Session may beat deadline

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CARSON CITY — With most major issues resolved Sunday, lawmakers were optimistic that the Legislature would finish its business by today’s constitutional deadline for adjournment.

It would be the first time since 1999 that Nevada’s lawmakers have wrapped up a biennial legislative session on time.

With final action Sunday on a road funding bill and on a new “green” building bill that reduces the amount of property and sales taxes lost to the local governments and schools, there isn’t much left for lawmakers to deal with today.

A “pork” funding bill was still awaiting introduction.

Lawmakers are expected to have at least $20 million to spend on their favorite special projects.

The bill funding the operation of state government for the next two years was introduced in the Assembly.

But Assembly Bill 628, by law, has to sit for 24 hours before it can be voted on by lawmakers. The measure will see final action in the Assembly and state Senate today.

“At this point I think we can finish on time,” said state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas. “There are not a lot of hostages. Everything has been agreed on.”

Both Democrats and Republicans have been known to hold bills sought by their political opponents to ensure favorable action on measures they want passed.

Assembly Ways and Means Chairman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, said the lower house has been doing all it can to end the session on time.

“I’m always optimistic,” he said.

Arberry said he wants to meet the deadline as a way of honoring Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, who is in her first term in the leadership position.

“We want to keep things moving on behalf of the speaker. She’s done a great job,” he said. “We’re very proud of her leadership.”

Buckley indicated her desire to end on time when she warned lawmakers to resolve differences on bills they want to see passed by Sunday or be prepared to see them fail.

One lawmaker who was less optimistic was Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, who said lengthy floor statements by lawmakers seeking to make political points was endangering a timely adjournment.

A number of comments were made on two failed amendments to the highway funding bill.

Lawmakers wanting to express their views should hold news conferences or issue news releases rather than take up state Senate floor time to “stand here and make political ink at the expense of the taxpayers and others who would like to see this session get over,” he said.

In addition to the state budget funding bill, measures to increase state employee pay by 2 percent on July 1 of this year and 4 percent on July 1, 2008, were also moving through the two houses.

But lawmakers were still awaiting a bill establishing an $804 million construction program that is aimed mainly at prisons and higher education buildings.

The public schools funding bill saw final legislative action on Friday.

The total state general funding spending is expected to come in at about $6.9 billion.

The public schools budget is $2.3 billion in general fund money plus $354 million from other sources.

Lawmakers actually will have until 1 a.m. Tuesday to finish their session. A legislative legal opinion issued several years ago found that because daylight-savings time took effect during the session, lawmakers were entitled to an extra hour to finish by the mandated 120-day time limit.

Differences over a payday loan bill sought by Buckley, access to the drug used to make methamphetamine and money limits on legal actions against government entities all were resolved over the weekend.

Also seeing final action Sunday was a measure lawmakers hope will reduce prison crowding. Assembly Bill 510 will increase the “good time” credits prison inmates can earn to reduce their sentences.

Backers say the change will allow an undetermined number of nonviolent criminals to become eligible for release by the Parole Board over the next two years.