Millennium Scholarship Program Faces Uncertain Future »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – A college scholarship available to eligible Nevada high school graduates could be in financial jeopardy as early as next year after the Legislature on Monday reluctantly agreed to take $12.6 million from the program to help balance the state budget.
But even as the Gov. Guinn Millennium Scholarship program faces an uncertain future, Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, rejects the idea of a means test to limit the program only to [...]
Independent American Party Files Candidate List »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – The Independent American Party (IAP) this week released its list of candidates for 38 different offices, including the seat now held by U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and all three congressional seats. There are candidates for state and local offices as well.
Nevada State GOP Chairman Chris Comfort said he does not believe his party’s opportunities to win races in the November general election will be affected by the [...]
Gansert Trades Tax Hikes for Decrepit Prison »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert said in an interview today that GOP agreement to include a new fee on banks in the final budget deal approved by the Legislature early today was in exchange for support for keeping Nevada State Prison open.
Gov. Jim Gibbons had proposed to close the aging facility as part of his budget cuts, but the move was opposed by many lawmakers because it would mean the [...]
Bipartisan Budget Deal In Place »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – As a deal to close an $805 million budget gap was announced today, bringing a close to a sometimes rancorous six-day special session, Republican lawmakers say they helped shape the debate that led to a minimal use of taxes and fees to balance the spending plan.
And in another more modest victory, Republicans in the Legislature won bipartisan support for a resolution asking the 2011 Legislature to consider opening up to [...]
Conservatives, GOP Minority Fight to Get Views Heard in Special Session »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Assembly Republicans, who haven’t had a majority presence in the Legislature in 25 years, are working with their Senate colleagues in the special session in an effort to get their views heard on how to solve a $900 million budget shortfall.
Senate Republicans, who are in the minority themselves in the upper house for the first time since 1991, nevertheless have some leverage in the budget debate.
The GOP caucus in the [...]
Guinn Millennium Scholarship Program Targeted »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Among the multiple proposals identified today by Gov. Jim Gibbons to balance a state budget that is out of balance by $890 million is a hit to the Gov. Guinn Millennium Scholarship program for Nevada high school graduates.
The program, established by former Gov. Kenny Guinn and the Legislature in 1999, provides a per credit payment to qualified Nevada high school graduates who go on to college at a state institution.
Gibbons [...]
Gibbons Wants Hearing on School Voucher Plan »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – A handful of state lawmakers have tried and failed over the years to establish a voucher plan for Nevada students, giving parents a share of their taxes spent on public education so they can pick a school that best meets the needs of their children.
While other states have had some success, such measures have gone nowhere in Nevada. Two bills were introduced in the Assembly in 2009 to begin such [...]
Lawmakers Scrambling to Duck Necessary Budget Cuts »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – In the face of potential college campus closures, hundreds of state employee layoffs and a state budget crisis of unprecedented proportions, there was a tiny bit of good news delivered to state lawmakers today.
The state shortfall that must be made up in the current two-year budget is no longer $1 billion, but $881 million, said state Budget Director Andrew Clinger.
The change is due primarily to a lower figure for the [...]
Alden’s Non-Armageddon Way to Cut Higher Ed Budget »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Those charged with overseeing Nevada’s system of higher education heard several scenarios today if the current state budget crisis requires cuts of 22 percent, from closing campuses to huge student fee increases to massive layoffs.
The theoretical scenarios, presented to the Board of Regents by Chancellor Dan Klaich, were intended to demonstrate the severity of the cuts that would be necessary if the system is forced to accept a $110 million [...]
Annual Controller Report on Finances Reveals Dismal State of Affairs »
(Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – An annual financial report released today by state Controller Kim Wallin examining the 2009 fiscal year that ended June 30 details just how difficult the national recession has been on the Nevada budget and how much worse it’s going to get.
Called the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), it describes government revenues and expenses for the just-ended fiscal year and how they compare to previous years. In 2009 revenues totaled [...]
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