Nevada lawmakers to convene in special session over budget crisis

NV special session to begin on budget crisis

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada lawmakers are convening a special legislative session to deal with the state’s budget crisis.

Gov. Jim Gibbons has proposed cutting most agency budgets by roughly 10 percent. He recommends closing the Nevada State Prison, a juvenile correctional center, extending furloughs for state workers, and capping deductions for the mining industry. More than 200 workers are slated for layoffs.

Legislators worry deep cuts to education would require thousands of teacher layoffs.

Lawmakers and administration officials say they’ve been working together for solutions, but no clear plan has emerged, and their relationship has been strained.

Nevada has one of the worst economies in the nation, with double-digit unemployment and alarmingly high foreclosure rates.