Guinn, Assembly Dems fight over tobacco cash plans

CARSON CITY -- Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn and top Nevada Democrats are clashing as they push rival plans for using tobacco settlement funds that the state expects.

Guinn staged a rally-news conference Thursday to give new details of his "Millennium Scholarship" plan for the funds that should average $46 million over the next four years.

Assembly Majority Floor Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, also held a news conference to talk about the Democrats' plan for the funds. And both seemed inflexible as they promoted their respective versions.

Perkins kept up the pressure at a later Assembly Ways and Means hearing on the Democrat plan, which differs from Guinn's in blocking students from wealthy families from getting the scholarships.

During a period of budget constraint, "it's fiscally irresponsible to give scholarships to millionaires," he said.

Democratic Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa also raised the prospect that the hoped-for level of settlement funding might not be realized.

Guinn didn't budge at his news conference, saying the idea of a means test to determine scholarship eligibility would be "extremely difficult for me to bend on."

The rhetoric didn't stop with the tobacco plan. Perkins also griped about sloppy work on the part of the governor's office in sending over his budget, followed by stacks of budget revisions.

"And we usually get the revisions the day before the (budget review) hearings, and we can't ask our staff to work with that," Perkins said, adding that he was used to dealing with an experienced governor - a reference to former Democratic Gov. Bob Miller.

Guinn countered that he'll do whatever's necessary to keep his promise of a balanced budget, adding, "I work for the people of the state of Nevada and nobody else."

Perkins also questioned Guinn's veto of a bill that provided for some small fee hikes, saying there are other fee-raising proposals in the governor's spending plan for the coming two years.

But Guinn countered that other increases, such as student fee hikes in the university system, were sought by university regents and not him..

"It's too bad they don't know what the system is," Guinn snapped. "I just got here and I know what it is."

Earlier, Guinn had proposed using half the tobacco settlement funds for scholarships. On Thursday, he said the rest of the money should be used for a Nevada seniors' health plan.

That plan would included subsidized long-term care insurance and pharmaceutical insurance for low-income seniors, and "net egg" protections to ensure seniors don't have to sell off assets before qualifying for Medicaid assistance.

Guinn also proposed a health sciences center and other programs to help provide health care services in rural Nevada. And he called for an aggressive campaign to curb teen smoking.

While Guinn's news conference remarks seemed rigid, he said later, "There's always compromise in everything we do - as long as it's good for the people."

While Guinn would spend half the tobacco money on scholarships, the Assembly Democrats would allocate 25 percent of the funds.

The Assembly measure also requires limits so the wealthy are not eligible for the plan.

The Assembly bill also would make scholarships available first to students who want to pursue a career in health care or education or who have actively participated in anti-smoking, alcohol and drug programs.

The rest of the tobacco settlement money would be spent on health care programs, with 10 percent set aside as a trust fund.

archive