Fixing Nevada’s Process For Developing Budgets
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
As a long-time Nevada Legislature watcher (and participant in the input process) I’ve never been very clear on all the details that go into the process of setting the spending levels. There normally is a process where the governor proposes a budget and the state legislature’s committees who are responsible for this area hold hearings to go through the governor’s proposal. This past session (2009) the opportunity to go over Governor Gibbon’s proposal gave lawmakers the everyday chance to wax about how messed up the proposal was, and take the budget folks to the woodshed for frequent shortcomings (as legislators they weren’t too interested in anything other than increases for spending – which is basically the way the budgets get done…increase the spending, increase taxes, if necessary and move forward).
In spite of the economic woes facing Nevada’s private sector, the 2009 Nevada Legislature felt that increases to the amount of money spent by state government was essential – so they “cut” (even though the amount they agreed to spend was a higher amount than the two-year budget cycle they were in) and raised taxes by a Billion to cover the increased costs they had authorized. They felt sorry that they were required to have those drawing paychecks from state entities get reductions (even though a number of those – like teachers – who were supposed to get cut had contracts which result in them having to incur actual cuts for the first year of the biennium). Of course we did go through a special session in February to resolve the nearly $900 Million hole that came about from revenues not bringing in the necessary funds to cover the spending that was authorized.
Going into the next legislative session there is quite a bit of consternation over the shortfalls of somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 Billion that will have to be worked on. Plans are underway to create a new tax system which will bring about prosperous flows of revenue to state coffers, no matter what…How dare those spending state funds not have all that they need/want available for the spending that they need/want to do.
Given the approach the Nevada Legislature has been taking on spending, Nevada Farm Bureau policy has been rewritten by our farmer/rancher members to include strong support for reform of the state’s budgeting process. Our policy statement on this topic includes implementing a zero-based budget process which would require all state budgets to be created from scratch (as opposed to the current system of taking the last biennium amount and adding 10 percent). This new approach would require a line-by-line justification for all elements of the proposed spending.
Farm Bureau policy also states support for a limit on state spending increases using a formula that would restrict growth in spending to limits that factor in costs-of-living amounts and increases in population.
Geoffrey Lawrence at the Nevada Policy Research Institute has also been giving the matter of Nevada’s budget process some thought and shared this post which gets some great ideas on the table for further discussion and evaluation.
We’re only going to get to a place of Nevada government being fiscally responsible by holding those who represent us accountable for the budget mess that they have spent us into. They shouldn’t be taxing us more to accomplish their social agendas and they need to improve with the overall process that is used to determine how spending is going to be authorized. This includes developing the budgets in fully transparent public meetings (as opposed to the behind closed door sessions that they’ve been using to make their deals).
We would encourage you to bring this to the attention of those who come by to see you about voting for them in 2010. Electing those who support real fiscal responsibility and un-electing those who would rather just raise taxes is the way to bring about the climate of change that we need going forward.
As a long-time Nevada Legislature watcher (and participant in the input process) I’ve never been very clear on all the details that go into the process of setting the spending levels. There normally is a process where the governor proposes a budget and the state legislature’s committees who are responsible for this area hold hearings to go through the governor’s proposal. This past session (2009) the opportunity to go over Governor Gibbon’s proposal gave lawmakers the everyday chance to wax about how messed up the proposal was, and take the budget folks to the woodshed for frequent shortcomings (as legislators they weren’t too interested in anything other than increases for spending – which is basically the way the budgets get done…increase the spending, increase taxes, if necessary and move forward).
In spite of the economic woes facing Nevada’s private sector, the 2009 Nevada Legislature felt that increases to the amount of money spent by state government was essential – so they “cut” (even though the amount they agreed to spend was a higher amount than the two-year budget cycle they were in) and raised taxes by a Billion to cover the increased costs they had authorized. They felt sorry that they were required to have those drawing paychecks from state entities get reductions (even though a number of those – like teachers – who were supposed to get cut had contracts which result in them having to incur actual cuts for the first year of the biennium). Of course we did go through a special session in February to resolve the nearly $900 Million hole that came about from revenues not bringing in the necessary funds to cover the spending that was authorized.
Going into the next legislative session there is quite a bit of consternation over the shortfalls of somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 Billion that will have to be worked on. Plans are underway to create a new tax system which will bring about prosperous flows of revenue to state coffers, no matter what…How dare those spending state funds not have all that they need/want available for the spending that they need/want to do.
Given the approach the Nevada Legislature has been taking on spending, Nevada Farm Bureau policy has been rewritten by our farmer/rancher members to include strong support for reform of the state’s budgeting process. Our policy statement on this topic includes implementing a zero-based budget process which would require all state budgets to be created from scratch (as opposed to the current system of taking the last biennium amount and adding 10 percent). This new approach would require a line-by-line justification for all elements of the proposed spending.
Farm Bureau policy also states support for a limit on state spending increases using a formula that would restrict growth in spending to limits that factor in costs-of-living amounts and increases in population.
Geoffrey Lawrence at the Nevada Policy Research Institute has also been giving the matter of Nevada’s budget process some thought and shared this post which gets some great ideas on the table for further discussion and evaluation.
We’re only going to get to a place of Nevada government being fiscally responsible by holding those who represent us accountable for the budget mess that they have spent us into. They shouldn’t be taxing us more to accomplish their social agendas and they need to improve with the overall process that is used to determine how spending is going to be authorized. This includes developing the budgets in fully transparent public meetings (as opposed to the behind closed door sessions that they’ve been using to make their deals).
We would encourage you to bring this to the attention of those who come by to see you about voting for them in 2010. Electing those who support real fiscal responsibility and un-electing those who would rather just raise taxes is the way to bring about the climate of change that we need going forward.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 4/20/2010 11:48 AM 
Categories: Nevada Budget
Tags: Nevada Budget State Spending Taxes Government
Categories: Nevada Budget
Tags: Nevada Budget State Spending Taxes Government
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