Nevada lawmakers get more bad budget news
CARSON CITY -- Lawmakers faced with the dismal prospect of major cuts in the upcoming two-year state budget will first have to whack as much as $165 million out of the current spending plan, a panel said today.
The Economic Forum, a panel charged with the task of projecting state tax revenue for the 2009-11 budget, declined to make any decisions on the new spending plan at its all-day meeting in the capital. It must make those decisions by Dec. 1.
But it did revise its projection for tax revenues for the current fiscal year that began July 1, and the news wasn’t good. It projected about $2.4 billion in major gaming and sales tax revenues for this year, down $165 million from its projections in late June.
The difference will mean much more in cuts to the current budget, which has already seen $1.2 billion in reductions and other fiscal maneuvers to keep it balanced, including the use of the state’s entire $267 million rainy day fund.
Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley with more information at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.
