Tuesday, July 7, 2020 | 6:30 p.m.
The special session of the Nevada Legislature on Wednesday will strictly tackle the $1.2 billion budget deficit caused from the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Steve Sisolak’s office said tonight.
That means addressing social and criminal reform would have to wait, although Sisolak could issue a “subsequent proclamation” for consideration of “policy items that rise to the extraordinary occasion of a special session,” his office said.
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, said lawmakers will have “difficult decisions” to make on the budget but that Nevada will “weather this crisis.”
Cut are proposed to education, health services and more.
“I understand that the COVID-19 public health crisis has put us in the position to make very painful decisions on the state budget, but I am confident we will be able to overcome this challenge together and forge a new path forward,” Sisolak said in a statement formally announcing the session.
Sisolak said lawmakers could approve the Clark County School District to use unspent school-level funds to “assist with the budgetary challenges of providing education.” Lawmakers will be asked to cut $156 million from K-12 education.
The Legislature could also authorize the state Board of Regents to alter eligibility requirements for the Millennium Scholarship to help students affected by the pandemic. The program, which gives reduced tuition to Nevada high school graduates to attend college in-state, requires a certain grade point average.
Nevada is one of four states with a Legislature that meets biennially. The state constitution allows either the governor or legislative leaders to convene a special session in “extraordinary occasions,” and they have done so five times in the last decade. In special session, lawmakers can only address a narrow set of issues outlined in an official proclamation announcing the session.
