Lawmakers pondering finances

CARSON CITY -- State officials briefed legislative leaders Monday on the budget outlook, as Gov. Jim Gibbons eyed the possibility of calling a special session to deal with a projected shortfall.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said legislators were briefed by Gibbons' chief of staff, budget director and others. The governor was said to have prior commitments.

Gibbons has scheduled a news conference today to discuss the revenue shortfall and spending.

His spokesman, Dan Burns, said no decision has been made on a special session or whether cuts can be made to get through the next 18 months of the two-year budget cycle.

"A special session has always been a last resort," he said.

Buckley said lawmakers were concerned that it would be premature to call a special session.

"We do not have enough data to show that it is called for," she said.

Budget adjustments could be made through the governor's office and the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee, avoiding the cost of a special session, she said.

She said lawmakers were not told what Gibbons intended to say today.

State revenue, dependent on tourism dollars and sales taxes, are about $60 million below projections made by the Economic Forum for the first three months of the current fiscal year.

By law, projections from the Economic Forum, an independent panel composed of business leaders and economists, must be used when setting a budget.

Buckley said calling a meeting of the forum also would be premature.

"It's hard for the economists to get a good handle on Nevada and projections right now," she said. "You have to look at so many factors."

Gibbons told department heads last week to prepare plans for budget cuts.

A special session could include repealing a state law that is keeping Nevada from competing for up to $175 million in federal education grants.

To apply for Race to the Top stimulus money, Nevada must abolish a 2003 law that prevents student test scores from being used in teacher evaluations. The Legislature's Interim Committee on Education has scheduled meetings Friday and Dec. 17 to work on language repealing the law.