Governor confident in veto

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Gov. Jim Gibbons plans to veto the Legislature’s tax bill today at 5 p.m., putting the ball back in the lawmakers’ court as they try to pass the $781 million package over his objections.

Legislators say they plan to act quickly to override the veto, which will require the same two-thirds vote in both houses that the bill needed to pass.

While the Democratic majority hopes to hold the override vote as soon as possible, the Senate Republicans who hold the key votes first want to see action on the public employee pension reforms on which their votes for the tax hikes were conditioned.

Though a compromise on the reforms has been agreed upon, both sides say, the reform bill hasn’t been amended to reflect the deal or been put to a vote.

Based on that, Gibbons said Wednesday, he would not be surprised to see the override deal crumble.

“There’s some deals and negotiations going on in the backrooms, and that’s where this thing could fall apart,” the governor said Wednesday in an interview with the Review-Journal editorial board.

The reform bill, he said, is “sitting in the backroom as we speak, and they are trying to negotiate what that is going to look like.”

Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, said negotiations were finished and everything is settled.

“As far as I know, we are holding tight,” he said. “I don’t believe people would have voted for taxes if they were not going to vote to override his veto. I believe we have the votes to override the veto.”

Oceguera said the Senate could pass the bill to change the terms of the Public Employees’ Retirement System for new hires as soon as today and send it to the Assembly for a hearing Friday.

He said the Assembly is prepared to vote Friday to override Gibbons’ veto of the tax bill.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, agreed that the votes are in place on taxes but that the reforms would have to pass first.

“I’m not aware of any changes in how we would vote on the tax override, but it’s not my job to count votes,” he said.

He added, “The reform bill will have to pass out of the Legislature before we vote to override the tax veto.”

Though legislators would like to get going on the tax revote as soon as tonight, Gibbons’ spokesman, Daniel Burns, said lawyers have advised the governor he does not have to relinquish the bill to the Legislature until 11:59 p.m.

Burns did not explain why Gibbons would choose to hold onto the bill, potentially crimping lawmakers’ schedule, but said the move was being considered.

The Senate and Assembly passed the tax bill Friday, delivering it to Gibbons at 4:30 p.m. and starting the countdown for the five days, not counting Sunday, that Gibbons was allotted to issue his veto, sign the bill or allow it to pass into law.

Gibbons proposed and allowed passage of the $220 million hike in hotel room taxes in Clark and Washoe counties because it was approved by voters in those counties. That brings the total tax increase proposed for Nevada to $1 billion.

Gibbons said any other tax increases would violate his pledge to “stand up for the principle of no new taxes.”

The package, which passed in the Senate 17-4 and in the Assembly 29-13, includes increases in business payroll and license, retail sales, and vehicle registration taxes. Most of the increases expire in 2011.

Gibbons, who served in the state Assembly and then in the House of Representatives for 10 years before being elected governor in 2006, said being in the executive branch had changed his perspective.

“I was a legislator all those years,” he said.

“I was involved in negotiations and deals on bills in the House of Representatives. I used to think I was doing good work and there was a purpose to it. Now, as I’m governor, I don’t think I had the right viewpoint. Your position turns 180 degrees on what they do over there.”

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.