No-tax folks to back tax increase, other bills to move/die before the deadline

When the Assembly tax bill is heard Tuesday, members of the Just Say No to Taxes Every Session Caucus will testify for the measure, thus showing true consensus growing around Gov. Brian Sandoval's budget number of $7.3 billion.

What I call the AA bill -- named after sponsor Derek Armstrong and Majority Leader Paul Anderson, who supports it -- will be heard in Assembly Taxation on Tuesday afternoon and among those who will testify in favor are truckers' lobbyist Paul Enos and perhaps those of his ilk who tried to kill taxes in 2003. Among the foes will be the governor's office and gamers.

And, of course, the Las Vegas Chamber will be Switzerland. Again. Still. Always.

The real news is not the ongoing debate between the BLT and MBT as best way to fund the budget -- the AA bill is a hyrbid, focused mostly on MBT, which drew businessman Monte Miller to the building today. The news is that about three-fourths of lawmakers agree on the budget number, or thereabouts -- although in legislative math that does not mean two-thirds of each house agree on the method or the number.

Anderson said "outside of 10-12 folks on our side," that consensus is there. (That leaves small margin for error because the Assembly needs 28 votes to pass a tax package, and at least 11 out of the 25 Republicans need to vote for it.)

As this is happening, the deadline for committees to process bills looms Friday, and, sources confirm, collective bargaining reform measures will be consolidated but Common Core repeal, the Bundylove legislation and voter ID are not expected to survive.

One collective bargaining reform bill, Assembly Bill 280, which would change the language from mandatory to permissive (i.e. abolish the requirement) was heard Tuesday morning. But while that is not expected to survive, elements of two others bills, the omnibus AB 182 and also AB 249, will as they will be placed in Ways and Means to exempt them from the deadline.

Also expected to survive: Randy Kirner's measure to reform PERS, which will have an April 15th hearing that will feature an actuarial expert rebutting PERS' unfunded liability assumptions, Anderson said.

It also seems clear Speaker John Hambrick dropped his parental notification bill (there will be an interim commission) to take an unwelcome distraction from the main issues -- budget/education funding/taxes) -- off the table.

 

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