The 76th Regular Session of the Nevada Legislature begins on Monday, February 7, 2011. Biennial (every two years) sessions of the Nevada Legislature are limited by law to 120 days. The Nevada Legislature is composed of a 42 member Assembly and a 21 member Senate. In the 2010 general election, Republicans picked up seats in both houses of the Legislature, but both still have Democratic majorities.
This year, the Nevada Legislature will be dealing with numerous crisis issues, most of which revolve around the crisis of a severe lack of state budget funds. In his State of the State address in January, Governor Brian Sandoval (a Republican who is new on the job) outlined his proposed budget and the cuts he said are needed to make up for over $1 billion is reduced revenue. The parts of the plan that have risen to the top of the controversy list are cuts in education funding from the state's general fund, amounting to about 5.2 percent for K-12 and 10 percent for higher education (these figures tend to vary depending on the source and who is asked). I don't think Democrats in the Legislature are going to let this fly without some serious wheeling and dealing with Sandoval.
Term limits had the effect of sending a bunch of new faces to Carson City for the 76th Legislature. It's going to be interesting to see if these new lawmakers can rise above partisan bickering and move toward some workable solutions to Nevada's problems. Past performances do not make me hopeful, but maybe this time...
Source: Reno Gazette-Journal.
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