s bill draft request list isn’t quite right. It is BDR 205 requested on Aug. 1.

“It should say there is one preferred pronunciation, and one that is tolerated,” he said.

Mortenson, who acknowledges he is likely to get numerous calls and emails for his proposal, said the intent is to be accepting of the alternate pronunciation, which he said is the preferred pronunciation for most of the world.

“It is a terribly daunting task for Nevadans to try and correct the other 8 billion people on the planet,” he said. “Maybe we ought to just allow a different pronunciation.”

Mortenson said he still remembers when ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was booed for mispronouncing the state’s name when he moderated a presidential candidate forum in Nevada in 2007.

“He didn’t understand what everybody was booing him about,” Mortenson said. “It was rude and crude.”

Former state Archivist Guy Rocha, who is now retired, has spent a lot of time researching the pronunciation issue and was himself the target of nasty emails when he suggested in 2003 that Bush should have pronounced the state’s name properly.

While all for civility, Rocha said the proposed resolution misses an important point. The pronunciation Mortenson wants accepted is not Spanish, but a pronunciation learned mostly by Americans east of the Rockies, he said.

“Essentially it is a long standing mispronunciation that people defend as Spanish and I challenge that,” Rocha said.

The Spanish pronunciation would be more along the lines of “Neyvada,” he said.

The key point is that the “correct” pronunciation of a town or state is the one used by the residents, and visitors typically use that pronunciation as a sign of respect if they are aware and able to do so, Rocha said. Any correcting should be done gently. But knowingly mispronouncing the name of a city or state won’t win you any friends, he said.

Mortenson, who is termed out of office, won’t be able to usher his measure through the Legislature in the 2011 session himself, but another lawmaker may choose to introduce the resolution on his behalf.

Such resolutions are typically approved by lawmakers without the lengthy hearings and testimony that accompany bills seeking to change state law. Given the seriousness of the issue for many Nevadans however, this resolution could be a notable exception.

___

Audio:

Retired State Archivist Guy Rocha says pronunciation issue requires civility:

081010Rocha1 :12 of each other.”

Rocha says proposed resolution won’t clarify pronunciation issue:

081010Rocha2 :22 it is different.”

Rocha says learning the pronunciation of a state or town is a sign of respect:

081010Rocha3 :13 very good welcome.”

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Budget Director Says Major Changes Needed To Fund Government Services

By Sean Whaley | 4:12 am August 10th, 2010

CARSON CITY – Nevada could find a way out of its $3 billion revenue shortfall next year without raising taxes, but only if the Legislature looks at restructuring the way the state and local governments provide and pay for services, the state’s top fiscal officer said yesterday.

State Budget Director Andrew Clinger, interviewed Monday on the Nevada NewsMakers television program, said the Legislature would also have to consider changes to the state’s collective bargaining law to get a handle on local government salaries, which he called “unsustainable.”

“I think there is a way to do it without raising taxes but you’re talking about some radical changes,” he said. “And I think the only way . . . to do it without raising taxes is you need to look at not only state government but you have to look at local government.”

Clinger said Nevada state government spends less money on its programs than other states. But when local government is added into the mix, the state falls into the middle of states on spending on government programs per capita.

The budget discussion in the upcoming legislative session would have to involve the potential shift of services between the government entities along with the revenues that would pay for them, he said.

In Nevada, property taxes pay for public education and local government but not state services. Sales and gaming taxes, along with the modified business tax and several other levies, are the revenues that fund state general fund government operations.

Clinger did not offer any specifics about what types of programs might be shifted as part of any realignment.

But Clinger said he does not see how the state’s potential $3 billion shortfall, which would approach 50 percent of what Nevada government needs to operate, from education to prisons, could be addressed solely with cuts at the state level.

The only program he mentioned during the interview was Nevada Check Up, a program funded by the state and federal government that provides health insurance to just under 22,000 low-income children who are not eligible for Medicaid. The program is costing the state general fund about $10.8 million this year. Another $25.4 million is coming from the federal government, funding that would be lost if the program was eliminated.

