Sides stake out positions on special session

LAS VEGAS - Following Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons' surprise announcement Friday that he would call for a special session of the state legislature to address Nevada's budget crisis, state Republicans swung into line behind the governor in arguing that choices are limited between either deferring state employees' cost-of-living allowance increases or laying off workers.

Nevada Democrats and labor unions condemned the call, however, saying a special session is not necessary and disputing the need for a COLA deferment.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio (R-Reno) led the way in supporting the governor, first suggesting the COLA deferment in the governor's release Friday morning.

"On reflection, I have come to believe that deferring the scheduled COLAs until the next Legislative Session is an important tool that will enable us to handle this budget crisis while avoiding painful layoffs," said Raggio.

Raggio went further in a later interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, saying, "We have to forgo the pay increase or there will be layoffs, layoffs of teachers, university employees and state employees."

Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert (R-Reno) told the Las Vegas Sun that deferring the COLAs "will save a lot of jobs," even giving the number at 2,000.

State Sen. Bob Beers (R-Las Vegas) called the governor's call "regrettable, but important."

"I think we have a choice of reducing the COLA or laying people off," said Beers.  "I would rather not lay people off."

Legislative Democrats, however, say those aren't the only possible solutions.

Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas) said that other solutions to the current budget shortfall are available and that a special session will be a "waste of taxpayer dollars" of at least $300,000.

Horsford said the Interim Finance Committee has already been examining a set of proposals, including cutting state employees' work weeks and making additional cuts to non-essential state services, to fill the remaining budget gap that "would have prevented the need for a special session" and "could" make a COLA deferment unnecessary.

"We need to balance the state budget as we are required to do and do that responsibly and by providing leadership," said Horsford.  "Not by these political maneuvers by the governor and the Republican leadership."

Nevada's teachers' and state employees' unions were also quick to respond to the special session and have declared their opposition to any deferment of their COLA increases.

"The governor said no options are off the table and yet he is bringing the legislature together with only one option, and that is to take away COLA's from hard-working Nevadans," said Nevada State Education Association President Lynn Warne.

"Gas prices are at an all-time high, groceries become more and more unaffordable every day, and these hard-working families living paycheck to paycheck, like everyone else, are being targeted by this state's governor.  He's trying to solve the problem he has created on the backs of educators."

"Our Legislature needs to seek out the real and more permanent alternatives to this budget problem, not just shift it to state employees," said Neil Lake, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041.

AFCME is planning a series of "informational meetings" to discuss the special session and will hold a rally in front of the legislative building the day the special session is to begin.