Committee looking at Nevada’s future not happy with report

By Cy Ryan

Friday, May 14, 2010 | 2:34 p.m.

CARSON CITY – A committee created by the 2009 Legislature to help chart the future of Nevada isn’t happy with a consultant’s report on what the state should look like in five, 10 and 20 years.

Members complained the preliminary summary implied there should be tax increases, that there wasn't enough emphasis on mental health and that Internet gambling should be pursued as one way to get more revenue.

The committee, chaired by Robert Lang of UNLV, sent Mark McMullen of Moody’s Analytics back to the drawing board to include more details on how Nevada could reach its goals.

Some of the recommendations mirror a 1988 Price Waterhouse report, and some of the suggestions date back to the administration of Gov. Grant Sawyer, who pushed for diversifying the economy.

Boyd Martin, a contractor from Las Vegas and a member of the Nevada Vision Stakeholder Group, said new taxes could drive current companies out of state.

Doug Busselman, a committee member representing the Nevada Farm Bureau Federation, said this “is a low-tax state and that’s a matter of choice.”

He said a report by the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution shows that Nevada ranks 22nd in the country for state and local taxes paid on a per-capita basis. He suggested the entire section dealing with taxes be deleted from the report.

The preliminary draft of the report said only South Dakota, Delaware and Texas collect a lower amount of state and local taxes and fees, measured as a share of gross state product. And it says direct expenditures by state government are the lowest in the nation on a per-capita basis.

Alan Feldman, a committee member representing MGM Mirage, said he didn’t believe the goals of the group were clearly outlined. And Nevada, he said, “has a history of tight government.”

Don Snyder, a committee member representing the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, suggested the group take a look at recommending Internet gambling.

“We must focus on an opportunity where we can do something and this not just be another study that ends up on the shelf,” Snyder said.

Susan Rhodes, of the National Association of Social Workers and a committee member, said mental health is the first place to be hit when there are budget cuts. “It’s become broken and we don’t address it” in the report, she complained.

The Moody's report shows Nevada trailing the nation in educational progress. More than 14 percent of the labor force in Nevada has less than a high school diploma, compared to 10 percent nationally. The goal is to reduce that to less than 10 percent by the year 2030.