Clinger said the state’s collective bargaining statutes would also have to be part of any discussion by the governor and Legislature with local governments.

Clinger said the last surveys he reviewed showed state salaries about 7 percent ahead of the private sector, while local government salaries were running about 30 percent ahead of the private sector.

“You would have to open up the collective bargain statutes and make some changes there that could help sustain government moving forward because at those salary levels it is not sustainable,” he said.

State employees do not have collective bargaining rights in Nevada, although local government employees and teachers do.

Clinger said the $3 billion shortfall out of a two-year, $6.5 billion general fund budget can be partially addressed by actions the governor and Legislature can take on their own. State employee furloughs and benefit reductions, for example, could be continued for two more years at a savings of about $500 million, he said.

Much of the state budget shortfall is due to tax increases approved by lawmakers in 2009 that will expire unless extended, and the loss of future federal stimulus funds.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said she has heard concerns expressed by local government officials that there might be an effort to transfer state services to the local level.

“I have talked to several county commissioners who are quite concerned,” she said. “I think those discussions should be happening now if they are going to happen. I haven’t seen anyone organize a formal discussion.”

Leslie, who is running for an open seat in the state Senate, said she has heard there might be a list of programs that could be eliminated entirely or that could be potentially transferred to local government. But the counties do not have any surplus funds they could infuse into state programs if a transfer occurred, she said.

With a new governor coming in January and the two leading candidates for the job rejecting any call for new taxes as a solution to the state’s budget problems, not to mention a major turnover in the Legislature with the departure of long-time leaders, “we’re in a very tenuous spot,” Leslie said.

Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, a former state lawmaker, said a discussion of which level of government should provide what services is worth having, but she questioned whether it would deliver enough savings to make a significant difference in the state’s budget shortfall.

“I don’t think you can cost shift your way out of the budget problems,” she said.

Giunchigliani said the Legislature should take a look at the study on broadening the state’s sales tax base by the Nevada Policy Research Institute as a starting point for a conversation on the state’s revenue structure.

While not in support of taxing food or medical devices, the study looks at spreading the sales tax over a wider base while at the same time reducing the overall rate, she said.

“It gives the Legislature something to take a look at, and local governments should weigh in,” Giunchigliani said.

Ben Kieckhefer, public information officer for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, which operates the Check Up program, said the trend his agency has seen is counties transferring programs to the state when possible due to funding concerns.

One recent example is the state having to pick up elder protective services from Clark County, which occurred on July 31, he said.

___

Audio clips:

State Budget Director Andrew Clinger says local governments would have to be involved in plan to balance state budget without new taxes:

080910Clinger1 :31 to other states.”

Clinger said a shift of services and funding between state and local government would be needed:

080910Clinger2 :24 sorts of things.”

Clinger says the state’s collective bargaining law would have to be part of the discussion:

080910Clinger3 :30 it’s not sustainable.”

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Blogging Nevada Politics at NationalReview.com through November

By Elizabeth Crum | 6:06 pm August 8th, 2010

Dear Readers:

I’ll be writing about the house, senate and governor’s races for NRO’s new Battle ’10 blog through the election.

You can click the Nevada tab to see only Silver State info or Battle ’10 to see posts from Nevada, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

E.

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Washington Post Publishes Investigation of Intelligence Operations Since 9-11

By Nevada News Bureau Staff | 7:05 am August 7th, 2010

The Washington Post has published a long-awaited – and controversial – investigation called “Top Secret America” that details the vast patchwork of government contractors and intelligence operations that were spawned in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The Post uncovered an operation “so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.”

Some of the findings from the Post project:

- Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States.

- An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.

- In Washington, DC and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings – about 17 million square feet of space.

Part of this operation is in Nevada.

A search of the Post’s project shows six companies operating in Nevada, including DownRange Global Solutions Inc., based in Las Vegas, with one government client and less than $100 million in revenues, and the Sierra Nevada Corp., based in Sparks, with six government clients and $750 million to $1 billion in revenues.

