Legislators differ on budget cuts

CARSON CITY -- The state senator who chairs the Legislative Commission and Sen. Bob Coffin are at odds over Coffin's bid to have the commission sue Gov. Jim Gibbons over his budget cuts designed to head off a looming $500 million-plus revenue shortfall.

Coffin, D-Las Vegas, urged Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, to have the commission sue the Republican governor. Townsend responded with a letter, released Wednesday, saying that would be inappropriate.

Coffin argued that Gibbons is making the cuts on his own "despite statutory requirements to keep the Legislature informed and involved."

"He has not sent even a courtesy copy of his intentions to the fiscal staff of our (legislative) body and they have had to rely on the public media for that, Coffin said.

Coffin said the appropriation act passed by lawmakers in 2007 says the governor must submit budget cut plans to the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee if the state's ending fund balance drops below $80 million.

But Coffin said he has heard "disturbing" accounts that Gibbons will schedule the budget cuts so that the ending-fund balance never drops below the $80 million.

Without a legal challenge, "we may unintentionally ratify what amounts to an unconstitutional line-item veto of our budget," Coffin said.

The budget cuts are on today's Interim Finance Committee agenda but only as an informational item, he said.

Townsend said he had "no intention" of calling for a lawsuit against the governor at this point, adding that any changes in the lawmakers' power to review budget cuts should be considered during a regular session.

The next such session will open in early 2009.

Townsend said existing state law gives the governor broad authority over the budget.

"The remedy is to change the statutes, not to sue the governor," Townsend said.