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Nevada Lawmakers Approve Bigger 'rainy Day' Fund

The Associated Press

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Nevada Assembly voted unanimously on Wednesday to revamp the state's "rainy day" fund and ensure that more money is set aside in the event of future fiscal crises.

The bill, introduced by Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, would require the governor and Legislature to set aside 1 percent of the state's total anticipated revenue in a forced savings account.

"We're experiencing the great recession," Buckley said. "No rainy day fund is going to insulate us from times like these, but we are so unprepared compared to any other state."

"Our rainy day fund doesn't do the job in a small economic downturn, much less give us the cushion in economic times like these."

The bill, now moving to the state Senate for final legislative action, also would increase the credit to the fund at the end of the year, reducing the amount paid out to state agencies for operating costs.

Currently, state's contributions to the rainy day fund are capped at 15 percent of general fund operating appropriations. Buckley's bill would raise that cap to 20 percent. The fund currently is depleted.

Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, R-Reno, also supported the bill, saying, "I think we all agree that we need to save more money. While we don't agree on the budget all the time, we do agree that we haven't put enough into the account for hard times like these."

Buckley listed the state's dismal rankings, noting that Nevada ranks 47th in the nation in per pupil spending in K-12 education, 49th in per-capita state and local spending for higher education, and 46th in the nation in the number of physicians per 100,000 people.

"It makes no sense to build programs in good times, only to destroy them when times are bad, if you still need the services," Buckley said. "And we do this every 10 years."