DownRange Global Solutions describes itself as a service-disabled, veteran-owned business providing professional management and technical services to government and commercial customers, specializing in the areas of national defense, homeland security, energy programs and information technology.

SNC is a high-tech electronics, engineering, and manufacturing company.

Emails sent to the companies seeking comment on the report were not immediately returned.

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Reinstatement Of Extended Benefits Claims To Be Completed Next Week

By Nevada News Bureau Staff | 4:16 pm August 6th, 2010

CARSON CITY – More than 20,000 Nevadans have received extended benefit payments since President Obama signed into law legislation extending the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program on July 22, a state agency reported today.

The process for about 20,000 more eligible Nevadans should be completed by next week, said Cindy Jones, deputy director of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR).

“The department continues to work overtime processing claims to ensure everyone who qualifies for EUC and State Extended Benefits are expeditiously paid current and past funds due to them,” Jones said. “We understand the anxiety people are feeling as they wait for their benefits to be paid. We appreciate the continued patience and cooperation of claimants as we work together to make this process go as smoothly as possible.”

Instructional letters followed by benefit statements have been and continue to be mailed to all who qualify for EUC and State Extended Benefits informing them of their benefit amounts and what is required to reopen their claims, she said.

Claimants should avoid calling the Unemployment Claims Centers until they receive their benefit statements. Claimants who have not received a letter from the department by Aug. 13 should contact the unemployment call centers. Claimants should only call the Debit Card customer service line to check their card balances.

Due to the volume of transactions being made, the payments must be made in categories, Jones said.

“Our computer system is being pushed to capacity” she said. “However, we were able to begin paying claimants much sooner than we expected and will complete the process more quickly than what we hoped for.”

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Fiscal Expert Says State Governments In Big Trouble

By Sean Whaley | 4:10 pm August 6th, 2010

CARSON CITY – State governments across the country are facing budget deficits and a tough economy right now, but failure to get a handle on long-term liabilities, from unfunded pensions to subsidized health care for retired workers, could jeopardize any recovery, a fiscal expert said today.

Bob Williams, founder and senior fellow of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation and a member of the ALEC board of scholars, said states may have to deal with decades of budget challenges due to employee and retiree medical costs and pension payments.

Williams spoke about these and other challenges in a teleconference from San Diego, where he is attending the American Legislative Exchange Conference (ALEC) annual meeting. Williams said a focus of the meeting will be offering practical solutions to member lawmakers from across the country on how to get a handle on these issues.

Nevada is one of many states facing these challenges.

Nevada’s public employee pension system had a long-term unfunded liability of $9.1 billion as of June 30, 2009, according to the officials who manage the program. Some independent reports suggest the liability is much higher.

The Nevada Legislature in 2009 made some modest reforms to the pension system for new hires, but the long-term liability is already on the books for current public employees when they retire.

Williams said many states mask the real extent of these liabilities using a variety of techniques, such as assuming a higher rate of returns on investments than is realistic.

“But the real crisis coming up is the unfunded retiree health care costs,” he said.

Nevada subsidizes health insurance coverage for retired state employees and their dependents.

A 2008 study commissioned by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce estimated the cost of providing the subsidized care at $4 billion over 30 years. The state has not invested money to pay this benefit, instead using a “pay as you go” approach.

The chamber warned that failure to make major changes to the benefit will mean a shift away from funding programs such as education to pay the rising retiree health care costs. The cost of the program in 2008 was under $50 million a year.

Other budget challenges are the states’ reliance on federal stimulus funds to balance their budgets in the current and prior fiscal years, and the need to repay billions borrowed from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits, Williams said. Employers will see likely see tax hikes to repay the unemployment loans, although such moves could run many out of business, he said.

Nevada is expected to borrow as much as $1 billion to pay unemployment benefits through the end of the current recession. The state has borrowed over $450 million already.

Williams said many governors across the nation are working on the assumption that the Obama Administration will forgive the loans to states for unemployment benefits.

