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GOP budget plan would mostly avoid raising taxes, fees
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Feb. 25, 2010 | 8:09 p.m.
Assembly Republicans late Thursday said they have a crafted a plan to balance Nevada's upside-down state budget without significantly increasing fees or taxes or tapping the mining or gambling industries significantly.
The plan rests in large part on raising $91 million by borrowing against the state's unclaimed property fund.
"We believe we can't take more taxes out of the economy," said Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, R-Reno.
Dan Burns, spokesman for Gov. Jim Gibbons, said the governor liked the plan.
"While there are still matters to be worked out, there is far more the governor finds acceptable," Burns said. "Discussions will continue."
Assemblyman Ty Cobb, R-Reno, said, "We are not going to tax, and we are not going to raise fees, to get out of this recession." Said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas: "We are really pleased.
"This is the plan the leadership delivered three days ago," Buckley said while studying a draft of the document Republicans released to reporters in a hallway of the Legislature building. The plan includes 7.5 percent cuts to state spending on higher education and K-12 education, higher than the 5 percent cuts Democrats sought but lower than the 13 percent and 10 percent cuts Gov. Jim Gibbons originally proposed. "It is not as low as we want," Buckley said. It's unclear how many Senate Republicans are on board with the Assembly-led proposal. Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said, "Our caucus has not yet really looked at it." Democrats were concerned about the proposal to borrow against the property fund. Republicans are relying on $62 million from mining that would come in the form of taxes the industry already pays, which are projected to come in higher than estimates. Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, said Democrats were expecting another $41 million from mining that Buckley said could reduce education cuts further. In terms of gaming, the Republicans are only asking the Nevada Gaming Control Board to raise another $4.2 million by increasing the investigation fee for licensees from about $80 to $115 per hour.
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Borrowing against the unclaimed property fund is not a bad idea. The overwhelming majority of those funds will never be claimed and will escheat to the State. Of course that's only part of the solution (i.e. $91 million). There will have to be reductions in the state budget and increases in fees and taxes to make up the remaining $700 million shortfall.
@pogo, No, it's not like borrowing against the equity in your home. It's like borrowing against the equity in your neighbor's home. Our elected officials want to borrow against the unclaimed property fund which is property that the state does NOT own but MIGHT end up owning if the real owner does not come forth before some point in the future. So, through black magic, they're going to balance the budget by borrowing this year and paying it back later.
'Assemblyman Ty Cobb, R-Reno, said, "We are not going to tax, and we are not going to raise fees, to get out of this recession."' 'In terms of gaming, the Republicans are only asking the Nevada Gaming Control Board to raise another $4.2 million by increasing the investigation fee for licensees from about $80 to $115 per hour.' Er, um, uh, yes, you are going to raise fees. But go for it as it probably costs more than $80 an hour to do the background check on gaming licensees.