Lawmakers enter final week; questions remain

CARSON CITY -- Time is running out for the Nevada Legislature as the 17th and final week of the 2011 session begins Monday with the budget still very much in doubt because of a state Supreme Court ruling that questions the legality of funding tactics.

With $657 million possibly off the table, Gov. Brian Sandoval and legislative leaders have been meeting to try to rework his $6.1 billion spending plan for the upcoming biennium. The stakes became higher Saturday when Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto refused Sandoval's request to seek clarification from the high court on ramifications of its ruling.

Thursday's ruling said the state could not take money from a Southern Nevada clean water fund to pad the state budget, but officials worry the order has wider ramifications because Sandoval's budget relies on taking money from local government entities.

Under the state constitution, the session is 120 days, meaning it ends June 6. But a state Supreme Court ruling several years ago said the law's reference to midnight Pacific Standard Time is actually 1 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. That gives legislators an extra hour of wiggle room -- until 1 a.m. June 7 -- to complete their work.

Budget woes are not all that's on lawmakers' plates.

Monday is also the deadline for bills to clear the second house or they die, another reason for their marathon sessions over the long Memorial Day weekend.

Some surprises are also possible during the week. State Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said bills have been drafted to take tax proposals pushed by Democrats to voters. It's unknown if or when they might be introduced.

Democrats this session held lengthy hearings on two bills -- one to implement a tax on services, another to change how business taxes are calculated -- but abandoned those efforts after it became clear there was no Republican support.

Combined, the two proposals would have brought in an estimated $1.2 billion over the biennium.

While Democrats hold majorities in the state Senate and Assembly, they would need three Republicans in the Senate and two in the Assembly to cross the aisle to obtain a two-thirds, veto-proof majority.

And still unresolved is the sticky business of reapportionment.

A second attempt to redraw Nevada voting districts got final legislative approval Wednesday, on a second party line vote, sending the bill to the governor and another likely veto.

Sandoval vetoed the first bill that also passed along party lines, calling the Democratic plan illegal and unfair to minorities. He has until Wednesday to act on AB566.

Partisan bickering has grown, with both sides accusing the other of racial gerry­mandering when it comes to Nevada's growing Hispanic population and how voting boundaries are drawn.

The issue may ultimately be decided by a court.