Andrew Clinger

The Economic Forum, left, meets in Carson City Friday.CARSON CITY - At the request of Gov. Jim Gibbons, the Economic Forum is meeting today to come up with a projection for the state's budget shortfall.  The forum is examining projections on a dozen different revenue sources from the legislative counsel bureau, the budget division and the various governmental agencies that oversee revenue collection.

Since Gibbons' call for a special session of the legislature last week, key legislators and the governor's office have remained far apart on estimates of just how much in spending cuts or increased revenue will be necessary to make the state solvent.  The governor's budget office predicts a shortfall of approximately $240 million, while the LCB expects closer to $100 million.

Key Democratic legislators, including Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford, have said that a special session of the legislature is unnecessary, that their estimate of the budget shortfall can be addressed through the Interim Finance Committee process.