Williams said federal stimulus funds allowed states to spend at a higher level than they otherwise would have. But when the funding stops, states must continue the spending under “maintenance of effort” requirements.

The anticipated loss of federal stimulus funds for future budgets is a major factor in Nevada’s anticipated $3 billion-plus revenue shortfall for the upcoming two-year budget.

State government economies are not expected to recover until two years after their private sector economies recover, he said.

But the situation may be even more dire, Williams said. He cited a March U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress that suggests the fiscal position of state and local governments will steadily decline through 2060, primarily due to health care costs.

The GAO report says: “The decline in the sector’s operating balance is primarily driven by rising health care costs. The fiscal challenges confronting the state and local sector add to the nation’s overall fiscal difficulties. Because most state and local governments are required to balance their operating budgets, the declining fiscal conditions shown in GAO’s simulations suggest the fiscal pressures the sector faces and the extent to which these governments will need to make substantial policy changes to avoid growing imbalances.”

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Nevada, 19 Other States File Motion Against Dismissal Of Lawsuit Challenging Health Care Law

By Nevada News Bureau Staff | 3:27 pm August 6th, 2010

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons and representatives of 19 other states today filed a response challenging the federal government’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the federal health care law.

The 81-page document was filed in U.S. District Court in Florida where the lawsuit challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is being heard by Judge Roger Vinson. Also in the challenge is the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) as a co-plaintiff on behalf of its members nationwide, as well as two individual citizens.

“Nevada families are already footing the bill just to set up pre-planning for the Reid/Obama Nationalized Health Care Plan,” Gibbons said. “This unconstitutional and ill-conceived nationalized health care plan is sick and will trample the constitutional rights of all Nevada families.”

Jon Summers, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV, said the new health law is already starting to work for Nevadans.

“Some of the largest insurance companies in the state have already stopped the process of denying and dropping people due to preexisting conditions and allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance up to the age of 26 – before those parts for the law have even gone into effect,” he said. “Because of this law, consumers are receiving long overdue protection from big insurance companies. Gov. Gibbons may choose to stand on the side of the big corporations, but Sen. Reid will always stand on the side of working Nevadans.”

Gibbons joined the lawsuit on behalf of Nevada in May using a private attorney after Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto declined in March to file a challenge, citing cost as one factor. Masto said also there was no need for Nevada to join in a challenge since the state would be covered by any eventual ruling regarding the health care law.

The lawsuit filed March 23 alleges that the new law infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevada residents and residents of the other states by mandating all persons have qualifying health care insurance or pay a penalty. By imposing such a mandate, the law exceeds the powers of the United States under Article I of the Constitution, including the ‘Commerce Clause,’ which has never been applied to allow Congress to compel people to buy unwanted goods or services. Additionally, the penalty enforcing the mandate constitutes an unlawful direct tax in violation of Article I, sections 2 and 9 of the Constitution.

The lawsuit further claims the health care reform law infringes on the sovereignty of the states and 10th Amendment to the Constitution by imposing onerous new operating rules that Nevada must follow.

Gibbons said the burden comes at a time when Nevada faces severe budget cuts to offset shortfalls in an already-strained budget. Nevada’s Medicaid program currently consumes about 17 percent of the state’s total financial outlays.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the case in June, claiming the individual mandate fell under Congress’ ‘taxing and spending’ authority.

The motion to dismiss claims the timing of the lawsuit is too early, but the states responded today that resources are already being spent on planning and operational activities they must undertake to meet the federal requirements of the law. The states argue that they have standing to bring the lawsuit because the federal health care law negatively affects state sovereignty and provides additional stress on already lean state budgets.

Gibbons has a “Cost of Federal Health Care Reform Law” link posted at the top of the state’s website. It says that, as of July 23, “the federal health care reform law has cost the taxpayers of Nevada $195,527.72.”

The hearing on issues raised by the motion to dismiss will be held on Sept. 14 in Pensacola, Fla. Earlier this week, a judge in a similar lawsuit in Virginia ruled against the Department of Justice’s motion to dismiss, allowing Virginia’s lawsuit to move forward.

