Friday, December 17, 2010

And Nevada, short $3 billion out of $16 billion

Nevada could face a budget shortfall as much as $3 billion in the next legislative session, which starts in February 2011.[7] State Budget Director Andrew Clinger said on August 5, 2010, that, if current tax and spending levels remain consistent, all programs and each agency except for education would have to be eliminated to balance the budget.[3] The state faces loss of revenue for a myriad of reasons, including:

* Tax revenues coming in far below the levels seen in prior boom years;
* loss of one-time federal stimulus funds;
* The expiration on June 30, 2011, of approximately $1 billion in temporary tax increases approved by the 2009 Legislature;
* End of employee furloughs and restoration of employee benefits that were cut in 2009 to balance the current budget, which together would cost about $500 million

Clinger said that the state would be $1 billion short , but that figure does not include the $1.1 billion in lost stimulus funds or $200 million in additional Medicaid costs. The total requests from agencies — yes, they can be pared — put the shortfall before any cuts or furloughs at $3 billion.[8]
Info from another budget wonk, whose reference I lost, sorry. Another neighboring state which suffered California Dreamin.  Hell, the California mess covers Arizona, Colorado, Oregon,and Nevada.

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