http://kunr-assets.trinityannex.com/audios/359_022411_BUDGET_HOLE.mp3
ASAP. That's how quickly Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford says he needs to get a budget amendment from the Governor's office. He says there are problems with the Governor's plan to take $425 million from the pot of money that school districts use to pay back bonds and use it to help districts simply keep running for the next two years. The Clark County School District told lawmakers if the plan goes through, it will raise property taxes in parts of that county. And all the districts are concerned the plan would cause people to vote against any future bonds to fix and build schools if they know the money can be taken for something else. Democrats accuse the governor of budget trickery, saying that it creates all kinds of other problems in the future just to get by in the short run. They point to the last regular session as a better example. That time a bipartisan plan to increase taxes passed through. But Senator Horsford says they can't even talk taxes without first tackling the Governor's budget. Horsford: "We're moving as fast as we can but if we don't know what their plan is to address their budget hole then that delays a whole other set of decisions that we will make as legislators." In a written response, the Governor's chief of staff Heidi Gansert says she's committed to reconciling the Governor's numbers with the school districts and that "we expect numerous revisions to the budget."