Legislature meets to resolve budget differences

Facing a Thursday deadline to find middle ground on the state's $3.2 billion budget for the next two years, Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees also remained apart Tuesday on several other budget accounts.

Though the two houses were within $1 on part of a nearly $9 million budget for construction and operation of the 120-bed veteran's home in Boulder City, money wasn't the big issue.

Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, said he's received a barrage of letters from veterans' organizations who don't want the home to be run by a private company. Those veterans visit the homes and often volunteer there, he said.

"We assume they have some knowledge of the conditions of veteran's facilities," he said.

"That's arguable," replied Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, who wants to leave open the option to privatize the home. "These agencies don't speak for every veteran."

The issue isn't a cost differential, but making sure Nevada's veterans are treated with dignity, said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas.

Sen. Lawrence Jacobsen, R-Gardnerville, said he agreed with the move to keep the facility under state control.

"These are honorable people here. We're not dealing with prisoners," Jacobsen said, adding that he fears a privately run facility wouldn't bring in as many volunteers.

Legislators already had rejected Gov. Kenny Guinn's plan to hand over health care of the state's inmates to a private company.

But they agreed Tuesday to give the Department of Prisons the opportunity to meet with the lawmakers' Interim Finance Committee prior to the 2001 session if a private company is needed to take over inmate health care.

The joint committee also asked for a study of whether the state should provide housing for prison employees at state prisons at Ely and Lovelock. Those prisons are understaffed due to their remote locations.

"The problem is you can't tear the prison down. It's there, we have to staff it," Raggio said.

Legislators were able to agree that swarms of Africanized honey bees, or killer bees, in Las Vegas would be bad for the tourist-based economy of the city. They approved the Senate's version of the budget for control of killer bees, which gives an additional $35,779 to eradicate the pests.

archive