furloughs

Gov. Steve Sisolak is proposing a two-year budget that reverses cuts to Medicaid and other key K-12 programs made last summer, after financial projections left the state at what officials are calling an “inconsistent, if not positive, ending point” for tax revenue.

Lawmakers finalized hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to state agencies on Sunday, adjusting a budget that is set to lose a quarter of the revenue previously projected because of the pandemic and wrapping up a protracted session marked by false starts and delays.

Members of the Assembly took the first step to formally slash hundreds of millions of dollars from state budget accounts to close a $1.2 billion budget gap Saturday evening.

Nevada lawmakers will convene on Wednesday morning for the first time since mid-2019 for what is expected to be a painful special session cutting $1.2 billion out of the state’s budget.

Amid an uptick in people testing positive for COVID-19 nearly two weeks after Nevada reopened casinos, Gov. Steve Sisolak said the state is not yet ready to enter into “Phase 3” of business reopenings.

Although most retail businesses in the state were allowed to open May 9 to in-person service with extra precautions as part of the state’s “Phase 1” reopening, casino resorts were noticeably excluded.

Nevada lawmakers voted along party lines to approve transferring the entirety of the state’s ‘Rainy Day Fund’ reserve budgetary account to plug massive holes in the state’s budget.

Gov. Steve Sisolak is asking state agencies to identify “potential areas for reductions” in their budgets — with up to $687 million in possible cuts over the next two years — as the state deals with an expected financial crunch created by the coronavirus crisis.

Here is the 2017 State of the State presented by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Recently Ron spoke to an industry group about the petition to give voters the final say this fall on the onerous Commerce Tax passed by the Legislature and Governor last year.

A lawyer for referendum opponents also spoke, and we were appalled at their attitude toward Nevada voters and the grossly false arguments they make against a referendum.

Start-Up! is weekly column on entrepreneurship, start-ups, technology and innovation, powered by the Adams Hub for Innovation.

Here is the full text of Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval's speech delivered to the Nevada Legislature Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Distinguished Members of the Legislature, Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Officers:

State employees are finally going to see the elimination of the unpaid furloughs, if Gov. Brian Sandoval has his way. The second-term governor’s proposed budget, unveiled Thursday night during his State of the State ...

I recently received an overly large mailer from PK O'Neill, a candidate for Assembly District 40. What he says is disturbing. He pontificates without solutions. He seems more concerned with cliches than real issues.

PK is not alone when making political claims. For another example, see Maizie Harris Jesse's letter “Candidates need to research lt.gov.job duties” in 17 October Nevada Appeal.

PK on the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS)

Leadership at the state's highest court will change Jan. 5 when Chief Justice Michael A. Cherry ends his term and Justice Kristina Pickering begins the administrative role of Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court.

Pickering will represent Nevada’s courts at the 2013 Nevada Legislature and will give the State of the Judiciary address to lawmakers early in the session. She will serve as Chief Justice until January 2014.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s next two-year general fund budget would grow by $279 million to $6.46 billion based on the initial spending requests submitted by state agencies, information released today by the Budget Division shows.

State spending would bump up slightly to deal with more people seeking government assistance and state employees would still see their pay cuts and furloughs under agency budgets released this morning.
Total state general fund spending would increase 2.3 percent next fiscal year over the current year’s spending and then stay virtually flat the following year.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s top state administrators gathered together in meeting rooms and via the internet today to hear first-hand about Gov. Brian Sandoval’s initial plans for his 2013-15 budget.

The all-day meeting called “Budget Kickoff” was intended to provide instructions to state administrators on how to begin preparing their spending plans for the new two-year budget that will take effect on July 1, 2013.

Over the weekend, the Paradise Cove Cafe in Carson Mall closed its doors, the end to a labor of love for owners Doug and Jamesa Cramer.

"Relieved" was the first word Doug said when I asked him how he was doing. The efforts to keep the restaurant in business over the last year and 10 months had clearly taken a toll.

By Andrew Doughman
CARSON CITY – Legislators on money committees today approved on a party-line vote a 4.8 percent salary cut to state and higher education employees.
The proposal would include a 2.3 percent cut through furloughs – about six days per year – and a 2.5 percent salary reduction.
Gov. Brian Sandoval had proposed in his budget a 5 percent salary cut to state and higher education workers.

CARSON CITY – About 50 state employees gathered in front of the Legislative Building today to call on Gov. Brian Sandoval to participate in a discussion about potential tax increases to help fund the state budget.
With the wind blowing at a steady clip, Vishnu Subramaniam, AFSCME Local 4041, chief of staff, said: “This is a great analogy of what’s going on in the state. They’re trying to blow us away while we’re providing services.
“We need a broad-based corporate tax,” he said. “We need to be having a talk about revenues. The talk of cuts is a red herring.”

CARSON CITY —  The Nevada Legislature today voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that would cut their salaries by 4.6 percent.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval delivered the bad news in an email to state employees today: His budget will propose a 5 percent across-the-board salary reduction for state employees instead of continuing with a furlough program.
“We must also continue the suspension of merit pay and longevity pay,” he said in the letter.

In an apparent move to increase the transparency of his administration, Gov. Brian Sandoval released today the annual salaries of his staff. His 17 staff positions, one of which is vacant, consume about $1 million of the governor’s executive budget.
His highest paid employee, Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert, will earn $124,988 this year. The lowest paid, Celia Magana, is an administrative assistant in Las Vegas earning $29,984.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s public employee retirement system will require increased contributions from the state and local governments next year to maintain the long-term financial health of the defined benefit plan, the board overseeing the program was told today.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
Taxes, the state budget and a looming revenue shortfall in 2011 took center stage Thursday in the second debate between the two major party candidates for Nevada governor.

CARSON CITY – Members of the Republican Assembly Caucus today called on state Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek to delay implementation of a new prevailing wage rate in Nevada until the Legislature has an opportunity to review the methodology.
The caucus is concerned a flawed process resulted in the new prevailing wage rate that took effect Oct. 1. There is a 30-day period to file an objection.

CARSON CITY – Catherine Cortez Masto points to a number of accomplishments in her first term as attorney general, from reducing methamphetamine production in Nevada to cracking down on mortgage fraud, all while having to live with major budget cuts and fewer staff.

Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada state agencies and public education have submitted budgets calling for nearly $8 billion in spending for the upcoming two years, about $3 billion more than what is expected to be available with current tax revenues.

Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada could find a way out of its $3 billion revenue shortfall next year without raising taxes, but only if the Legislature looks at restructuring the way the state and local governments provide and pay for services, the state’s top fiscal officer said yesterday.