Guinn promises veto of services tax

Gov. Kenny Guinn said Thursday he hopes the 2003 Legislature puts together the budget and a tax plan to pay for it by June 2 -- but that it had better not be based on a services tax espoused by business.

"I'm pretty open to whatever comes back to me, except that I'm not going to accept anything that has a sales tax on services," he said Thursday.

A services tax, he said, "is directed to every single individual in this state practically every time they spend money.

"That's not a broad-based business tax," he said.

He said lawmakers will be in trouble if they don't close the budget by this weekend. That's because the mechanics of translating legislative decisions into the legislation necessary to implement the budget takes about 10 days to finish.

Lawmakers will meet this Saturday to try finish the budget. As of Monday, they will only have 15 days left in the session.

Guinn said similar problems in drafting the details mandate they have a tax plan by sometime next week as well.

It they don't reach agreement, Guinn said he may not call an immediate special session.

"If they come to me and say we're close, we need another 24 or 48 hours, I'm amenable," he said. "But if they say they can't get something, they're going home. I'll decide what to do after that."

Guinn would theoretically have most of June to convene a special session. There have been suggestions he is leaning toward waiting until the final week of June, giving lawmakers just a few days to stop fighting and agree on taxes before the new budget takes effect July 1.

"The last legislative session they did not get the people's work done in 120 days," he said. "I hope they don't do that again."

Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said he believes they can and will get the job done by June 2.

But all indications are any agreement is still quite a ways off. That became evident once again in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee Thursday after Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, moved to restore 18 people to the Nevada Division of Investigations staff. Those positions had been cut by the governor.

Hettrick has said repeatedly since the session began the state there is plenty of fat in the governor's budget and it should be cut, not added to. He has voted numerous times in the past two weeks against increases proposed in the human resources and education budgets.

"I'm frustrated when we have individuals who say we don't have to raise taxes but are willing to raise taxes for this," said Ways and Means Vice Chairwoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas. "It's time for them to step up."

"I think, justifiably, that remark was directed at me," said Hettrick.

He told Giunchigliani his tax plan -- based on a real-estate transfer tax -- would provide enough money to fund the additional narcotics officers.

Leadership groups and opponents of tax increases are meeting in small groups, trying to work out a compromise behind closed doors.

Asked how close a tax deal is, longtime tax opponent Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, just shook her head. And Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said, "Not even close."