IFC ends without progress on budget

LAS VEGAS - Unsurprisingly, the Interim Finance Committee adjourned today without any great steps taken toward resolving Nevada's current budget crisis.  Balancing the state's budget, which the Economic Forum last week projected was running a $250 million deficit, will now be the topic of a special session of the state legislature to convene tomorrow.

Following the governor's original call for a special session earlier in June, Democratic legislative leaders, including Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley (D-Las Vegas) and Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas) disputed the need for a special session and argued the shortfall could be dealt with through the IFC process.

Those arguments were silenced by the forum's projection and instead of attempting a stop-gap fix of the current shortfall, the IFC approved only minor, previously decided upon cuts.

"The special session is going to happen no matter what," said IFC Chairman Morse Arberry Jr. (D-Las Vegas) after the meeting adjourned.

Arberry said there was no consensus among legislators yet about how to address the deficit, but that he would be meeting this afternoon with Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio (R-Reno) to discuss possible solutions.

Like other Democrats, including Buckley, Arberry said he had not spoken with the governor since the call for a special session, nor had he heard any details of the governor's "21-point plan" to deal with the crisis.

"Your guess is just as good as mine," Arberry said.