Lawmakers near deal on budget

CARSON CITY -- Lawmakers ended their rare day of weekend work Saturday close to, but without a final agreement on the two-year, $6.8 billion budget.

In two separate closed-door sessions, members of the state Senate and Assembly leadership met to discuss public education spending and the budget items Gov. Jim Gibbons wants included in the spending plan.

Lawmakers said the disagreements are minor and more symbolic than substantial. They will meet again Monday to try to come to a resolution so the budget bills can be drafted and approved by the June 4 adjournment date.

"We saw a lot of movement today on many levels," said Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno. "It looks like the logjam broke and finishing by June 4 now seems possible."

One sticking point on the ongoing budget impasse is whether to maintain the modified business tax at its current 0.63 rate or allow it to jump to 0.65 percent on July 1, which will happen if the Legislature does not act to keep it at the lower level.

Allowing the tax to increase would generate about $18 million in new revenue that Democrats would like to put into public education, particularly a limited expansion of all-day kindergarten.

But Gibbons said Wednesday he will veto any budget that does not include several minor proposals, including the maintenance of the modified business tax at 0.63 percent. Gibbons said he would view a rise in the rate as a tax increase.

"This governor made a promise that I would not raise taxes on the people of the state of Nevada and I plan to keep that promise," he said.

Gibbons also wants a commitment to spending $15 million on his empowerment schools plan, $1.7 million for a National Guard program to help high school dropouts earn their GEDs and $651,000 for a homeland security program in Carson City, called a state fusion hub, where intelligence information would be gathered from around the state and disseminated back to law enforcement.

The money would be generated by a compromise offered by Gibbons not to lower the business tax to 0.63 percent, as he originally proposed in January, and by not removing a bank franchise fee that he also wanted repealed.

The Republican majority in the state Senate and the Democratic majority in the Assembly are said to be only a few million dollars away from a deal on the budget.

But with the constitutionally mandated adjournment date only a week away, lawmakers were expressing some frustrations with each other.

Assembly Democrats were said by one lobbyist to be upset that the state Senate decided not to hold a floor session to vote on bills on Monday, instead waiting until Tuesday. State Senate committees are scheduled to meet on Monday, Memorial Day, however.

The Senate floor session on Saturday lasted only a few minutes, and no action was taken on a large number of bills that await decisions on whether to agree to or reject Assembly amendments.

The Assembly did conduct a large amount of business, including approving a "green" construction bill in committee and unanimously voting it out to the state Senate on the same day. The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee is scheduled to take up and vote on the bill on Monday.

The Assembly also agreed on a number of state Senate amendments to their measures, including legislation sought by Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, to close a loophole on interest rates charged by some payday loan businesses. By agreeing to a Senate amendment, the bill is now on its way to the governor for his signature.