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Nevada Budget Director Paints Grim Picture

By Sean Whaley | 7:35 am August 6th, 2010

CARSON CITY – State Budget Director Andrew Clinger yesterday painted a bleak picture of Nevada’s next two-year spending plan, saying under current tax and spending levels every single program and agency except for education would have to be eliminated to balance the budget.

“You could eliminate everything, and have nothing but K-12 and higher ed, and you would have a balanced budget,” he said. “So the magnitude of the problem that we face, or the challenge that we face going into the next biennium, is huge.”

Higher and lower education together make up about 55 percent of the state budget each year.

The state appears to be at least $3 billion short right now on what is expected to be a $6.5 billion two-year general fund budget, or about 46 percent less than what is required, Clinger said.

As a result, the Gibbons Administration has embarked on a fundamental review of state programs to determine what services can be continued and which ones may have to be eliminated, he said.

“Is there a better way to do it, is there a different way to pay for it, or is it a service you simply no longer provide,” Clinger said.

The revenue shortfall is due to myriad factors, including:

- Tax revenues coming in far below the levels seen in prior boom years;

- About $1 billion in temporary tax increases approved by the 2009 Legislature that are set to expire next June 30;

- The loss of one-time federal stimulus funds that have helped balance the current budget;

- The elimination of employee furloughs and restoration of employee benefits that were cut in 2009 to balance the current budget. Ending furloughs and restoring benefits would cost about $500 million.

The Legislature can decide to extend the expiring tax increases or look to alternative tax increases, and it can also extend the furloughs and benefit cuts as ways to cut into the shortfall in the 2011 legislative session, Clinger said.

The 2009 Legislature temporarily raised the sales tax by 0.35 percent and nearly doubled the modified business tax on the state’s largest employers to help balance the budget. The tax was reduced for smaller employers.

Any tax increase or continuation would require a two-thirds vote in each house of the Legislature. Neither of the two major party candidates for governor has gone on record as supporting tax increases as a way to balance the budget.

“This is a challenge that this state has never faced before,” Clinger said.

The comments came as the Public Employees’ Benefits Program Board began to look at ways of saving $111 million in the health insurance program for state employees and retirees, made necessary because of the state’s budget problems. The board considered raising deductibles and cutting benefits to reach the target. The plan is not expected to see any taxpayer-paid funding increases in the two-year budget that will begin July 1, 2011.

Jim Wells, the executive officer overseeing the program, yesterday told the board it must make decisions on how to best make the cuts because the preliminary budget is due to Clinger’s office by Sept. 1.

“We do need to make some relatively significant decisions today,” he said.

Clinger said that as a percentage basis, Nevada is in worse fiscal shape than any other state in the  nation.

Nevada is collecting the same amount of sales tax right now as in 1999, adjusted for inflation, he said. This despite large population increases since that time, Clinger said.

“I hope at least January of this year represents the bottom of this, and we’re starting to grow,” he said. “Even though revenues are doing better it’s not going to bring us out of this hole we are in anytime soon.”

Gaming revenues, unlike in previous recessions, have also been hurt in this economic slowdown that some are calling the Great Depression, Clinger said.

For the 12 months ending in May 2010, casino revenues were down nearly 5 percent compared to the same period a year previously. And for the 12 months ending in May 2009, revenues were down nearly 13 percent from the same period in 2008.

Another way to see the effect is to look at the amount casinos take in each year per visitor.

“We are at historic lows on the amount the casinos win per visitor, $170 per visitor,” he said.

The figure also is inflation adjusted, and reflects the amount casinos take in, or win each year, divided by total annual visitors. The $170 figure puts Nevada below any prior low seen in records dating back to the late 1970s, Clinger said.

The two revenues make up the majority of the state’s annual general fund budget.

___

Audio clips:

State Budget Director Andrew Clinger says budget situation is dire:

080410Clinger1 :40 face is huge.”

Clinger says that is why a fundamental review of the budget is under way:

080510Clinger2 :23 afford to provide.”

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